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This Week at Ascension + September 14, 2022
"Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." - Psalm 96
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Wednesday, September 14
Holy Cross Day
Evening Prayer at 6:00 p.m. via ZOOM
In-person and Live-streamed Said Mass at 6:30 p.m.
Unction will be offered for those who desire it.
VIA YOUTUBE or FACEBOOK LIVE
Image: The mosaic in the apse of the Basilica of Saint Clement, Rome, shows Christ on the Cross, depicted as the true Tree of Life.
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Holy Cross Day
Today we recall the power of the cross. But don’t we do that on Good Friday, in the spring? Why does the church dedicate a whole day to it again in September? Historically, this date has to do with the dedication of a series of buildings commissioned, or rather, ordered, by Emperor Constantine. Erected on what is now the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, they were, according the Constantine’s biographer, Eusebius, “on a scale of imperial magnificence,” built as “an object of attraction and veneration to all, the blessed place of our Savior’s resurrection.”
The date, September 14, in the seventh month of the Roman calendar, is a date meant to coincide with a date suggested by 2 Chronicles, in which Solomon’s temple was dedicated “in the seventh month of the Jewish Calendar.” That we commemorate the Holy Cross today goes beyond historical references. Its meaning is suggested in how Eusebius describes the intent of those buildings on the presumed hill of Calvary: “an object of attraction and veneration to all, the blessed place of our Savior’s resurrection.” Resurrection, he says, not crucifixion.
Today, we recall the power of the cross of Christ in a different context than we do on Good Friday. Today we can venerate the cross because of the context of the Resurrection. Good Friday’s context is tragedy. In that cross, we experience the wrenching absence of God among us. We experience the hopes and dreams of a people for freedom, dashed in a cruel display of worldly power.
But Holy Cross Day is a day of hope. The cross, viewed from the perspective of an Easter people, is a reminder that there is more to the story yet to come. The Holy Cross reminds us that even in the darkest of hours, the light of God is still with us and overcomes the darkness.
We are a people of the Resurrection. But resurrection also has a context, and that is the cross, which Jesus knew his ministry would ultimately lead him to, as the world, obsessed with its own claims to power, would reject. The Holy Cross tells us who God is for, how God is for us, and how we are to be for God—and for each other.
—Mtr. Murphy-Gill
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Bible Study, This Friday at 10 am
Join in a study of the Book of Revelation this Friday at 10 am via Zoom with nearby St. Chrysostom’s.
Mtr. Murphy-Gill will be away for the consecration of Bishop Paula Clark this week and looks forward to returning to read scripture with you next week.
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Church Music of the Elizabethan Era to the Commonwealth with David Schrader
Tuesdays, Sept. 6, 13, and 20 on Zoom at 7 p.m.
September 20th—The last session will focus on the gradual erosion of the reign of Charles I (1625-1649), his tastes, and the complete dissolution of the Anglican Church and its music under the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell, and then the restoration of 1661, when Anglican worship was restored. We’ll discuss the music and esthetic of Charles II and the musicians who served him, including Pelham Humphrey and Henry Purcell, pictured above.
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Life of the Beloved Half Day Retreat, Saturday, Sept 24
Mtr. Murphy-Gill will lead a retreat inspired by Fr. Henri Nouwen’s book, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World, Saturday, Sept 24, from 8:30 am – 12:30 pm. Come be reminded that you are God’s beloved child in whom he is well pleased and reflect on how to better rest in that knowledge every day. A light breakfast and snacks will be provided. We will begin our retreat with a short Examen in the Ignatian tradition and end with noonday prayer.
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Ascension Heritage Conversations
The interim and transition work in a parish begins with an exploration of the history and heritage of the institution. We are the culmination of our beginning and the development of the culture that has brought us from that first Sunday of 1857 to who and where we are today. Our beginning was rocky, and beset with difficulties as well as triumphs. Through the years, the events in the life of Ascension have formed us, and at the same time, burdened us with recollections of the difficult times.
