Ash Wednesday services draw crowds

A light fog hung over 17th Street yesterday just before dawn. Patches of black ice caused drivers to lower their speeds as they carefully maneuvered their cars into the parking lot of the St. Paul Catholic Center, 1413 E. 17th St. Spaces became scarce in the lot as the seven o’clock hour drew near and the Ash Wednesday mass began.\nIU students, faculty and staff, along with other community members, woke up early to receive their ashes before beginning their days. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the 40 day period of Lent, which leads up to Easter Sunday. \nSenior Brian Marx said he has never been to a 7 a.m. mass before. He said he was surprised he was able to wake up that morning.\n“This mass was a spiritual springboard to a successful Lenten season,” Marx said.\nSophomore Shane Provost said he was also surprised at himself because he made it to the early mass.\n“It was definitely a sacrifice getting up at 6:30 in the morning,” Provost said.\nWaking up early and doing things in the morning is not uncommon for all students, such as senior Tim Arnold.\n“I’m a morning person, so this is the best time of day for me to go,” Arnold said. “It’s when I get the most out of it.”\nFather Bob Keller said the mass was “stunning,” and that there were about as many people as last year. There were clearly a lot of students and a good number of IU faculty members, he said.\n“This mass and the one at noon are probably the most convenient for everyone trying to fit it into their workday,” Keller said.\nThe noon mass was an ecumenical service held in the Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union. Ecumenical is a Latinized word that means universal, Keller said. The multi-denominational service was sponsored by the Episcopal Campus Ministry, the St. Paul Catholic Center, the Lutheran Campus Ministry (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and the Indiana University Interfaith Association.\nEpiscopalian Chaplain to IU, Mother Linda Johnson, has participated in the ecumenical Ash Wednesday service at the Union for 10 years.\n“The clergy started this ecumenical service to be models to our students that we as Christians can pray across our traditions,” Johnson said.\nJohnson said the clergy has deliberately found ways to demonstrate inclusiveness and unity to students. This service is one way to do that, Johnson said.\nFreshman Lisa Runion, who sings in the choir at St. Paul Catholic Center on Sundays, said the service was interesting because she didn’t know it was going to be an ecumenical service.\n“It was different for me at the end when we said the ‘Our Father’ prayer with different words,” Runion said.\nPastor Kelli Skram of the Lutheran Campus Ministry (ELCA) and an IU alumna said she knows of at least three different versions of “The Lord’s Prayer”.\n“In our denomination we use at least two versions,” Skram said. “It’s a stylistic choice.”\nRunion said that, in general, the differences in denominations were not accentuated during the service.\nFor some students, yesterday was their first Ash Wednesday away from home. Freshman Jon Isca who went to a Catholic grade school and high school, said it has been harder to find events such as the Ash Wednesday service in the Union. \n“Now I really have to take control of it myself,” Isca said. “I had difficulty finding this place. I thought it was in a different room.”\nFreshman Jessica Thorndike, on the other hand, has not had such difficulty.\n“I’ve found it has been easier because the church is so close,” said Thorndike, who attends St. Paul Catholic Center. “I enjoy this church.”