This Week at Ascension + September 28, 2022

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

Wednesday, September 28

Wednesday in Proper 21 (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 2, 2022

The Solemnity of Saint Michael and All Angels

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.

3:30 p.m. Organ Recital by David White

In the observance of the bicentennial of his birth,

the next in the series of performances of the Complete Organ Works of César-Auguste Franck

4 p.m. Choral Evensong and

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

with The Choir of the Ascension

Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)

Evening service in Bb (1879)

Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848-1918)

My soul, there is a country, from Songs of Farewell (1918)

David White (b. 1959)

O salutaris Hostia & Tantum ergo (2017)

Click to join us VIA YOUTUBE or VIA FACEBOOK LIVE

Image: Archangel Michael, Half of a diptych, ivory, early Byzantine, c 525-550

From the Interim Rector

Saint Michael and All Angels

The date commemorating Saint Michael and All Angels is 29 September. It marks the start of Ascension’s “academic year”, when the choir returns for Solemn High Mass and Solemn Choral Evensong and Benediction. It is also called “Michaelmas”, a shortening of “Michael Mass”. As it is the feast day of our patron, we are permitted to transfer it to the next Sunday. This year we will commemorate Michael on 2 October.

In the NRSV translation of the Bible, “angel” occurs 328 times. Of those, 104 are found in the Old Testament, 178 in the New Testament, and 46 in the Apocrypha. The winner, by far, for the most mentions is the Revelation to John, with 75 mentions. It is in Revelation that Michael is cast as the leader of the angels: (Rev 12:7-8)

And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 

To my knowledge, there are only three other angels that are named in scripture: Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel.

The Greek word “ἄγγελος” is the source of our English word, “Angel”. In both Hebrew and Greek, the source words mean “messenger”.  These “messengers of God” show up frequently. They carry messages, they report on what they see, they act on behalf of God. Whether they appear and talk with Abraham and Sarah at the Oaks of Mamre, rain down destruction on Sodom, or announce to Mary the coming of Jesus, angels carry out the will of God. 

Michael the Archangel, our patron, led the angels of heaven into battle with the dragon, ultimately defeating and evicting them from heaven. Our parish was founded under the protection of Michael, and our cornerstone reads, “In honor of the ever blessed Trinity and under the invocation of St. Michael the Archangel…”

—Fr. Heard

Parish Picnic

The Parish Picnic will return this coming Sunday, October 2, after the 11:00 Solemn High Mass. The church will provide hot dogs and hamburgers, with the rest of our meal being provided by everyone else. Weather permitting, we’ll be in the Garden. This Sunday will also herald the return of the Choir of Ascension at eleven o’clock. An organ recital starts at 3:30 PM followed by Solemn Evensong and Benediction. We’ll make it a full and glorious day at Ascension – please invite others to join us!

Use this link to indicate which accompanying dish you are willing to provide.

From the Choirmaster

Dear friends,

The summer is a special time for me and my work at Ascension. I sing most Sundays, and when I’m elsewhere visiting family or on vacation, members of our fantastic choir assume leadership duties. It is a welcome change of pace after a densely-packed choir term. And yet, every year I look forward to the fall, when the full ensemble returns, and we bring back our traditional mix of repertoire. Our first Sunday back is, as always, a celebration of Michaelmas, our patronal feast. But in addition, we will be marking the passing of Queen Elizabeth and the ascent of King Charles by offering an all-British program for both the morning’s Solemn High Mass and the afternoon’s Evensong. I hope you’ll join us for one or both of these services, which will include music by Howells, Parry, Stanford, and Vaughan Williams.

Peace to you all,

Benjamin

Food Pantry, Saturday, October 1

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 9:00 am and start distributing them at 11 a.m. We need the most help between 9:00 and 11 am, 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, and enjoy some fellowship as well.

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 cozetteken@yahoo.com

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 cperrizo@ascensionchicago.org or Jay Jacot at jayjacot@gmail.com if you have questions and/or would like to volunteer.

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 2, 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: Gianna Marie Keller, 9/26/2006; Miles Rieman, 9/27;

Jason Kanazawa, 9/29; John H. Hedley, 10/1

Anniversaries: Trever Peterson & Paloma McDonnell, marriage, 9/26/2020

Requiescat in pace: Gertrude Stentiford, Religious, 9/25/1983;

Robert Peerling Coale, 9/27/2006; Scott D. Thatcher, 9/27/2008; Rita P. Abbott, 9/27/2013;

Robina Cooper Johnson, 9/29/2014; Ella Saunders, 9/30/2012

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

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.