This Week at Ascension + March 20, 2024

"Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." - Psalm 96

Wednesday, March 20

Saint Cuthbert

Evening Prayer on ZOOM at 6 p.m.

In-person and Live-streamed

Said Mass at 6:30 p.m.



VIA YOUTUBE or FACEBOOK LIVE

The Sunday of the Passion:

Palm Sunday

March 24, 2024

7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via Zoom

9 a.m. Sung Mass

11 a.m. Solemn Mass,

In-person & Live-streamed

The 11 a.m. Bulletin may be found here.

Click to join us VIA YOUTUBE

or VIA FACEBOOK LIVE

Image: Entry into Jerusalem, oil and tempera on wood, Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1308-11, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena

Stations of the Cross

& Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

on the Fridays of Lent at 6 p.m. 

March 22

Following Stations & Benediction, a vegetarian soup and bread supper will be offered in Wheeler Hall.

New Weekday Mass Schedule

Be present, be present, O Jesus, our great High Priest,

as you were present with your disciples,

and be known to us in the breaking of bread.

On Monday, February 19, we instituted a new weekday Mass schedule. We hope you will make our new weekday Mass schedule part of your Lenten journey. 

12 p.m. on Monday & Friday

8 a.m. on Tuesday & Thursday

6:30 p.m. on Wednesday

From the Curate

In the Afterword to her book, Entering the Passion of Jesus, New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine offers her readers some final thoughts on what entering Jesus’ Passion could mean for his followers. Last year, I underlined a sentence: "Entering the Passion should give us courage—courage to lament, to embrace righteous anger, to see the course to the end."

If I were reading this book for the first time this year, I am certain I would underline this sentence again. Courage, I believe, is what the world needs right now, especially from we Christians living in an era of fear and anxiety. Courage to enter the holy city of Jerusalem in jubilation for the arrival of Jesus, who reveals God to us. Courage to walk with him to the cross. Courage to witness to the real human suffering that is taking place right here in in our time at the hands of the powerful and greedy. Courage to accompany the lost and lonely in their desolation. Courage to keep pointing to the cross and through the cross, a reminder of the unending and abiding love of God in Jesus Christ. 

This Sunday, we’ll experience the highs and lows of Holy Week in a single liturgy. Enter it, and indeed all of Holy Week, with courage. 

—Mtr. Murphy-Gill

Holy Week & Easter Day Schedule 

Sun Mar 24 The Sunday of the Passion: PALM SUNDAY

           9 a.m.        Sung Mass

           10 a.m.      Confession available

           11 a.m.      Solemn Mass

Mass on Monday in Holy Week, 12 p.m.

Mass on Tuesday in Holy Week, 8 a.m.

Mass on Wednesday in Holy Week, 6:30 p.m.

Thu Mar 28 Maundy Thursday        

7 p.m. Solemn Mass, Mandatum & Stripping of the Altar

followed by the Watch at the Altar of Repose,

ending with Compline at 12 a.m.

Fri Mar 29 Good Friday

12 p.m. Stations of the Cross

7 p.m. Good Friday Liturgy

Sat Mar 30

10 a.m. Holy Saturday Liturgy (in the garden)



8 p.m. The Great Vigil & First Mass of Easter

Don't forget to bring your bells for the Great Noise.

Sun Mar 31 The Sunday of the Resurrection: EASTER DAY

9 a.m. Sung Mass

11 a.m. Solemn Mass

Holy Week Altar Guild Help

Many of us will be working behind the scenes throughout Holy Week to assist with the numerous tasks and ministries that make our celebrations possible. Would you consider helping with the liturgical preparations below? Sign up on MSP or get in touch with MB Hwang (mbhwang@ascensionchicago.org).

Altar of Repose Setup Crew: (Sunday, 3/24 at 1:00 PM) We'll have some lunch from Chipotle, after which we'll prepare the Altar of Repose and tackle some additional preparation of our liturgical space and implements.

Altar Stripping Help: (Thursday, 3/28) If you're not already planning to serve in another capacity on Maundy Thursday, we would like to ask a few of those who will be in the pews to assist with stripping the altar towards the end if the liturgy. Please be advised that while we'll do our best to be mindful of physical limitations, you will need to navigate stair steps and may be asked to carry moderately heavy items or furniture a short distance.

Easter Vigil Setup Crew: (Saturday, 3/30 at 2:30 PM) We'll meet to get things ready for Easter Vigil. Supper with the Rector will follow! We'll wrap up in time for the acolyte rehearsal.

