This Week at Ascension + October 4, 2023

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

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Commemoration of Francis of Assisi

Evening Prayer

at 6:00 p.m. via ZOOM



In-person and Live-streamed

Said Mass at 6:30 p.m.

Unction available for those who wish it.

VIA YOUTUBE or FACEBOOK LIVE

Saturday, October 7

is Food Pantry (& Deacon Charles Farrell's Birthday)

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 Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 22)

Sunday, October 8, 2023

7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via ZOOM

9 a.m. Sung Mass

11 a.m. Solemn Mass -

In-person & Live-streamed

followed by the Second Sunday Rosary

The 11 a.m. Order of Worship may be found here.

Image: Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen, Maarten Van Valckenborg (1535-1612),

Oil on Canvas, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

Click to join us VIA YOUTUBE

or VIA FACEBOOK LIVE

From the Curate

Every year, when the Feast of St. Francis rolls around in early October, I recall the trip I took almost a decade and a half ago to Assisi while doing theological studies at a Roman Catholic seminary. (I shared last year with you a story about a particularly holy experience of Adoration with the Franciscans.) The month-long exploration of Christian history and spirituality through art and architecture took us through Rome, Ravenna, Florence, and Assisi, which proved to be my favorite stop. If you’ve ever been to Umbria, the region of Italy where Assisi sits, you know that it’s no wonder that the saint associated with creation, the environment, and animals hails from this area of immense natural beauty. 

Like most movements throughout history, Francis’ call to simplicity to the point of poverty and total reliance on the generosity of others (features of a mendicant order, of which the Franciscans are) was largely in response to society’s growing interest in opulence and wealth. The “back to nature” approach was based on the idea that God alone provides and does so abundantly. In his Canticle of the Creatures, Francis praises all that God has made, from Sister Moon and Brother Sun, and counts Wind, Water, Fire, and Mother Earth, as siblings of ours in God’s creation, all called forth to serve God and each other in blessed harmony.

We usually remember the life of St. Francis each year with pet blessings, a tradition I love for how it reminds us that, while we’re called as stewards of creation, we are not alone in it (please see below in the newsletter for details on how to participate in our pet blessings at the Division St. Farmers Market this Saturday, October 7). 

But we can honor the life of St. Francis by looking at our own society’s increasing obsession with the accumulation of wealth and luxury and listening to how God is calling us to witness to the abundance that God alone can provide. With economic and climate refugees fleeing their homes in order that they may simply live, we can pray to St. Francis to help us to understand what it means to live more simply, in harmony with Brother Sun and Sister Moon and our brothers and sisters in need. 

“Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility.”

—Mtr. Murphy-Gill

Thanks to the efforts of Carol Noren and George Pineda, we have several great photos taken at Fr. de la Torre's September 29, 2023 Institution.

You may view Carol's pics here.

You may view George's pics here.

Stewarding Our Resources

“All Christians are but God’s stewards. Everything we have is on loan from the Lord, entrusted to us for a while to use in serving Him.” – John MacArthur

We all have access to different resources, or as St. Paul says in I Corinthians, “there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.” 

Weekly Question:

• What resources do you have access to? What is one way you'd like to steward your resources better?
• What resources do we have as a parish community? What is one way we could steward them better?

We would love to hear your thoughts and answers to this weeks stewardship questions via this google form! Here are a few responses from our earlier enquires:

Individual stewardship of time: What is something you could do to steward your time more effectively?

Find ways to encourage others to give of their time and recognize the value and personal reward. Help create flexible times for others to participate.

Communal Stewardship of Time: How do we as a parish steward our time?

As a destination church, it is seemingly difficult to engage a significant proportion of our parishioners in donating their time to church activities beyond attending Mass or helping with coffee hour, flowers, etc.

Communal Stewardship of Time: What is something we could do to steward our time more effectively? 

Devise activities that can be undertaken from home on behalf of the church to engage more parishioner involvement.

