In the News

Articles published by the Diocese of Newark and media coverage of our churches and members.

Ashes to Go: Good Shepherd Members Take Ash Wednesday Outside Church

Members of Fort Lee’s Church of the Good Shepherd tried something new Wednesday morning, taking part in what they were calling “Ashes to Go” in celebration of Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

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Ash Wednesday church service comes to the people outside Secaucus train station

Dozens of people took time from the hustle and bustle of their morning commute today at the Frank R. Lautenberg train station in Secaucus to receive blessed ashes, marking the start of the Christian holy season of Lent.

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Photos of "Ashes to Go" from around the Diocese of Newark
Bishop Mark Beckwith giving Ashes to Go at Newark Penn Station

Bishop Mark Beckwith, Canon Greg Jacobs and clergy and lay people in at least 20 towns in northern New Jersey distributed "Ashes to Go" at train stations, bus stops and other public locations. Here are some of the photos they shared with us.

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Clergy will offer ashes at train stations and shops, mobilizing Lenten ritual

Clergy and lay members of Episcopal churches across the state will hit the streets on Wednesday, Feb. 22, to distribute ashes to mark the start of the Christian holy season of Lent.

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Bishop and congregations to bring "Ashes to Go" to over 20 New Jersey towns
The Rev. Sandye Wilson distributes ashes at South Orange Train Station in 2011

Episcopal congregations in at least 20 towns in northern New Jersey will take to the streets on Ash Wednesday, February 22, marking the beginning of the holy season of Lent by giving “Ashes to Go.”

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Take part in the church website canvass
Church Website Project

What about your church website works for you? What about it is frustrating, limiting or challenging? The Church Website Project Team wants to hear from you!

If you would be willing to have a phone conversation with one of our team members about your website, please send your name, church and contact information to nnicholson [at] dioceseofnewark [dot] org (subject: Church%20Website%20Canvass) (Nina Nicholson) no later than Wednesday, February 29.

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Bishop Beckwith invites you to take part in "Ashes to Go"
Ashes to Go

In his Convention address on January 28, referring to imposing ashes at train stations and other public places on Ash Wednesday, Bishop Beckwith described this vision: “Wouldn’t it be something if people from 107 congregations made such a public witness?”

From 7 to 8 a.m. on Ash Wednesday, February 22, Bishop Beckwith will be outside Newark Penn Station imposing ashes on the foreheads of commuters, while Canon Jacobs does the same outside Broad Street Station Newark. Will you join them?

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A faith-based case for marriage equality
Members of St. George's in Maplewood rally for marriage equality.

In a Star-Ledger op-ed, Bishop Beckwith, Rabbi Matthew D. Gewirtz of Temple B’Nai Jeshurun in Millburn and Bishop E. Roy Riley Jr. of the New Jersey Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, join together to make a faith-based case for marriage equality in New Jersey:

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Underground Railroad re-enactment at St. Peter's in Morristown celebrates Absalom Jones Day
Danielle Baker playing the role of Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman

The Rev. Karen Eberhardt’s first face-to-face encounter with racial discrimination still resonates, half a century later.

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Altruism Attracts: Doing Good and Finding Love in a Local Soup Kitchen

Was it her big hazel eyes? Was it his dapper moustache? When Pat Moulton and Jim Snodgrass are asked what attracted them to each other, they don't cite these or any other winning feature. No, for her, "It was his real interest in helping." For him, it was the thought that, "Here's someone working full-time and then giving so much" to Toni's Kitchen, the soup kitchen in Montclair, where the two met in 2006 and where they still avidly volunteer. This is their love story, and they're sticking to it.

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