Dear People of Ascension,

As we continue with the Sermon on the Mount, here's a reflection on this Sunday's gospel from a new (to me) poet, opening up our meditations on the familiar, multivalent and so important images of salt and light- and how we can use our blessings and privileges for good.

Savoring and shining softly,

Liz

How often we are the salt

in the wounds of the earth,

flaunting our prosperity, hoarding it,

and destroying the tastes

of the wind, the ground, the sea,

by the trampling

of those great boots

we call our needs.

Or, with halogen beams

on our out-of-control truck,

we careen up the highest hills

searching the biggest city,

and singing, "this big light of mine

I'm going to make it shine

so no one sees anything else

for miles and miles around."

We have missed the lamp-lighting

in the valley places

where kindness dwells,

not so everyone looks at our light,

but that by our little light

a child reads a book,

an elder feels safe from rustling

outside the window,

or sirens in the streets,

and partners in love

cook potatoes, slice apples,

bake bread with a dash of salt,

so all those who are hungry

may come in and eat.

- Maren Tirabassi

Say Thank You. If you watch our services online you may notice in the lower left-had corner you'll see the name of our producer, Jasmine B. She has been our producer a little over a month now and is doing a great job! Next time you're watching, be sure to give her 5 stars!

Zoom Coffee Hour This Sunday, February 5- For our online worshipers! Please join one of the clergy on Zoom this week for conversation and connecting with each other. It will take us about ten minutes to get online after the service in person so feel free to grab a cup of tea before you settle in. This was a wonderful part of our life during regular Zoom worship, and we are looking forward to rekindling it now with periodic online gatherings.

Click this Link to join the call!

How to Add Prayer Requests Online for Sunday Service - Go to Ascensionnyc.org/Prayers and type in your prayer request. Be sure to add them before the end of the sermon.

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.

Open Church - Mondays through Fridays, Noon to 3pm. If you would like to volunteer for this ministry, please contact Gretchen Dumler or contact the church office (info@ascensionnyc.org or 212-254-8620.

And now that we are back to activities that feature maskless eating and drinking (looking at you, coffee hour), it’s probable that some participants will later test positive. If you do, we ask that you think about whom you might have been close to for more than 10 minutes. If that’s the case, give them an email or call.

Please join us in welcoming:

Isabel Spencer

Kyle Cheseborough, Ned Fitch, and Michael Surabian

Click here to read their bios.

If you would like to read the Annual Parish Report or save/print it for your records, please click here to access a PDF for the report.

Musical Notes - Music for this Sunday - The Preludes start at 10:46 with César Franck’s tender Pastoral for organ – such a beautiful piece!. Then an anthem for our choir: S. S. Wesley’s Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, a famous mid-19^th century British work. At the Offertory our choir will sing one of the classic Spiritual arrangements of the great Moses Hogan, We shall walk through the valley in Peace. The Postlude will feature one of the best of Buxtehude’s large-scale Preludes and Fugues, this one in G Minor.

Celebrate the Life and Work of Blessed Absalom Jones- Saturday, February 11 at 10:30 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Please speak with Mother Liz if you would like to attend; in the past we have been well represented with acolytes, clergy and our banner as well as joining the congregation! Click here for more information (please do not register online, but speak to Mother Liz about registering.)

Conversations Across Difference: A Dialogue with Amy-Jill Levine - Wednesday, February 15, at 7:00 p.m. A Video Presentation of Prof. Levine’s Talk given at St. Bartholomew's Church, Manhattan in December, Followed by Discussion. For more information and to register, please click here.

Racial Justice Discussion Group, Thursday, February 16; 6:30 pm. We will be exploring the religion of whiteness and white Christian nationalism. Please listen to this podcast with Michael Emerson, and the sermon preached by the Rev. Yejide Peters Pietersen at the recent Diocesan service honoring Martin Luther King Jr. (The sermon begins at 32:30.) All are welcome!

Visit the Jewish Museum with the Episcopal-Jewish Relations Committee of the Diocese- 10 am, Tuesday March 21. Following our forum about Christian responses to the rise in anti-Semitism, this is an excellent opportunity to learn more about Judaism and Jewish history. Please click here for more information and to register!

The Diocese of New York Ecumenical and Interreligious Commission invites you to take part in a program "Same but Different," an ecumenical dialogue between leaders of Catholic and Episcopal Churches. For three Monday evenings, we will explore these two historic churches’ history, structure, and worship, highlighting their traditions and spirits. Join Father Brian McWeeney, D.Min. and Rev. Robert Flanagan, D. Min. for a lively, enriching presentation and discussion of the topics that define where we come from, who we are, and where we’re going.

We will meet on Zoom on February 6, from 7:30 to 8:45 pm. To sign up, please, contact Rev. Robert Flanagan or Father Brian McWeeney.

Same but Different is a program designed by the ecumenical dialogue leaders of the Archdiocese of New York and the Episcopal Diocese of New York and is the fourth in a series of programs that began during the pandemic. The Nicene Creed states, "We believe in one, holy, catholic, apostolic church." Many wonder how "catholic" applies to Roman Catholics and Episcopalians and the differences between the two denominations' beliefs, practices, and traditions. Also, what do they share, and how can they better welcome those outside their tradition by better understanding their identities? During the program's three sessions, leaders and participants will examine these questions and others to understand each denomination's identity and role in the wider church.

Have you made your pledge for 2023? Thanks to all who have pledged to support Ascension in the coming year. If you have not yet pledged, please prayerfully consider doing so. We need everyone's participation, and depend on your commitments for our budget planning. When you pledge online you must make a new commitment for each new year. Thank you for your generosity and care for our church!

To make or pay your pledge online, please check us out at Ascensionnyc.org/Give to find out how easy and secure it is to give. You can also download the Abundant app for iOS or Android. When donating, please choose whichever purpose you intend for your contribution.

Help Asylum Seekers - Our friends at Judson Church (239 Thompson St.) have created a respite and mutual aid center for asylum seekers who have been bussed to New York from Texas. They are open every Monday from 10 am to 7 pm. You can help by volunteering time (Spanish speakers and those with medical, legal or social work training especially welcome), or by donating supplies. They need new (or like new) winter coats (men’s, women’s, & children’s), underwear (boxers preferably), and backpacks.

To learn more about volunteering, please contact the Rev. Micah Bucey at micah@judson.org. Donated supplies can be brought to Ascension, marked "mutual aid for migrants" and we will see that they get to Judson. Thank you!

Holy Eucharist (Church) 9:00 a.m.

Holy Eucharist w/ Music; (Church & Live Stream) 11:00 a.m.

Zoom Coffee Time for Live-Streamers (Zoom) After 11:00 service

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Absalom Jones Service (Cathedral of St. John the Divine) 10:30 a.m.

Food Pantry (12 W 11th St) 8:30 a.m.

Holy Eucharist (Church) 9:00 a.m.

Holy Eucharist w/ Music; (Church & Live Stream) 11:00 a.m.

Ascension Forum (Parish Hall) After 11:00 service

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

The Church of the Ascension -- Fifth Avenue and Tenth Street

Clergy | Staff | Parish Leadership