25th Sunday after Pentecost, November 11; 11:00 a.m.

The Church of the Ascension

in the City of New York

12 West 11th Street, New York, NY 10011

212-254-8620 | info@ascensionnyc.org | ascensionnyc.org

View as Webpage

Dear People of Ascension,

Earlier this week, I received an email from an historian, Dr. Tom Chaffin, who is writing a biography of the great singer/activist Pete Seeger. He was trying to find the church in Greenwich Village where Pete and his wife Toshi were married in July of 1943. One of the Seegers’ sons remembered a story that the wedding took place in a small chapel, not the main sanctuary of the church.

I’m a big fan of Pete Seeger- from his music to his work to save the Hudson with the sloop Clearwater- but I had never heard that he had any connection to Ascension. I passed the request on to Vin Knight, our warden and archivist, without high hopes. But Vin came back with a page from the marriage register for July 20, 1943 recording the marriage in our All Saints Chapel (and columbarium). Dr Chaffin was “over the moon” to have this mystery solved. He explained that Pete (who signed the register as “Pvt. Peter Seeger”) was on a hastily arranged leave from the army, so the wedding happened on short notice in the smaller space.

I also noticed that the priest who signed as officiant, Edward George Harris, was not someone whose name I recognized. A little more digging revealed that he served as assistant priest at Ascension for three years after his ordination in 1941, then enlisted as an army chaplain. He went on to have a distinguished career, including as Dean of Episcopal Divinity School, where he was an early and outspoken advocate of the ordination of women. He served as MC at the ordination of the Philadelphia 11 and was instrumental in two of them being hired on the faculty of EDS. He died in 2010.

As you know, during our bicentennial year we are looking to share stories of our particular saints in our weekly e-news. We’d also love to learn more about ways Ascension figured in the lives of other New Yorkers and the history of our city and the Episcopal Church over the last 200 years. I’m grateful to Vin, Derek Baker and everyone who is helping to gather these stories. And for serendipitous requests that connect us in surprising ways.

What a cloud of witnesses!

Liz

Do you like to color? Especially for children and their families- we have copies of “the Sunday Paper” a cartoon version of our gospel each Sunday, along with crayons and clipboards available from the ushers. Please ask for one if your child would enjoy this during the service.

To watch our services via Live Stream

go to Ascensionnyc.org/Webcasts,

Regular Service Schedule

SUNDAY

9:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist (Side Altar)

11:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist w/ Music

(Church & Livestream)

6:00 p.m. Meditation & Sacrament (Church)

WEDNESDAY

6:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist (Church)

Evening Prayer Every Weekday Evening

via Zoom

Join us each weeknight at 5:30

for Evening Prayer & discussion.

Click this link to join: ascensionnyc.org/eveningprayer.

To call in (voice, no camera), dial 929-205-6099; the meeting ID is 880 1981 1224.

How to Watch Online

A note from the Parish Administrator - Apparently life just isn't any fun unless developers can rewrite their code and change how an application works. That see,s tp be what happened with our eBulletin. Thanks to our intrepid web sexton, we have resolved the issue and the link above now works again!

Long Term Prayers

Pray for: Allejandro and Jesus, Barbara, Brielle, Dorothy, Elaine, Ellen, Judith, Jurek, Lucas, Stewart, Jen, Bishop Gretchen, Alice & the Kisiya family, Jennifer, Ketty, Sara, William Wynter, Eric, Eileen, Rural & Migrant Ministry, all detained at Delaney Hall, all refugees and asylum seekers, and New York Haiti Project and the St. Luke’s Episcopal School in Martel. We remember all who have been killed by ICE, or died in custody this year: Alex Pretti, Renee Good, Keith Porter, Geraldo Lunas Campos, Victor Manuel Diaz, Heber Sánchez Domínguez, Parady La, Luis Beltrán Yáñez-Cruz, Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres, Lorth Sim, Jairo Garcia-Hernandez, Alberto Gutierrez-Reyes, Emmanuel Clifford Damas, Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi, Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal, Royer Perez-Jimenez, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, and Joan Sebastian Guerrero. We pray especially for a just peace in Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Ukraine, Russia, Sudan, Cuba, Ethiopia, and in our own country.

Please keep these people and intentions from our long-term prayer list in your own prayers. We hope to keep our intercessions in the liturgy both faithful and fresh, as we persist in prayer for those who need it.

Prayers! Did you know you can submit your prayer requests online? Go to ascensionnyc.org/prayers and type in your prayer request. Be sure to add them. Requests submitted by noon on Thursday will be included in the Sunday bulletin. (Any requests after that will be included in the following Sunday bulletin.)

A Prayer for Spiritual Communion

If you are attending any of our services online, we invite you to use this prayer at communion.

In union, O Lord, with your faithful people at every altar of your Church, where the Holy Eucharist is now being celebrated, I desire to offer to you praise and thanksgiving. I remember your death, Lord Christ; I proclaim your resurrection; I await your coming in glory. Since I cannot receive you today in the Sacrament of your Body and Blood, I beseech you to come spiritually into my heart. Cleanse and strengthen me with your grace, Lord Jesus, and let me never be separated from you. May I live in you, and you in me, in this life and in the life to come. Amen.

