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Church Brings Ash Wednesday Traditions To Busy SEPTA Station

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Getting blessed on Ash Wednesday was made a lot easier for some people traveling through Jefferson Station in Center City Wednesday morning.

For the sixth straight year, clergy from St. Peter's Episcopal Church waited patiently in the main concourse of Jefferson Station, greeting commuters as they came up the escalators from the Regional Rail lines.

Weather: Severe Storms Expected To Move Through Region Wednesday Afternoon

They offered the traditional Ash Wednesday blessing of drawing a cross on the forehead of anyone who wanted one.

Reverend Sean Lanigan says the idea is to bring the church to the people in a world in which everyone seems busier and busier.

"We thought if people can't always come to Church because of work schedules and their lives are busy and hectic, so we thought, why don't we go to where people are? And train stations are a great place for that."

Rev. Lanigan says St. Peter's will still be holding the traditional masses, as Christians mark the first day of Lent.

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