This Week at Ascension + July 26, 2023

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

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Evening Prayer at 6:00 p.m. via ZOOM

In-person and Live-streamed

Said Mass at 6:30 p.m.

Unction will be available for those who wish it.

VIA YOUTUBE or FACEBOOK LIVE

The 9th Sunday after Pentecost

July 30, 2023

7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via ZOOM

9 a.m. Sung Mass

11 a.m. Solemn Mass -

In-person & Live-streamed

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

Image: The Parable of the Mustard Seed, stained glass window, National Cathedral, Washington, DC.

Click to join us VIA YOUTUBE

or VIA FACEBOOK LIVE

From the Wardens

The Wardens are ecstatic to announce

the calling of a new Rector!

After a thorough and discerning 14-month quest, the Search Committee

unanimously recommended to the Vestry and the Vestry overwhelmingly approved of

the selection of Fr. Carlos de la Torre to be the 18th Rector of The Church of the

Ascension. Fr. de la Torre will assume his pastoral and sacramental duties on Sunday,

September 17, 2023. The Search Committee consisted of Cynthia Perrizo and David

Schrader as Co-Chairs, Gary Alexander, Marlea Edinger, Patrick Johnston, David

Reeves, Josh Simpson, Dan Stell as members, and Father Caruso as consultant.

Fr. de la Torre is currently Rector of St. John’s, Bellefonte, an Anglo-Catholic parish in

the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. Previously, Fr. de la Torre served as the Curate of

Christ Church, New Haven, a historic downtown Anglo-Catholic parish in the Diocese of Connecticut. He also served as the Director of St. Hilda’s House, a residential service year program for young adults. Additionally, during his tenure in Connecticut, Fr. de la Torre was a Region Missioner, a Diocesan position aimed to encourage greater collaboration among parishes.

Fr. de la Torre has held several Diocesan and Church-wide appointments. He has

served on the Commission on Ministry in the Diocese of Connecticut and Central

Pennsylvania, was elected as a clergy deputy to the General Convention and was

subsequently appointed to the House of Deputies Committee on the State of the

Church. Fr. de la Torre is a member of various Catholic devotional societies and a priest associate at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.

Fr. de la Torre has a Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary in

Alexandria, Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts from Manhattanville College in Purchase,

New York. We trust you will give him a very warm Ascension welcome when you meet him.

Respectfully submitted,

LaVerne Rollé Saunders

Senior Warden

David E. Reeves

Junior Warden



A Letter from Fr. de la Torre

Dear People of the Church of the Ascension, 

I am honored and excited to be called to serve as your next Rector.

Six years ago on Trinity Sunday, I first walked through the doors of the Church of the Ascension and I was simply in awe. At that mass, the choir and organ filled the church with glorious music, melding with the solemnity of the Catholic liturgy that the Ascension has long been known for throughout the Church. Since then, I have been drawn back to worship at the Ascension each time I have visited Chicago.

While I first decided to put my name into your Rector’s search because of my worship

experiences at the Ascension, it was my conversations with your Search Committee,

Vestry, and parish staff that solidified a sense of call. In every conversation I had, a

profound love and care for the Ascension’s history and traditions was palpable. So was

a deep commitment and desire for Ascension’s future and growth. As I walked through

the church, the buildings, grounds, and neighborhood, and as I worshiped with you on

the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, I began to picture the good work we can continue to do together for the glory and praise of God. 

I eagerly await offering my first mass as your Rector on Sunday, September 17, and

grounding myself in your rich prayer and worship life – which I know is at the heart of

the Ascension. Please keep me in your prayers as I depart from my current parish and

be assured of my daily prayers for the Church of the Ascension. 

Yours in our Risen and Ascended Lord,

Fr. Carlos de la Torre

A link to a recent YouTube interview with Fr. de la Torre by Gary Alexander, COA Minister of Communications, may be found here.

¿Hablas español?

Spanish Translator Needed

If you speak Spanish and have some availability during the week, please email or call Mtr. Murphy-Gill to assist with some translation with the Quevedos. She is specifically looking for someone who can come in on a Tuesday morning or Wednesday afternoon to meet with the family.

Summer Retreat Saturday, July 29

Step out of your busy life from 11 am to 3 pm, Saturday, July 29, to spend some time with yourself, fellow spiritual journeyers, and God. This retreat will take place at Ascension and will be led by Lauren Schwer, Director of Ignatian Spirituality at Loyola University Chicago. We’ll learn how to spend time daily in reflection on God’s presence as well as explore the things in our lives that can prevent us from living the lives that God calls us into. Lunch will be provided. Look for the sign up sheet at coffee hour or you may use this link (so we know how much lunch to order) or email Mtr. Murphy-Gill to RSVP.

Lammas Day Celebrations at St. Luke’s Evanston

Sunday, July 30

On July 30, St. Luke’s in Evanston will celebrate Lammas Day with two special events. Lammas Day—also called Loaf Mass—is a traditional harvest festival marking the midpoint between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox, signaling the beginning of the harvest season.

4-5 p.m. Intergenerational Bread-Making Workshop & Lammas Day Eucharist

5:30-6:30 p.m. Book Talk & Signing with the Rev. Meghan Murphy-Gill 

St. Luke’s will join with St. Augustine’s, Wilmette, and St. Matthew’s and St. Mark’s, Evanston, to offer a family-friendly workshop introducing people of all ages to the spiritual joy of bread-making and a Lammas Day Eucharist with local author, home baker, and Episcopal priest Meghan Murphy-Gill. A community potluck supper will follow.

Following the potluck, Murphy-Gill will discuss her recently-released book, The Sacred Life of Bread: Uncovering the Meaning of an Ordinary Loaf, and sign books. Registration on Eventbrite is requested, though not required.

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, Fr. Heard and 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

Mike Vales, Jim Drury, Sarah Powell, Frances Stiles, Ann Griffen, Russell Staufenbiel, Patricia Spencer, Rachel Smolinski, Sarah Reece Glanman, Sgt. Manuel Arroyo, The Quevedo family,

Andrew Abbott, Suzanne Dines, James Christiansen, Lee Gould, John Schram, Gertrude Isaac, Thomas Wikman, MB Hwang, Juanita Malone, Oksana, Tyler, David S. Jones,

Richard Francis Tracz, Robert Browning, Natalia & Victor, Dorothy, Victor Fernandez,

Claire Green, Beth Hall, Sue Lenz, Brenda Martins 

Birthdays:

John Clifford Hedley, 7/25;

Claire Annette Green, 7/28;

Mateo Rivera, 7/29

In thanksgiving

For the Baptism of Wren Joaquin Peterson, July 23, 2023

Requiescat in pace:

Theodore “Ted” Saunders, 7/24/2022;

Astrid Olivia Felton, 7/25;

Mark Galliher, 7/26/2018;

Carolos Duran Pineda, 7/29/2019;

Doris Williams, 7/29/1989 

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.

Prayer for the Rector Search Committee

Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family. Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent. Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a rector for The Church of the Ascension 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.



Organ and Choral Repertoire for July 30, 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.