This Week at Ascension + January 5, 2022
"Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." - Psalm 96
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Wednesday, January 5 Christmas Feria
6:30 p.m. Said Mass: In-person &
Live-streamed
Image: St. Bartholomew (Nathanael), Anthony Van Dyck, 1620
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Thursday, January 6
Feast of the Epiphany
6:30 p.m. Choral Mass:
In-person & Live-streamed
Image: Star jewel window in the Nativity series of windows at Church of the Ascension
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pantry@ascension outreach ministry
Saturday, January 8, 9:30 a.m. - Noon
Volunteers needed, on-site training provided!
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Sunday, January 9, 2022
The First Sunday
after the Epiphany:
The Baptism of Our Lord
9:00 a.m. In-person only Sung Mass with Organ and Hymns
11:00 a.m. In-person &
Live-streamed
Solemn High Mass
Mass setting: Congregational Mass setting
Followed by The Rosary: Luminous Mysteries
Image: The Baptism of Jesus, Fra Angelico, ca. 1440
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Epiphanies!
“A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.”
- Journey of the Magi, T.S. Eliot, 1927
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Dear people of Ascension,
The opening lines lines above, as noted, are from T.S. Eliot's well-known Journey of the Magi. The same lines, or similar, may have already come to your mind as you contemplate the daunting weather forecast for tomorrow, the Feast of the Epiphany, and whether or not you'll make the trip to Ascension for the festal mass at 6:30 p.m.
As did the wise ones of old, I do hope you will brave the elements and find here a reward-in-faith for your having made the trip. Or, if not, please do join us remotely.
Eliot's poem is often a shock and a blessing to those who come across it for the first time, or a reminder to those who know it well. Eliot strips the royalty and pageantry often associated with the magi and their part in the Nativity story. It was a hard journey. Emotions and even conclusions at the end were complex, often difficult.
The Journey of the Magi may rightly lead us (as perhaps Eliot intended) to contemplate our own faith journeys -- the amazing signs and hope with which they may begin, and then, for many, the seasons of cold, the slogging forward, the uncertainty. The nuances, weight and reversals all seem apt as well for our own collective and ongoing pandemic navigation and more.
Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley ... It's a line at about the halfway point in Eliot's poem. Maybe you know that moment from your own pilgrimage in faith. A blessed turning point! It won't be all smooth going after, but one does feel, from that point on, at least the possibility of carrying on, even promising discovery, further revelation to contemplate and 'take home.'
Even with the dark cold seasons and difficulties, may we persevere in our own journeys of faith and be blessed by doing so.
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Annual Meeting Time and Venue(s) now in Question - Help Requested
- Last week I announced a schedule for the January 30 annual meeting. In a conversation yesterday, the wardens and I began to imagine a need, due to Omicron, to reconsider our plans. We feel that two all-Zoom-remote options should be considered alongside the originally announced plan. Hence:
- One mass at 10:00 a.m. followed by Annual Meeting 'in-person' in St. Michael's Hall beginning at Noon with Zoom-enabled viewing and participation.
- Regular 9am & 11am masses - Zoom-only Annual Meeting starting at 2 pm.
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Regular 9am & 11am masses - Zoom-only Annual Meeting starting at 4 pm.
Look for more annual meeting preparation information in coming weeks.
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Join the Conversation:
Anglican and Episcopal? Anglo-Catholic?
Have you ever wondered what makes Ascension Anglo-Catholic? Or why we call ourselves an Anglican-Episcopal church? Beginning Monday, January 10, Fr. Bob Petite and Mtr Murphy-Gill will host a series of conversations about Anglican identity. We’ll explore our roots in the Church of England from the time of the Reformation, the establishment of the Episcopal Church in the United States, the influence of the Oxford Movement from across the pond, and the growth of Anglo-Catholicism in America. We’ll discern together how this history has shaped our particular Anglican-Episcopal corner of Christianity, its liturgical, theological, and spiritual expressions, and how we can live more deeply into this identity today.
