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This Week at Ascension + February 26, 2025
"Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." - Psalm 96
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And on March 2 in the Afternoon
3:30 p.m. Organ Recital by *
David White
works by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
and Charles-Arnould Tournemire (1870-1939)
4 p.m. Choral Evensong
and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
Canticles: Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
New College Service (1949)
Anthem: Pawel Łukaszewski (b. 1968)
Alleluia, from Musica Sacra (2016)
Find the Bulletin here
Followed by a Dessert Reception in the Narthex.
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Ash Wednesday
March 5, 2025
8 a.m. Low Mass & Imposition of Ashes
12 p.m. Low Mass & Imposition of Ashes
7 p.m. Solemn High Mass & Imposition of Ashes
pictured: Fr. F. William Orrick, Ash Wednesday, ca. 1965
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Stations of the Cross &
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
March 7, 14, 21 & 28, April 4 & 11
at 6 p.m.
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Ascension Food Pantry is
Saturday, March 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 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 way of the Cross, and enjoy some fellowship as well.
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Weekday Mass Schedule
12 p.m. on Monday & Friday
8 a.m. on Tuesday & Thursday
6:30 p.m. on Wednesday
View the Wednesday 6:30 p.m. Live-stream Mass here
VIA YOUTUBE or FACEBOOK LIVE
Weekday Offices
7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via Zoom
6:00 p.m. Evening Prayer via Zoom
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VIEW FROM BESIDE THE ALTAR – From the Senior Warden
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:28
No where is St. Paul’s pronouncement to the Galatians more beautifully manifested than by Ascension’s acolytes. Our backgrounds include the converted, cradle Episcopalians, individuals who have transferred from various Protestant denominations, both the young and, well, let us say older, and unlike our Roman Catholic friends, female as well as male in equal roles. Yet, given these diverse backgrounds, we are robed in identical garments on Sunday mornings to perform a unified liturgical choreography anchored in a profound commitment to our shared Anglo-Catholic traditions. This lovely band of servers is blessed further by a moving sense of comradery and by the leadership of our gentle and coaxing Verger Mary Beth Hwang.
Before taking our places, acolytes uncover the Altar and credence table and organize
the elements for communion. Before the Mass begins, acolytes light candles, beginning from the top of the reredos and ending by lighting the candles flanking the tabernacle. By this order, as one Ascension acolyte summarized with a poetic and handy mnemonic device, “we are lighting a runway from top to bottom to welcome God and his Angels to our heavenly portal.” At the termination of Mass, the candles are extinguished in reverse order. All the movements and gestures of the acolytes from entry to the closing procession are equally pregnant. Nothing done is excessive and all is rich in meaning or purposeful.
Many from our small parish have served in these various capacities - torchbearer,
crucifer, acolyte, thurifer - and know the joy this offers. It is not only a unique
perspective beside the Altar, but it engages us in singular and active participation in our highly participatory Masses where clergy, altar party and congregation are all called to enact, by their positions in the nave and sanctuary, Ascension’s sacred rites, “…joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven….” Blessings to our acolytes for lighting the way.
David Robertson
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Lenten Faith Formation:
The Pastoral Offices: Unction, Reconciliation, and Burial
March 16, 23, & 30 at 12:45 p.m.
The Church's Pastoral Offices impart a unique sacramental grace, providing counsel and strength for the Christian journey. Please join us for a three-week series as we explore their theological, pastoral, and liturgical framework. A hearty lunch will be provided.
March 16 - Unction and Ministration to the Sick and Dying
Presentation by Father Petite
March 23 - Reconciliation of a Penitent (Confession)
Presentation by Father Poore
March 30 - Burial of the Dead
Presentation by Father de la Torre
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2025 Acolyte Day
Acolytes, please join us for our 2025 Acolyte Day on Sunday, March 2 after the 11 a.m. Mass. Lunch will be provided, and we'll enjoy an afternoon of fellowship and training together as we honor and give thanks for your service at the altar. All acolytes are welcome, whether you serve often or occasionally. Mark your calendars and expect more details soon!
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From the Organist
Maître Louis Vierne, A Solemn Mass, A Parisian Monument, and Two Organs
On Saturday 8 December 1901 -- the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary -- Paris and the world heard for the first time the grand Messe Solennelle by the thirty-one year old organist and composer Louis Jules Vierne (1870-1937).
Beginning work in April 1899, Vierne, the great neo-Romanticist, had originally conceived the Mass with large-size orchestra, but the work premiered that noon at the Church of Saint-Sulpice instead employed the two magnificent organs of that great building, (re)designed and (re)built by the legendary Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in 1862 (the enormous Great Organ at the rear of the church) and 1856 (the Choir Organ near the sanctuary), respectively, the smaller organ played by the composer at the premiere.
As a sort of au revoir to opulent settings of this nature -- as Lent begins a week from today -- our wonderful choir under Dr. Benjamin Rivera will offer it this Sunday as the setting for our 11 a.m. Solemn High Mass. I will be playing from the original 1900 printing of the score with the clearly-delineated parts for both the Grand Orgue and the Orgue d’Choeur, making my interpolation of both parts for (obviously) only one instrument. This Mass was last heard at Ascension in 2017.
