Standing amid a stream of Wednesday morning commuters on one of the busiest corners in downtown New York City, The Rev. Matthew Heyd took the church to the streets.

In a modern twist on Ash Wednesday, Heyd smudged charcoal crosses on the foreheads of willing passersby who approached him, bringing outdoors the Lenten ritual that is normally performed inside houses of worship.

“Remember you are dust,” Heyd, of New York's Trinity Wall Street church, told the commuters, one by one. “And to dust you shall return.”

Heyd, joined by several seminarians, was one of dozens of priests across the country participating in what the Episcopal Church has dubbed “Ashes to Go.” From Chicago to St. Louis to New York, priests from 80 churches in 21 states stood outside coffee shops, train stations and on street corners this Wednesday, marking the start of Lent.

“This is a way of bringing grace to people who otherwise might not be able to participate in the ritual,” said The Rev. Emily Bloemker, another Episcopal participant in “Ashes to Go.” 

“Modern life,” said a bemused Heyd, reflecting on this unusual effort to involve the church in contemporary society.

Just outside the busy Chambers Street subway stop, transit workers, firefighters, and businesspeople stopped for a minute to take part in the ritual—one woman even leapt from a cab for ashes.

Angela Young, a legal secretary, said she stopped to take a moment with Heyd simply because she is a Christian. “It’s different,” she said of receiving ashes on the street.

“They’re seeing something holy happen,” Bloemker remarked. “When do we get to see something holy? “

Ashes are an ancient sign of penitence, according to ashestogo.org. The ritual of marking Lent with an ashen sign of the cross dates back to the Middle Ages.

Click on the photo above to launch a slideshow of images from Wednesday's "Ashes To Go."