Please join us via Zoom on Monday nights at 7:30 pm starting January 10.
We'll end at about 8:30 p.m. Should COVID numbers decline, we’ll consider in-person conversations. Feel free to contact me or Fr. Petite with your questions.
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For the 2022 Calendars -- Many Thanks!
About 50 thank yous, actually! That’s about how many calendars we donated to RefugeeOne as part of their calendar drive in December.
Be on the lookout for more ways to continue our support of RefugeeOne, which will be assisting with the resettlement of more than 1,500 Afghan refugees in Chicago in the coming months. To learn more, please read this FAQ from RefugeeOne and keep them in your prayers.
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If you have not yet seen it, please ...
(And don't miss the photos!)
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The Rev. Dr. Robert Petite's sermon for
the Second Sunday after Christmas Day
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Organ Repertoire for January 9, 2022 |
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ORGAN
Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam BWV 684
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
At the Entrance Procession
CHRIST UNSER HERR ZUM JORDAN KAM
At the Offertory
SOLEMNIS HAEC FESTIVITAS
At the Communion
CAITHNESS
At the Retiring Procession
ENGELBERG
ORGAN
Fantasia on Engelberg [1910]
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
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Between Masses, please don’t forget that The Choir of the Ascension has recorded upwards of 60 tracks that you can listen to anywhere you have an internet connection. They can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/choir-of-the-ascension
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Ascension Connections
(with your click and God's help)
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Meeting ID:
792 031 7452
Password: 1133
Join-by-Phone Option: (312) 626-6799
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Weekly Ascension Schedule
For connections:
SUNDAYS
9:00 a.m. In-person Sung Mass
11:00 a.m. In-person and Live-Streamed Solemn High Mass
MONDAY-FRIDAY
WEDNESDAYS
6:30 p.m. Said Mass
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Please give generously as you are able.
Treasurer Susan Schlough has asked me to remind you of Ascension's ongoing expenses at this time. To the extent that you are able, payment on your pledges or the offering of Holy Day or other special gifts will be greatly appreciated. You may still write a check and mail it to the church, or online payment is possible through the buttons at various places on our website. Thank you!
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For our prayers: The Rev. Canon Paula Clark, August 'Augie' Alonzo, Jim Berger,
Sarah Ponder, Taffy Wehe, Beth Hall, Sue Lenz, Ben, David D. Jones, Carys and Joshua Benjamin, Lawrence Cox, Gina, Tom Baer, Mary Stetson, Lillian Alexander, Patricia Grisham, Miguel, Edward Minieka, Sjon Brouwer
Birthdays: Micah Meadowcroft, 1/5; Elaine Wilson, 1/6; Rod Luery, 1/7; Sonja Smith, 1/7; Elizabeth Weber, 1/8
Requiescat in pace: Meri Hirata, 1/2/2000; Nancy Hyer, 1/3/2018; Charles Borin, 1/5/2000; Robert Richard Bolt, 1/5/2018; Robert T. Brotherton, 1/6/2000; Betty Reeves, 1/8/2007;
Joan Hedley, Mother of John H. Hedley, 12/26/2021
Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them;
May their souls and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
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The Rev. Patrick Raymond, Rector
The Rev. Meghan Murphy-Gill, Curate
Susan Schlough, Treasurer
Br. Nathanael Deward Rahm BSG, Parish Office
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Vestry of Church of the Ascension
Cheryl Peterson, Sr. Warden; Kenneth Kelling, Jr. Warden; Kelly Colomberti, Marilyn Evans, Lynette Hector, Jim Lo Bello, George Pineda, David Reeves, Samuel Sommers, Enrique Vilaseco, Amber Zelazny
Approved minutes of Vestry meetings are always available online to parishioners who request the link. If you would like Internet access to these Vestry Minutes, please email the Parish Office and request the link. Once you access the web page, you can read all recent Vestry meeting minutes.
The link remains live indefinitely. Any parishioner who has the link will not need to request a new link from month to month.
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