Tiverton, RI Churches Offer Drive-Thru Ash Wednesday
TIVERTON (CBS/AP) — A handful of Rhode Island churches are making it easy to start off Lent this year.
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church and other Tiverton churches are offering drive-thru ashes for busy commuting Christians who want to receive ashes, making it so worshipers won't even have to leave their cars during Ash Wednesday observances.
The Rev. John Higginbotham, priest-in-charge of Holy Trinity, are being joined by clergy from the Amicable Congregational Church and the First Old Stone Baptist Church.
Higginbotham tells The Herald News the goal is to bring the church to the community.
"We are trying to get our church outside the four walls of our church building," Rev. Higginbotham told The Herald News. "We are really trying hard to get the church into the community."
The town initially had safety concerns about traffic from the number of cars pulling into and out of the church parking lot, so they worked out a deal.
The Town Council gave the churches permission to use the shoulders at the entrance to the beach to allow cars to stop without interfering with traffic.
"We should get people in and out pretty quickly," Higginbotham reportedly said. "There is a nice big area for people to pull in. All they have to do is pull in and roll their window down and get their ashes."
All are welcome, and if the ashes aren't enough, anyone who stops in can also grab a free cup of coffee.
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