Saint Andrew’s ‘filled to the brim’ for Ash Wednesday despite icy weather

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Despite the icy roads and continual sleet, dozens of parishioners packed the pews at the Cathedral of Saint Andrew’s for their Ash Wednesday midday mass.

“Thought it was a beautiful service,” parishioner Chris Hain said. “Definitely worth getting out in front of this storm and getting in here before the 5:30 service.”

Saint Andrew’s held services at 7 a.m., 12:05 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Ashley Downey and her grandmother Olivia Benitez had the same mindset as Hain, to attend an earlier service before the roads got bad in the evening.

“I offered to pick her up because we were thinking as [Downey] said to come at 5 o’clock,” Benitez said. “But then I said ‘We have to cancel’ and then I thought ‘Well they have a service at noon. Let’s go at noon.’ So, I went to pick her up. The roads were okay. Faith moves mountains, and I think that was great. The service was beautiful.”

During mass, which lasted an hour, dozens of people walked down the middle aisle to receive ashes on their foreheads, a sign that marks the beginning of the Lenten season.

Downey and Benitez were two of them

“I’ve never been to this church before so I thought the whole thing was beautiful,” Downey said. “And it got me in the spirit to start the lent season.”

Lent began on Wednesday, February 22, a day after Fat Tuesday, and goes until Easter on April 9. The Diocese’s Annalise Laumeyer said it’s a time of reflection and almsgiving that many in the Christian community partake in, not just Catholics.

However, due to the icy weather, many parishes in West Michigan cancelled certain services.

“Today is not a Holy Day of obligation. We encourage you to be safe. We will be here if you feel able to come. We will definitely welcome you and invite you in,” said Laumeyer, the director of communications. “But know that please don’t risk your life or your safety to join us today. Again, today’s the beginning of Lent. So, today is just the beginning of 40 days of reflection and action. Take time in prayer, fast, think about ways in which you can give alms.”

Laumeyer said she wasn’t shocked to see so many people attend their 12:05 p.m. mass. The morning mass was packed with more people.

Outside of Christmas and Easter, Ash Wednesday tends to bring in a lot people, she said.

However, Kenny Williams-Buck, who helped prepare the midday mass, was shocked and glad to see it.

“I had to go back and get more communion wafers because we didn’t think that many people would come,” Williams-Buck said. “But the cathedral was filled to the brim and we love seeing that.”