Ashes to Go event

The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio is offering “Ashes to Go on Wednesday.” Ash Wednesday is the first of the 40 days of Lent. It is named for the tradition of placing blessed ashes on the foreheads of worshipers. The ashes serve as a sign of penitence, a reminder of mortality, and they are frequently imposed with the sign of the cross.

St. John’s Episcopal Church, 323 Wick Ave., Youngstown, will have Ashes to Go outside its parish. Church clergy and lay people also will be visiting several hospitals and recovery centers Wednesday. They will be outside the parish from 8 to 10 a.m.; at Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley, 6505 Market St., Boardman, at 1:30 p.m.; at Neil Kennedy Recovery Center, 2151 Rush Blvd., Youngstown, at 3 p.m.; and at Belmont Pines Hospital, 615 Church Hill-Hubbard Road, Liberty, at 4 p.m.