Beginning in September, we’ll combine the 9 o’clock coffee hour with a time to talk through what’s happened in the past and think about how it shapes us today. In Saint Michael Hall, with folks from the 11 o’clock, I invite you to come, learn, and share in exploring our history. We’ll start on 4 September with an introduction and overview. We’ll take the 11th off, as I will be out-of-town, and resume on the 18th and 25th. I hope our time together will be a spark for more conversations as we think about who we, as the people of Ascension, are called to be and do for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.
—Fr. Heard
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Acolyte Training for Evensong and Benediction, This Sunday
Evensong and Benediction return at 4 pm on Sunday, October 2 as we celebrate St. Michael and All Angels. Learn or brush up on the Acolyte and Thurifer roles at 1 pm this Sunday, September 18. Anyone who'd like to learn or review is welcome, regardless of whether you'll be serving on October 2. Please email MB Hwang if you plan to attend.
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The Church of the Ascension has been invited to participate once again in Open House Chicago. This event, Saturday October 15 and Sunday October 16, is sponsored by the Chicago Architecture Center. It’s a free festival that offers access to hundreds of sites across Chicago.
In 2019, in our first experience with Open House Chicago, we had 500 visitors. We provided explanatory signs throughout the church, a timeline exhibit in St Michael Hall and pictures from our archives. We also offered cookies. There were several pipe organ demonstrations and the opportunity to listen to a choir rehearsal.
This is an invitation to parishioners who would like to participate in this year’s Open House Chicago at Ascension. Volunteers mainly direct visitors and answer questions. Please contact Cynthia Perrizo at cperrizo@ascensionchicago.org or Jay Jacot at jayjacot@gmail.com if you have questions and/or would like to volunteer.
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Do you have a need for special prayer in your life? Whether your prayer needs are because you have an upcoming surgery, an ill family member, or you’re just feeling particularly lonely lately, Fr. Heard and Mtr. Murphy-Gill would like to know.
We’ve created a way for letting us know about your requests for prayers in a way we hope makes it easy for you to reach out, though you can always call the church or reach out to one of the priests personally.
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Organ and Choral Repertoire for September 18, 2022 | |
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ORGAN
Phantasy for English Horn and Organ, op. 65 [1990]
David White (b. 1959)
Ian Barillas-McEntee, English horn
At the Entrance Procession
440 LIEBSTER JESU
At the Offertory
MISSION SONG
At the Communion
326 ST. KEVERNE
At the Retiring Procession
594 CWM RHONDDA
ORGAN
Toccata for Oboe and Organ [2010]
Piotr Fryderyk Grinholc (b. 1966)
Ian Barillas-McEntee, oboe
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Mass setting
Congregational: White/Powell
Offertory Motet
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Ave Maria
Communion Motet
Amédée-Ernest Chausson (1855-1899) Ave verum corpus, op. 6, no. 2
Gregorian Propers from
Graduale Romanum
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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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For our prayers: Irma, Burton Nelson, Winslow, Pablo Illás, Victor Fernandez,
Claire Green, Beth Hall, Sue Lenz, Brenda Martins, Lee Gould, Gertrude Isaac,
Marty Stenson, Paula Clark, Bishop-elect
Birthdays: John Lawler, 9/14; David Schrader, 9/15; Christopher Raymond, 9/15
In thanksgiving for the Brotherhood of Saint Gregory on their Foundation Day, Holy Cross Day 1969, and for the vision of their Minister General and Founder, Richard Thomas Biernacki BSG.
Requiescat in pace:
Those killed in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001; Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II;
Robert Page Taylor, priest, 9/16/1999; Annamae Drury, 9/16/2009; John Simmons, 9/16/2018; John J. Kobus, priest, 9/17/2011
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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Vestry of Church of the Ascension
Ken Kelling, Sr. Warden; LaVerne Rollé Saunders, Jr. Warden;
Ian Barillas-McEntee, Jim Lo Bello, Ken Cozette, Marlea Edinger, Sean Hansen, George Pineda, Joshua Simpson, Sam Sommers, Clerk, Enrique Vilaseco
Susan Schlough, Treasurer
Finance@ascensionchicago.org
Br. Nathanael Deward Rahm BSG, Parish Office
Office@ascensionchicago.org
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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