This Week at Ascension + November 1, 2023

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

Wednesday, November 1

All Saints Day

Evening Prayer on ZOOM at 6 p.m.

In-person and Live-streamed

Said Mass at 6:30 p.m.

Unction is available to those who wish it.

VIA YOUTUBE or FACEBOOK LIVE

Thursday, November 2

Requiem Mass:

Commemoration of All Faithful Departed

7 p.m. Solemn Mass -

In-person & Live-streamed

The 7 p.m. Order of Worship may be found here.

Image: The Harrowing of Hell,

by the artist known as 'The Master of the Straus Madonna,' Florence, ca. 1400

Click to join us VIA YOUTUBE

or VIA FACEBOOK LIVE

Food Pantry is Saturday, November 4



We will again gather to assemble bags of shelf-stable groceries and personal items for our neighbors in need. We begin filling bags in St. Michael Hall at 9 a.m. and start distributing them at 11 a.m. We need the most help between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., but welcome your help for however long you are able to stay.

Come be the hands, heart, and feet of Christ in our own neighborhood, following in the wake of the Cross, and enjoy some fellowship as well.

The Solemnity of All Saints

with the Sacrament of Holy Baptism

Sunday, November 5, 2023

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. Order of Worship may be found here.

Image: The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs, Fra Angelico (1395-1455)

The National Gallery, London, UK

Click to join us VIA YOUTUBE

or VIA FACEBOOK LIVE

Remember: Daylight Saving Time Ends on Sunday, November 5. Set your clocks BACK ONE HOUR on Saturday night to get that extra hour of sleep.

and in the Afternoon on

Sunday, November 5

3:30 p.m.

Organ recital by

David White (b. 1959)

Works by Jehan-Aristide Alain &

César-Auguste Franck

The Recital and Evensong Bulletin may be found here.

4 p.m.

Choral Evensong &

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)

Evening service in G (1902)

William Henry Harris (1883-1973)

Faire is the heaven for double choir (1925)

From the Curate

Whenever the 11th month of the year rolls around, I find it nearly impossible not to think about endings. When I was on an editorial staff before becoming a priest, among ourselves we used to call the November issue of the monthly magazine we put out each year “The Death Issue.” Any articles and essays we would write or commission about the end of life always seemed well timed for that particular issue. What we found was that even though the topics centered on death, the issue was never without glimpses of new life, of new beginnings. It was a Christian magazine, after all, and for us, death is never removed from life—and vice versa. 

Now, each year as November begins, I think about “The Death Issue” and have realized that as a priest rather than an editor, things really haven’t changed so much. It’s just liturgy and prayer instead of articles and essays that mark the time of season of endings—and with those endings, beginnings. 

Tomorrow, at our All Souls Solemn Requiem, we’ll commemorate the passing on of the loved ones we’ve lost in this lifetime. The particularly potent symbol of a catafalque will recall for us the end of their lives as our liturgy expresses our hope for them in the new life they now inhabit, especially through the prayers of absolution that we offer. Then on Sunday, we’ll celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints, which begins our steady march to the end of our liturgical year (notice the increasingly apocalyptic tone our appointed scripture will take this month). This is also the day we recall the great cloud of witnesses whose lives, while ended on this side of heaven, continue to inspire us to make the most of our own days on earth. We’ll celebrate the sacrament of baptism, too, as we initiate a new member into our Christian community, recalling our new life in Christ as well as our death to sin. 

See what I mean? Life and death cannot be detached from each other. As you move through this week, I invite you to be present to what is currently passing away in your life, nearing its end. Acknowledge what you are ready to let die as well as call to mind who and what you have already bid farewell to in the past. Then, pray for the blessings of God on all that has come before you as well as for the new life that awaits you with the passing of each moment. God calls all things into new life, but it is through death that all things must pass first.

—Mtr. Murphy-Gill

Community Thanksgiving Dinner

Sunday, November 19

Last year we reinstituted our Community Thanksgiving Dinner. Based on what we learned in 2022 and in keeping with previous practices, the Outreach Committee wants to invite the entire parish to support this central outreach offering.

The Community Thanksgiving Dinner will take place on Sunday, November 19 from 3 - 4:30 PM. Guests will enter through the garden into Wheeler Hall, where dinner will be served in take-out containers. Please note that there are three distinct ways for you to support the Community Thanksgiving Dinner:

·         Sunday, November 19 from 10 AM – 1 PM Help prepare side dishes (mashed potatoes and green beans) and pre-pack desserts

·         Sunday, November 19 from 2 – 5PM Help set up, serve, and clean up from dinner service

·         Any time until Sunday, November 19 Make a monetary donation to help cover our dinner costs. Please include a memo on your check, envelope, or online donation indicating your contribution to the Thanksgiving Dinner.