Announcements

This Sunday’s Forum, November 15: What happened at Diocesan Convention this year? Join us After the 11:00 service this Sunday in the Parish Hall to hear about what was discussed and voted on at this year’s Diocesan Convention.

Tuesday Zoom Small Group, Our last Small Group call will be Tuesday, November 17, 8:00 - 9:30 p.m. Join us as we read and discuss Rowan Williams’ Being Christian: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, and Prayer. All are welcome! To join, contact Yunjeong at yjseol726@gmail.com. Join the conversation on Zoom at //us06web.zoom.us/j/83695829125. We will meet every Tuesday.

Racial Justice Group, Thursday, November 19 at 6:30 on Zoom: Segregation in NYC Schools. We will discuss Nikole Hannah-Jones’ NYTimes article earlier this fall about the difficult choices she and her husband made about their daughter’s education. What can we do to ensure that every New York child has access to an education that honors all of who they are? The article is here. Please Join us!

Racial Justice Discussion Group - Join Zoom Meeting here.

Ascension Advent Calendar- Do you enjoy photography? We’re looking for images for our online Advent calendar. It’s easy- let Mother Liz know you’d like to participate. She will assign you a day in Advent and a bible verse to go with it and you will let the scripture inspire you as you ponder the season of waiting and expectation and send in a photo. Please let her know if you want to participate by next Sunday, November 22!

Ascension Forum Next Sunday, November 22: Marble by Taylor Catalana. Our very own Taylor Catalana has written Marble, a historical novel about the life of the Virgin Mary before she became a mother. Taylor will read from the book and we’ll have time to ask questions and discuss it, as well as to purchase copies. Sometime in the new year, when more of us have read Marble, we’ll have another event and further conversation. Don’t miss it!

Immigration Legal Support Fund – Recently our diocese announced a new Immigration Legal Support Fund to support immigrant families in our congregations and neighborhoods throughout the Diocese of New York. The Legal Fund will help those navigating immigration under urgent and vulnerable circumstances to access legal resources. We're starting with a $50,000 contribution from the Bishop’s discretionary funds. Help us to match this amount to keep families together. With your support, we can do more so that no one faces the system alone. Your contribution makes possible same-day response, family preparedness, limited-scope appearances, and urgent filings. You can contribute here. To learn more about the Immigration Legal Support Fund Click here.

Your Pantry Needs You!

Ascension Outreach Inc. needs additional volunteer participation. The program is robust and developing in some great ways- and we need more hands-on help. Won’t you consider helping strengthen our service to our neighbors?

Saturday opportunity: 8 to 9:30 am on the first and third Saturday of each month.

Upcoming Dates: November 21, December 5 & 19. If you have questions or wish to join us, please contact Fr. Ed: fatherchinery@ascensionnyc.org, or 732-910-7017.

Support Church of the Ascension

Open Door Church Ministry – Do you have some free time and want to meet interesting people from the neighborhood, congregation and world? If so, consider volunteering with the Open Door team. We have a need for people to spend as little as 1 shift (1 1/2 hours each) per month or more, during the hours of 12-3p.m. Monday- Friday to keep our church doors open. We welcome people to our space, answer questions about the Church and our activities, and are available as they walk around, sit, or pray. Sometimes you get to enjoy hearing a Voices of Ascension concert rehearsal or organ practice as an added bonus! Training with be provided. If interested in exploring further, please contact Madonna Stack Barker at (m.stack@rcn.com) or the Church office (212-254-8620 or info@ascensionnyc.org).

Saints of Ascension

Among many friends I’ve known at Ascension, one of my favorites has certainly been Janet Fisher. She preceded me here by about 7 years, and many of our parish activities often coincided or overlapped — Bible studies, vestry, acolyting or chalice bearing — which is how we got to know each other. I always enjoyed her wisdom and humor in those circumstances. But it was usually at coffee hour or occasionally on the phone where we got to really catch up for a moment. I remember one “Welcome Back” Sunday not that long ago when she showed me pictures of a brief motorcycle ride she’d taken during the summer. And she was already in her 70s at that point. (I'm not sure, but it may have even been for her 80th birthday.) I can still hear her sly laugh at my utter surprise.

When I heard that many of her fellow daily Evening Prayer attendees had taken a photo together after her funeral, I thought: how appropriate! So many of the images of Ascension life — on our website, on Facebook, even on the welcome cards in our pews — were photos taken by Janet. But I’ll always cherish one of her taken in front of the church on the day of my wedding.

—Derek Baker

As part of our year-long bicentennial celebration, the Church of the Ascension is collecting remembrances of members and friends buried from our parish over the past 25 years. Throughout our milestone year, we will share these tributes in our weekly parish newsletter to honor the people whom we loved and worshiped alongside, as well as the generations who went before us. To choose someone to share a remembrance about, go to ascensionnyc.org/remembrances.

This Week at Ascension

Sunday – November 15

Holy Eucharist (Side Altar) 9:00 a.m.

Holy Eucharist with Music (Church) 11:00 a.m.

In person and online (Ascensionnyc.org/Sunday)

Ascension Forum (Parish Hall) Following the 11:00 service

Meditation & Sacrament (Church) 6:00 p.m.

Monday – November 16

Church open for prayer & meditation; Noon to 3:00 p.m.

Evening Prayer (Zoom) 5:30 p.m.

Lectionary Bible Study (Zoom) 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday – November 17