Easter Vigil Cleanup Help: (Saturday, 3/30) Since Easter Vigil ends late in the evening, there's often not much time to clean up from the Vigil and set up for Easter Day. If you're familiar with the sacristy and would be willing to help with some essential cleanup and setup tasks before heading home, your assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Family Holy Week Cancelled

There will be no family Holy Week this Saturday, March 23. Families with children can rest assured that Fr. de la Torre and Mtr. Murphy-Gill are not abandoning family-based spiritual formation and Christian education opportunities. We are simply going back to the drawing board. Please reach out if you have any questions. 

Expanded Columbarium Survey 

Hopefully by now you have already received a letter explaining some of the exploratory work being done to expand our columbarium space indoors. With that survey is a short survey inviting your feedback and interest in the project. Whether or not you have made plans for when you depart from this life, we hope you will complete the survey. Your feedback is essential to this project. You can complete the paper survey you received in the mail and return it to the church to the attention of Mtr. Murphy-Gill. Or, you can fill out the survey online.

Read a PDF of the columbarium letter here.

Complete the online columbarium survey here.

Thursday, Mar 21st, before 3 p.m.

Tomorrow is the LAST DAY to submit Easter Flower memorials/thanksgivings cards to the Church Office for inclusion in the Easter Day bulletin.

Consider being a Coffee Hour host

There are spots available for hosting Coffee Hour after either Sunday Mass! Look for the new MAY & JUNE sign-up sheets in Wheeler Hall.

If you are leary of what hosting a Coffee Hour might entail, speak to Hospitality Committee members Josh or Ellie Simpson, David Reeves, LaVerne Saunders or Carol Noren. They will be glad to help.



The Prayers of the People

As part of our Sunday offering of the Mass, we bring to God our petitions and thanksgivings. As a community, we do this by bidding the parish’s intentions in the Prayers of the People. If you wish to have someone added to the Prayers of the People, please email Father de la Torre or Mother Murphy-Gill. You can also fill out the prayer request form in the link below. Names will remain on the prayer list for three weeks, unless otherwise requested.

Lord, hear the prayers of thy people; and what we have asked faithfully, grant that we may obtain effectually, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Share your prayer requests here.



For our prayers

Malik Gillani, Marlea Edinger, Terrence Kumro, John Barry, Jeanne Fitzsimmons, Mary Sliwinski, Neha Nikita Andrade, Ken McPhillips, Elizabeth McLaughlin, Marilyn Labkon, Lee Gould, Robert Pischke, Florence Jones Clanton, Rachel Smolinski, Sara Reece Glanman, Suzanne Dines, MB Hwang, Juanita Malone, David S. Jones, Richard Francis Tracz, Victor Fernandez,

Claire Green, Beth Hall, Sue Lenz, Brenda Martins

Birthdays Judith Marie Mandrath OSA, 3/18; Michael Haile Zelazny, 3/20/2017;

Jim Redden, 3/23; Richard Laibly, 3/23

Requiescat in pace: Henry Klages Jr., 2/11/2024; Bill Johnson, Ellen Ginsburg, 2/28/2024;

John Mulcare, 3/18; David E. Leonard, 3/19/1992; Ricky Reeves, 3/20/2014;

George C. Giles, Jr., 3/21/2014

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.



Organ and Choral Repertoire for

March 24, 2024

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

Ascension Connections

(with your click and God's help)

Our website home page --

often with up-to-date info/links.

Participate in Ascension masses at our YouTube Channel. (Look for other connections options soon.)

Our Facebook page:

Videos, upcoming events and more.

Weekly Ascension Schedule

For connections:

via Zoom (click here)

SUNDAYS

7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via Zoom

9:00 a.m. In-person Sung Mass

11:00 a.m. In-person and Live-Streamed Solemn High Mass

VIA YOUTUBE or FACEBOOK LIVE

MONDAY-FRIDAY

7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via Zoom

6:00 p.m. Evening Prayer via Zoom

Weekday Mass Schedule

12 p.m. on Monday & Friday

8 a.m. on Tuesday & Thursday

6:30 p.m. on Wednesday

View the Wednesday Mass here

VIA YOUTUBE or FACEBOOK LIVE

Wardens

David Reeves, Sr. Warden

David Reeves, Sr. Warden

David A. Robertson, Jr. Warden

David A. Robertson Jr. Warden

Vestry

Ian Barillas-McEntee, Jay Peterson, Joshua Simpson

Ken Cozette, Elizabeth Simpson, Samuel Sommers (Clerk)

Vicki Dvonch, Nancy Pardee, DiAnne Walsh



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.