Whoosh! Dried palm leaves went up in flames. We each took a long match and, in unison, lit the matches and held them to the palm leaves. Then we moved outside to the parking lot and stood in the cold around a little grill filled with dried palm fronds. We talked about the importance of the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday, how the ashes remind us that we are mortal - that we are God’s creations. We reviewed the cyclical nature of the liturgical calendar, how the first Sunday of Advent is New Year’s Day for Christians about how Advent and Lent are both seasons of preparation for the special celebrations of Christmas and Easter. We started by discussing the seasons of the Church year. This was perhaps a once-in-a-generation experience - to be the confirmation class that burns the palm branches saved from several years of Palm Sundays. And we hadn’t needed any new ashes for a few years in a small church, a few ashes go a long way. Our small church doesn’t have a confirmation class every year, we don’t have enough kids. I’ll never think of the ashes for Ash Wednesday in the same way again - ever since I asked our confirmation class members to assist me in burning some dried-out palm branches in preparation for the Imposition of Ashes. Why Does A Confirmation Class Get to Burn the Palms? “A somber, quiet ritual was transformed by the smiles and giggles of young people, fully present, enjoying the moment, burning palm leaves in the service of God.”
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