Ash Wednesday is a chance for clergy to remind Christians of their mortality, often with a swipe of thumb-to-forehead ashes. But this year, the holy day came one day after federal health officials said the country should brace for an “inevitable” spread of coronavirus.
Pastors and ministers who already were mulling whether to change practices at weekly church services and struggling to reassure nervous worshipers, especially in immigrant-heavy congregations, found themselves asking: Should we tweak our rituals?
