This Week at Ascension + October 5, 2022

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

Wednesday, October 5

Wednesday in Proper 22 (Feria)

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

Sunday, October 9, 2022

The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via ZOOM

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

with Organ and Hymns

11:00 a.m. In-person & Live-streamed

Solemn High Mass

followed by our Parish Picnic (see below)

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

Click to join us VIA YOUTUBE or VIA FACEBOOK LIVE

Jesus heals the ten lepers and one turns back, praising God, German, Codex Aureus of Echternach, c. 1030,

Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg

The Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary will be prayed at the Shrine of Saint Mary the Virgin immediately following the 11 a.m. Solemn High Mass. All are invited to join.

From the Curate

Nearly 15 years ago, I traveled to Assisi while on a month-long excursion through Italy to study Christian history and spirituality through art and architecture. It was January, and stepping off the train we’d taken from Rome to Assisi, I inhaled deeply the cold, crisp air tinged with the scent of woodsmoke, a delightful shift from the smells of Rome, where cigarette smoke seemed to cling to everything. Whenever the Feast of St. Francis rolls around the first week of October, I recall that memory, its recollection aided by the seasonal shift we experience this time of year in Chicago.

I’d prayed in front of the Blessed Sacrament before, but it was in Assisi where I first felt spiritually transformed in my adoration. We prayed Vespers with Franciscan monks in an unheated dark chapel, so chilly I could see my breath, and the host gleamed like a full moon. Spending my days walking through the same town where Francis (arguably one of the most well-known saints) also walked transformed me as well. I have not been the same since. It was in Assisi where I learned to truly praise Brother Sun and Sister Moon, as Francis addressed all of creation in his glorious Canticle of the Creatures. It was in this small Italian town, situated in the gorgeous region of Umbria where I began to understand God’s creation as evidence of divine Love.

Franciscan spirituality is an incarnational spirituality—a way of recognizing the presence of God in all the “stuff” of our lives. It is a way of encountering the living God that we understand well at Ascension. Consider the way our hearts are lifted by the vibrations of air in our choir’s voices or the curls of smoke that billow through the sanctuary during a Solemn High Mass. 

This Saturday at the Division Street Farmers Market, we’ll have an opportunity to practice that incarnational spirituality in a way that moves out of our sanctuary and into the neighborhood, offering praise and thanksgiving for our fellow blessed creatures of God whom we call pets. We’ll have Francis medals for market goers to put on their pets’ collars as reminders of their blessedness, and Fr. Heard and I will pray blessings for any animal who visits, even via a smartphone photo. 

I hope you’ll join us this weekend, either bringing your own pets or by helping greet visitors to our table, as we bring a little bit of Ascension out into the neighborhood.

—Mtr. Murphy-Gill

Please consider making a donation to Episcopal Relief & Development's Hurricane Relief Fund and help their partners and dioceses reach vulnerable communities devastated by Hurricane Ian and other catastrophic storms. As they continue to assess ongoing needs in impacted areas, your urgent gift will enable them to respond now — and in the long run to aid in recovery. Click here to donate.

From the Organist

2022 marks the bicentennial of the birth of great Belgian composer César-Auguste Franck (1822-1890).  

When Franck was born in Liege, he was a citizen of The United Kingdom of the Netherlands, in what is modern-day Belgium. He had quite a prolific career as a composer from an early age, but only to a relatively small audience. In January, 1858, he was appointed Organiste Titulaire of the Basilica of St. Clotilde in Paris, a position he held for the rest of his life, and in 1872, adopted French citizenship.  During his long tenure there, the science, the artistry, and the possibilities of organ-playing changed and expanded a great deal.

Organist Emeritus, Dr. David Schrader, and I will be offering the Complete Works of Franck during this 2022-2023 Choir Term. I have already presented several of the early works, as well as the standard masterpieces, and David will be playing two major works on the Feast of Christ the King on November 20. We will complete the series between now and June of next year. 

