Next to El Dorado Street in Stockton’s bustling downtown City Center, Deacon Stephen Bentley kicks off a routine he’s kept up for years.  

“Ashes to Go,” a sandwich board reads as cars crept out of traffic to pull up beside the deacon’s early morning set up  — a silver cart loaded with water, a tarp in case of rain and a small container of fine dark powder for Ash Wednesday, a Christian holiday that starts the 40-day season of Lent.

“It’s a pretty quick interaction,” said Bentley, dressed in a deep purple sole and black cassock, as he gently smudged an ash cross on those who stopped by Wednesday. “Drive-bys, is what I call them.” 

For at least 13 years, Bentley has maintained the stop-and-go Ash Wednesday pop-up, “rain or shine,” he said. Located just one block from Saint John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, where Bentley serves as deacon, the station started as a way to reach people “where they are,” he said. 

“You never know who you’re going to reach,” said Bentley, adding that he sees roughly 100 people at his stand annually. “I just kept finding that it was great to be out here and be among the people.”

Some are regulars, said Bentley, like born-and-raised Stockton resident Tyrone Carmen, who rode in on his bike — one he picked up from the deacon’s shop that distributes free bikes for those underemployed or experiencing homelessness.

His 10th time receiving ashes from Bentley, Carmen said he shows up “because of” the Evangelist deacon.

“I come as is,” said Carmen, before pedaling away towards Miner Street. “I want to get all the blessings I can get.”

Other interactions can be unexpected, added Bentley, thinking back to a cash-in-transit guard that routinely stopped for ashes before entering close by businesses.

“Everyday is a surprise,” Bentley said. “I never know what may happen.”

While driving through El Dorado’s busy commuter street on their way to a nearby grocery store, Maria Garcia and her husband Jesus Rosales spotted Bentley Ash Wednesday station before they “turned around and parked” nearby. 

“I was thinking, maybe the time is too late,” said Garcia, 61, referencing ash marking church services that happen in the evening. “I cannot drive in the dark, especially if it’s raining.”

The to-go station is “really convenient,” Garcia said, especially for Rosales, 67, who cannot walk long distances. 

“Right now, right here, in the daytime?” said Garcia, 61. “This is God working with us.”