This Week at Ascension + March 27, 2024

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

Wednesday, March 27

Wednesday in Holy Week

(Spy Wednesday)

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

Image: Judas Iscariot (c. 1886-1894) by James Tissot

Thursday, March 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.

7 p.m. Bulletin may be found here.

Friday, March 29

Good Friday

12 p.m. Stations of the Cross

7 p.m. Good Friday Liturgy

7 p.m. Bulletin may be found here.

Saturday, March 30

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

Saturday, March 30

8 p.m. The Great Vigil

& First Mass of Easter

Don't forget to bring your bells

for the Great Noise.

The Sunday of the Resurrection:

Easter Day

March 31, 2024

7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via Zoom

9 a.m. Sung Mass

11 a.m. Solemn Mass,

In-person & Live-streamed

Click to join us VIA YOUTUBE

or VIA FACEBOOK LIVE

Image: Resurrection Rosary Window, Church of the Ascension

The Parish Offices will be closed on Easter Monday.

However, the weekday Mass schedule for the Octave of Easter

will not be affected by the closure.

12 p.m. on Monday & Friday; 8 a.m. on Tuesday & Thursday;

6:30 p.m. on Wednesday

From the Rector

On Maundy Thursday, we commemorate our Lord’s institution of the Holy Eucharist. Emphasized in the mass’ propers, hymns, readings, and collect of the day: “Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood …” In tandem, we observe our Lord’s Commandment given to us that same night: “Love one another just as I have loved you … by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” 

To further ground us in the celebratory nature of our Lord’s institution of the mass, we’ll be returning to the older use of white vestments for Maundy Thursday. We will also hear the Gloria at this mass – a practice predominantly preserved in Anglo-Catholic parishes. Sonically, this might be the most striking difference from previous years. Yet, it’s important to remember that the Gloria is in fact said (or sung) in Lent on the Feast of Saint Joseph and the Annunciation. The Gloria appears on Maundy Thursday as a pleasant bud before its full return at the Great Vigil and First Mass of Easter. At the footwashing ceremony, anyone who wishes to have their feet washed will be invited to participate. This year only the Sacred Ministers will participate in washing people’s feet. 

On Good Friday, with great devotion and sorrow we remember our Lord’s crucifixion. The stillness and somberness of this liturgy is palpable. This year we will be returning to the older use of black vestments on Good Friday. A color otherwise reserved for requiems and associated with mourning, the black grounds us in the tragic dimension of our Lord’s death as we await the emptiness of the tomb.

It's important to remember that unlike our other Holy Week liturgies, the Good Friday liturgy does not consist of a mass. Good Friday is the only day of the year in which the mass is not said. In the old days, the Good Friday liturgy was referred to as a “Mass of the Presanctified,” that is, a liturgy in which the Holy Eucharist is not celebrated but received from the Reserved Sacrament at the Altar of Repose. In keeping with the distinctiveness of this liturgy, as ascribed in older Anglo-Catholic manuals, the reading and epistle will not be introduced as they are at mass (A reading from the Book of …) and the response (The Word of the Lord) will be omitted. As noted in the 1894 edition of Ritual Notes: “[On Good Friday,] there should be no Introit, and if it be usual to say Deo gratias after the Epistle, it should be omitted, as well as the Laus Tibi at the end of the Gospel.”

The rituals and practices of Holy Week have greatly evolved and changed since the reforms of 1955. One of the greatest reforms in our part of the Body of Christ was the introduction of the Holy Week liturgies in the 1979 Prayer Book. As Anglo-Catholics in The Episcopal Church, we are committed to the rites and texts of the 1979 Prayer Book. But we also belong to a branch of the Church with a particular heritage and tradition, and a distinct and historic practice of offering the Holy Week liturgies.

As we tap into the wellspring of the Catholic faith, experiencing certain rituals and practices for the first time or for the first time in many years, my sincere hope is that the liturgies of Holy Week will allow you to know our Lord more intimately. That they will serve as your compass and guide as we journey with our Lord to the Upper Room, the Cross, and the Empty Tomb.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Carlos de la Torre

ESL at Ascension 

Following in the tradition of Sister Barbara, OSA, who for decades offered ESL courses at the convent, Emily Bange will begin to offer a free ESL class on Wednesdays at 12 p.m. at Church of the Ascension. The class will mainly serve Spanish-speaking newcomers who are clients at St. Chrysostom’s Closet, which is also open on Wednesdays. The initial class will run for 10 weeks and serve 14 students. Emily is a newcomer as well, a new parishioner at Church of the Ascension, and she has become involved as a volunteer at Chrys’ Closet. As a Spanish and ESL teacher, she hopes that this ESL class will be another way for her to utilize her skills to serve the wider community.

Good Friday Offering to Support the Church in Jerusalem

At the urging of a parishioner and by unanimous approval of the Vestry, the offering collected at Ascension on Good Friday will be designated for the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. 

“As we mark our Lord’s passion and death on Good Friday, we remember those whom he loves facing injustice and oppression today, and remember the urgency of love—true, sacrificial love,” writes Presiding Bishop Michael Curry in his annual Lent letter to Episcopal churches. 

A 102-year-old tradition of the Episcopal Church and rooted in St. Paul’s collection of money for the poor in Jerusalem (1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8-9; Rom 15:14-32), the tradition of designating the Good Friday collection lives on today and has particular resonance in a year when our hearts break for all who are, as Bishop Curry put it in his letter, “caught in the crossfire . . . in the land where our Lord walked.” You are encouraged to give generously for this worthwhile cause. 

Additionally, a concert will be livestreamed from Christ and St. Luke’s Church, Norfolk, in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia, when you can also make an offering. That event takes place at 2 pm Central time and can be viewed here. 

Please reach out to Fr. de la Torre or Mtr. Murphy-Gill 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.

Consider being a Coffee Hour host

There are spots available for hosting Coffee Hour after either Sunday Mass! Look for the 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, Suzanne Dines, MB Hwang, Juanita Malone, David S. Jones, Richard Francis Tracz, Victor Fernandez, Claire Green, Beth Hall, Sue Lenz, Brenda Martins

Birthday

Robert Temple, 3/25; Susanne Lenz, 3/26; Ken Kelling, 3/29; Enrique Vilaseco, 3/29

Anniversary

Rod & Adriana Luery, Marriage, 3/26/2007

Requiescat in pace

Henry Klages Jr., 2/11/2024; Douglas Alan Poe, 3/25/1998;

Oscar Patrick, 3/27/2004; Edward Maruoka, 3/28/1990; Louise Kellogg White, 3/29/2006

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 31, 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.