Last Sunday, as we opened our ‘22-‘23 Choir Term, I offered a pre-Benediction recital of Franck works, both juvenile and mature, both widely-known and rarely-performed. Between now and June of next year, David and I, in recitals, and as voluntaries at Mass, will offer all the available organ works of Franck in commemoration of the 1822 bicentennial. The value of the recent publication of Franck’s letters to fellow organists has been invaluable in discerning the composer’s original and ongoing intentions with the passage of time, and with the influence of Franck’s increasing celebrity and career-importance. We are all indeed indebted to Lyrebird Music’s fine new scholarly edition of Franck’s letters and organ scores. 

Organist David White will perform (or has already performed)

 - much of La Organiste

 - two versions of the Pastorale in E

 - the original version of the Final in Bb

 - the Prière in c# minor

 - the A Minor Choral

 - the Grand Piece Symphonique

 - seven of the previously-unpublished student works

 - the works published posthumously 

Organist Emeritus David Schrader will perform

 - the Pièce Heroique

 - the Prélude, Fugue, and Variation

 - the E Major Choral

 - the B Minor Choral

 - several of the early works

A few pictures taken by George Pineda at last Sunday's

Church of the Ascension Picnic

New Ascension Parking Stickers

Ascension will be issuing new parking stickers to replace the current blue ones. Applications are hard copy only and, unless special arrangements are made, can be picked up from a Sunday morning usher and then submitted in person to clergy, Sunday usher or at the church office. Completed applications with accompanying signature and date assure compliance with all requirements, limitations and responsibilities listed on the application form. New stickers will be mailed within two weeks of approval by the vestry. The current Blue stickers will no longer be valid after Nov 30, 2022.

Please contact Ken Cozette with questions: 630-660-5293 or [email protected]

Blessing of Animals, Saturday, October 8th 

We will have a table at the Division Street Farmers Market for pet blessings from 9 am to noon, October 8 and are in need volunteers to help set up and welcome four-legged friends for a blessing. We’ll meet at the church at 8:30 am. If you are able to volunteer, please email Mtr. Murphy-Gill. 

If you aren’t able to help, please stop by the market anyway with your pets or a picture! You can also get involved by picking up a flyer at the church (or printing one yourself) and sharing it with others. 

Chicago Marathon Hospitality,

Sunday, October 9th

Come show marathon spectators a warm welcome with coffee and donuts, before Mass on Sunday, October 9. We’re planning to put our best face forward with bells, cassocks, and asperges for those who want a blessing. We’ll need help with coffee and setting up beginning at 6:30 a.m. and assistance handing out coffee and showing hospitality during the 9 a.m. Mass.

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 [email protected] or Jay Jacot at [email protected] if you have questions and/or would like to volunteer.

Bible Study, Friday at 10 am ... No, Really!

Join in a study of the Book of Revelation this Friday

at 10 am via Zoom with nearby St. Chrysostom’s.

White Rider from Tolkovy Apocalyps, Moscow, 17th Century

From the Rector Search Committee

Hello! Greetings from the Search Committee. Although you haven’t received a report for a while, we have been working. We are preparing the documents that the Diocese will post online for potential candidates to consider. Our goal is to accurately reflect “who we are.”

In the meantime, please pray for guidance for our parish. The prayer below from the Book of Common Prayer, p.818, is right on point.

Almighty God, giver of every good gift: look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a rector for this parish, that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer Requests

Organ and Choral Repertoire for October 9, 2022

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

Birthdays: Mtr. Meghan Murphy-Gill, 10/2; Trevor Anton Peterson, 10/3;

Anthony William Clark, 10/3; Michael J. Vales, 10/4; Ralph Vara, 10/4;

Richard William Connaughton, 10/5; Deacon Charles Farrell, 10/7

Requiescat in pace: Gary Peter Fertig, priest, 15th Rector, 10/2/2014;

Adelle M. Norén, 10/7/2003; Gladys Schlough, 10/8/2009

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.



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

[email protected]

Br. Nathanael Deward Rahm BSG, Parish Office

[email protected]

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.