“I will place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of Christ. If anything will advance the interests of that kingdom, it shall be given away or kept only in reference to whether giving or keeping will most promote the glory of him to whom I owe all my hopes in time and eternity.” - David Livingstone

“Let every creature rise and bring,

peculiar honors to our King…”(Hymn 544)

Blessing of Animals, October 7th, 9-11 a.m.,

Division Street Farmers Market

In honor of the feast of St. Francis, Ascension will once again have a table at the Division Street Farmers Market (located on Division between Clark and State) on Saturday, October 7th for pet blessings. Please bring your pets and/or let your friends know that we will be there. If a pet is not able to come to the market (think birds/turtles/cats/fish etc.) please know that a picture (printed or digital) can also be blessed. If you would like to volunteer to assist with this fun and meaningful outreach to our 4- and 2-legged neighbors, please contact Gary Alexander at galexander@ascensionchicago.org. We’ll be meeting at 8:30 a.m. at the church and will head over together.



Flower Arranging Workshop

Join a group of current and prospective flower arrangers for the Ascension altar on Saturday, October 7 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Bring a pair of clippers (if you have some) and your enthusiasm for creating vases filled with beautiful flowers! We will gather in the kitchen for instruction on basic techniques and a chance to make some awesome arrangements. Coffee, iced tea, and cookies provided. Contact Cheryl Peterson at 773-322-7995 or cpeterson@ascensionchicago.org for further details.

Chicago Marathon Hospitality, Sunday, October 8th

Hello all!

As you probably know, the Chicago marathon is happening on Sunday, October 8th and will coincide with Mass times. This announcement serves two purposes. Firstly, if you are a 9am Mass congregant, please bear in mind that LaSalle will be closed off to motor vehicles during the duration of the Mass. This may have no bearing on your travel at all, but if it does, please plan ahead. (See information and map below.)

Secondly, we are requesting three to four volunteers to serve at our regular ministry for the marathon. This includes bell ringing, passing out water, and other light tasks. The runners often begin passing Ascension around 8 am, and that continues until close to 10:30. We ask that volunteers arrive around at least 30 minutes early to help set up. If you would like to volunteer, please reach out to Josh Simpson at

jshsimpson1@yahoo.com.

Thank you all and enjoy the rest of your week.

—Josh Simpson

The Marathon will run up La Salle Street and pass directly in front of Church of the Ascension on Sunday, October 8.

All runners have normally passed Ascension by 9 a.m., but roads throughout the area remain congested. The alley gate will be opened for access to the parking lot. (As shown: Clark Street to Elm, west to the alley, south to the parking lot.)

Open House Chicago at the Ascension

October 14-15

The Church of the Ascension has been invited to participate once again in Open House Chicago. This event, Saturday, October 14 and Sunday, October 15, is sponsored by the Chicago Architecture Center. It’s a free festival that offers access to hundreds of sites across Chicago. A complete listing can be found at here.

We have participated twice in Open House Chicago and each time we had 500 visitors. We provide explanatory signs throughout the church and a beautiful brochure describing the architecture, the stained-glass windows and liturgical art in the building. We also offer cookies! There will be 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 welcome 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.

Please Consider Being a Coffee Hour Host

If you are standing in the wings waiting for your invitation to host Coffee Hour, your wait is over. There are spots available! Look for the Oct. thru Dec. 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

Prayer Requests

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, 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. 

Share your prayer requests here.

For our prayers

Ruby Woods, Earmy Nailor, Derek Petite, Florance Jones Clanton, Michael Curry, David Schrader,

Stuy Peabody, Robert, DeDe Frank, Leslie Smebak Gormley, Pam and Hap Hopper, Mike Vales, Jim Drury, Russell Staufenbiel, Patricia Spencer, Rachel Smolinski, Sarah Reece Glanman, The Quevedo family, Suzanne Dines, Lee Gould, John Schram, Gertrude Isaac, Thomas Wikman, MB Hwang, Juanita Malone, Oksana, Tyler, David S. Jones, Richard Francis Tracz, Natalia & Victor, Dorothy, Victor Fernandez, Claire Green, Beth Hall, Sue Lenz, Brenda Martins 

Birthdays:

John H. Hedley, 10/1; Mtr. Meghan Murphy-Gill, 10/2; Trevor Anton Peterson, 10/3;

Anthony William Clark, 10/3; Michael Vales, 10/4; Richard Connaughton, 10/5;

Deacon Charles Farrell, 10/7

Requiescat in pace:

Kip Kohlbeck; Gary Peter Fertig, Priest, 15th Rector, 10/2/2014; Adelle M. Norén, 10/7/2003



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 October 8, 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.