KELSEYVILLE – The Kelseyville United Methodist Church will conduct a special Ash Wednesday service on Feb. 17 at 4 p.m.

The service is open to anyone who would like to participate.

For the Western Christian calendar, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days (40 days not counting Sundays) before Easter.

It is a movable feast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter.

Ash Wednesday gets its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a sign of repentance.

The ashes used are gathered after the palm crosses from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned.

As the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday comes the day after Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), the last day of the carnival season.

Kelseyville UMC is located at 3810 Main St. in Kelseyville. The church has been in this location since 1871 and runs a popular thrift shop each Monday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.