Vierne very much had in his “mind’s ear” the difference and the distance between the two organs at opposite ends of the huge building. We are so blessed to have an instrument which can fairly authentically recreate the sounds heard that day. Also heard will be another famous work by Vierne, exploring the whole range of organ sounds, as well as a short musique de salon piece by Vierne's younger brother, René, who tragically was killed at only 39 in World War I.
Be ready! As the Collect for Purity concludes, and the Kyrie eleison begins, the Grand Orgue announces herself in “grand” fashion, indeed! Enjoy!
David White
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In the footsteps of St. James:
from Pillar of Strength to Field of Stars
Experiencing the Camino
October 13-24, 2025
As part of St James Cathedral, Chicago’s Sesquicentennial Celebration, Dean Lisa Hackney-James will lead a 10-day pilgrimage, following the Camino de Santiago (The Way of Saint James) and culminating at the Cathedral Santiago de Compostela.
The Dean will be assisted in leading the pilgrimage by Alvaro de Salas Gimenez de Azcarate, Consul General of Spain to the United States. He will provide translation and help us experience the Camino through the eyes of a local. We will stop in Zaragoza to visit a site lesser known in the United States, but a major pilgrimage destination for Christians in Spain: the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar (pictured above), which commemorates an apparition of Mary, Jesus’s mother, whose likeness appeared to James as he knelt and prayed on the banks of the River Ebro.
Click Here for more information.
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New Online Coffee Hour Sign-Up Sheet
If you're looking for a way to give back and support Ascension's robust parish life, we hope you'll consider serving as a coffee hour host. With our new online sign-up sheet, it's now easier than ever to sign-up for coffee hour : https://tinyurl.com/y66pztfz. A hard copy continues to be available in Wheeler Hall, and will be updated and reprinted every week to prevent accidental "double bookings."
So, what does hosting coffee hour entail? We ask that you set-up, provide and prepare snacks, and clean up Wheeler Hall. You can provide any food items you wish and there are always pastries available in the freezer for easy thawing. Coffee and cold beverages are provided by the church. Reimbursement funds are available for coffee hour expenses, but please make sure to provide a receipt in order to complete a reimbursement request.
If you have any questions about hosting coffee hour, please speak to Father de la Torre or Hospitality Committee members Josh or Ellie Simpson, LaVerne Saunders or Carol Noren. They will be glad to help and guide you.
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Donate Flowers in the Coming Year
2025 flower sign-up sheets are now available on the table in the narthex. 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 Saint Michael the Archangel, and the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. If you’re interested in donating flowers, please see the sign-up sheet on the table in the back of the church.
You can also make a flower donation online by visiting Ascension's PayPal page. Once you’ve made your donation, please email the parish office any personal dedications. As of January 1, 2025, the donation amount to cover the cost of flowers on the High Altar is $65 and on any one of the Shrines the amount is $35.
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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 the Parish Office.
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.
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For our prayers
Roséo Soria, Herm Laninga and the Laninga Family, Steven Cooksey, Mark Shuldiner, Seán Hansen, Arlina Perez, Bekah Hurty, Samuel Gibbons, Nate Cole, Ed Blatz, Bonnie Joseph, Kelly Callahan Turcy, Kristin Harrison, Lois Peterson, Fredo Caliva, Ruby Woods, Grace Ellen Rivera, Malcolm Wood, Carolyn Wiggins, Marlea Edinger, Elizabeth McLaughlin, MB Hwang, Juanita Malone, Richard Francis Tracz, Victor Fernandez, Claire Green, Beth Hall, Brenda Martins
Birthdays
Nancy Pardee, 2/25
Requiescat in pace
Matt Laninga, Rosario Vargas, 2/24/2012; Nancy Alice Holub, 2/25/1994;
Patricia Wilson Laibly, 2/26/2018; James C. Krulish, 2/27/2008
Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them;
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
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Organ and Choral Repertoire for
March 2, 2025
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ORGAN
Cathédrales, op. 55
Louis Jules Vierne (1870-1937)
Opening Hymn
137 WAREHAM
At the Offertory
ORIEL
At the Communion
MARYTON (9 a.m.)
133 ELMHURST (11 a.m.)
Closing Hymn
559 DULCE CARMEN
ORGAN
Postlude-Sortie [1915]
René-Ambroise Vierne (1878-1918)
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Messe solennelle, op.16 (1899)
Louis Vierne
(1870-1937)
Fratres ego enim accepi,
for double choir
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
(c. 1525-1594)
O nata lux à5
Thomas Tallis
(c. 1505-1585)
The Gregorian Chant Propers from Graduale Romanum
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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
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Ascension Connections
(with your click and God's help)
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Weekly Ascension Schedule
For connections:
via Zoom (click here)
SUNDAYS
7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via Zoom
9 a.m. Sung Mass
11 a.m. Solemn High Mass
VIA YOUTUBE or FACEBOOK LIVE
MONDAY-FRIDAY
7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via Zoom
6 p.m. Evening Prayer via Zoom
Weekday Low 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
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The Rev. Carlos de la Torre, Rector
cdelatorre@ascensionchicago.org
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Wardens
David A. Robertson, Sr. Warden
drobertson@ascensionchicago.org
Victoria Dvonch, Jr. Warden
vdvonch@ascensionchicago.org
Vestry
Ken Cozette, Ellie Simpson, Samuel Sommers (Clerk), 2026
Nancy Pardee, Jay Peterson, DiAnne Walsh, 2027
Jim Drury, Alexis Sarkisian, Andrew Smith, 2028
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.
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