If you have any questions or wish to learn more about the dinner, please contact Father de la Torre.

Vestry Nominating Committee Meeting

Sunday, November 19

The vestry nominating committee will be meeting on Sunday, November 19, following the 11 AM Mass. The committee will gather to nominate candidates to begin serving on vestry starting in 2024. We are presently looking for one parishioner to serve on the nominating committee.

In 2024, there will be five vestry positions to fill:

·         3 three-year term positions

·         1 two-year term position

·         1 one-year term position

If you’re interested in serving on the nominating committee or you are interested in serving on vestry, please contact LaVerne Saunders: lavernerollesaunders@gmail.com

Announcing Ascension’s Fall Formation Program

In honor of the season of harvest and plenty, our fall formation and Christian Ed programming will include three consecutive weeks of conversation around food and faith. A tasty lunch will be provided for each gathering. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend for some delicious discussions.

Sunday, October 29 

Following the 11 a.m. Solemn Mass

Let Us Break Bread Together Week 1: The Extraordinary in the Ordinary, 

A Conversation with Mother Murphy-Gill, author of The Sacred Life of Bread

Copies of Mtr. Murphy-Gill's book are now available for $10 which will go to Ascension's monthly food pantry.

Sunday, November 5 

Following the 11 a.m. Solemn Mass

Let Us Break Bread Together Week 2: Food and Hospitality in the Old Testament

Sunday, November 12 

Following the 11 a.m. Solemn Mass

Let Us Break Bread Together Week 3: Eating Rituals in the New Testament

with Fr. Shane Patrick Gormley



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.



Did you know that you can donate flowers for Sunday’s Mass? 

Donations may be given in memory of departed loved ones or in thanksgiving for a birthday, anniversary, or an important milestone. Flowers may be donated at the High Altar, the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Shrine of St. Michael, and the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. If you’re interested in donating flowers, please see the sign-up sheet in its new location: on the table in the back of the church closest to the door. 

You can also make a flower donations online by visiting Ascension's PayPal page. Once you’ve made your donation, please email the parish office any personal dedications.

The donation amount to cover the cost of flowers on the High Altar is $50 and for flowers on any one of the Shrines the amount is $30.

Winter Coats Needed

With temperatures dropping, migrants newly arriving in the city are in much need of warm coats. Consider this your cue to rummage through your coat closets and discern what you no longer need. We can take coats of all sizes and for all genders.

To arrange a drop off, please contact Liz Kohlbeck, coordinator of Chrys’ Closet at 920-254-4735.



For our prayers

Lillian Alexander, Stephanie Hendrickson, Charlie Boemer, Collin Sugg, Robert Pischke, Ruby Woods, Derek Petite, Florence Jones Clanton, Michael Curry, David Schrader,

Stuy Peabody, Leslie Smebak Gormley, Jim Drury, Rachel Smolinski, Sarah Reece Glanman, The Quevedo family, Suzanne Dines, John Schram, MB Hwang, Juanita Malone, David S. Jones, Richard Francis Tracz, Victor Fernandez, Claire Green, Beth Hall, Sue Lenz, Brenda Martins 

Birthdays

Cynthia Perrizo, 10/30; Fr. Robert Petite, 11/2

Requiescat in pace

The victims of the mass shooting in Maine; Earmy Nailor, 10/31/2023; Chuck Kelley, Ronald Wilson, Dolly Cherny, Thomas Wikman, 10/10/2023; John W. Cracraft, Priest, 1st Rector, 10/31/1899; Alice Louise Stoskopf, 11/2/1951

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 November 5, 2023

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

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

8:00 a.m. Morning Prayer via FACEBOOK LIVE

6:00 p.m. Evening Prayer via Zoom

WEDNESDAYS

6:30 p.m. Said Mass

VIA YOUTUBE or FACEBOOK LIVE

Wardens and Vestry of Church of the Ascension

LaVerne Rollé Saunders, Sr. Warden;

SeniorWarden@AscensionChicago.org

David Reeves, Jr. Warden;

JuniorWarden@AscensionChicago.org

Ian Barillas-McEntee, Jim Lo Bello, Ken Cozette, Marlea Edinger, Sean Hansen,

David A. Robertson, Elizabeth Simpson, Joshua Simpson, Samuel Sommers, Clerk



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.