Every Ash Wednesday since 2010, members of Saving Grace, Mobile, Ala., have ceremoniously said good-bye to Alleluias for the season of Lent, a contemplative subtraction from the regular liturgy that emphasizes that exclamation of praise when it is brought back in celebration of Christ’s resurrection.

Each Ash Wednesday, students from the confirmation class take down and carefully roll up an Alleluia banner in front of the church and place it in a black box, where it stays by the altar for the duration of Lent.

Bob Kaylor, a member at Saving Grace who started the practice at the congregation, explains, “Traditions are not a law we must obey, but they can be very good tools to use. In this case, we’re setting the mood for Lent by ceremonially showing the Alleluia banner, taking it down, and putting it away.”

The practice was new to Tom Spiegelberg, pastor at Saving Grace, when he started serving the congregation in 2018. Spiegelberg appreciates how the practice isn’t simply about ritual or tradition but also is a teaching tool for the congregation and, more important, for the youth who participate. “We do it to teach and to prepare hearts for the passion of Christ and the resurrection of Christ,” he says.

This memorable and visual action, explains Kaylor, gives members something to share with their neighbors. It also gets the youth involved. “We say that our goal is that our young people understand that the church belongs to them too,” says Kaylor, “so whenever we do something special like this, we try to include the youth so that they will see the church is not just what the pastor does. It’s what everybody does, and they all have a role in it.”