MOUNT LEBANON - Standing in black and white clerical garb with a purple stole representing the season of Lent, the Rev. Michelle Boomgaard offered the ancient symbol of ashes as people approached -- just as clergy were doing in churches throughout the world on Ash Wednesday. But the setting was anything but ancient -- on a sidewalk outside the Mt. Lebanon T station during the morning rush hour. "Would you like ashes and more?" Rev. Boomgaard asked commuters. Some demured. "Sorry, I have to catch a train," said one. But others stopped, and Rev. Boomgaard imposed ashes in the shape of a cross on their foreheads, then offered a brief prayer and a card offering contact information and further conversation. The brief encounters are part of a spreading national movement, often called "Ashes to Go," which began around 2007 in St. Louis with pastors seeking to take the ritual outside the walls of the church and into the streets. Since then, clerics have offered ashes in public squares, coffee shops and even wine bars and ice cream stores. Rev. Boomgaard said she hoped to reach people who aren't comfortable going to church and may not have anyone to talk to for help in sorting out their spiritual questions. "Me standing out here and doing this is a way of meeting them," said Rev. Boomgaard, associate rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Mt. Lebanon. And those stopped to receive ashes and prayers appreciated the opportunity. "It's amazing, especially for the people who work long hours," said Dusty Stuka of New Kensington, who works at a law office in Mt. Lebanon's Washington Road business district. Given her long commute, she had wondered if she could make it to a church service. "My gosh, how convenient is that, and you get a prayer to boot," she said. "That's like a neat package and you don't have to feel bad about missing a really nice holy day." Joyce Dawes of Upper St. Clair, who had come into town for an appointment, agreed. "I'm all about reaching out and spreading the word in whatever way people are moved to do so," she said. Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent -- a season of repentance, reflection and austerity -- for Roman Catholic as well as Episcopal and other Protestant churches that follow the church liturgical calendar. The 40-day season (not counting Sundays) leads up to Easter. Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches began observing Lent on Monday. The ashes, representing both repentance and mortality, are usually imposed during a church liturgy with the biblical words that one comes from dust and will one day return to it. Often people fast and choose to give up sweets or other pleasures during Lent, but Rev. Boomgaard said the season is "not about mortifying the flesh for the sake of mortifying the flesh, it's about drawing closer to God." She was reluctant at first to bring ashes to a public setting because she didn't want to be "just dabbing ashes and saying 'That's it. Goodbye.'" Instead, she gave participants a card containing a psalm and inviting them to chat during "office hours" she planned to hold each Wednesday during Lent at a local coffee shop.