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Please check your email by Saturday night for weather related church closure information!
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*Always use your best judgment about whether or not to make the trip to church. We want you to stay safe and warm!
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Dear Parish family,
I have spent my first month as Senior Warden learning as much as I can about our amazing parish. Ascension has such a deep history and the love for this place that our parishioners have is truly awe-inspiring. In almost every conversation I have had, our church has been referred to as a home, a family, a place of comfort and safety. I cannot tell you how beautiful that is to hear.
With any family, there are times when the behind-the-scenes work gets overlooked or forgotten about - most especially when everything is running smoothly. The image of a duck calmly floating on the pond’s surface while its feet are churning away below comes to mind.
So, I would like to begin our time together by highlighting each incredible volunteer or service opportunity we have in our parish. Not just to draw attention to the hard work that’s being done by our volunteers, but also to shed a little light onto each opportunity to serve. To welcome each and every one of you to reflect on your own relationship to our church. I hope through this series of spotlight articles, you find a new way to engage with the Ascension Parish community!
The group I would like to talk about this week is the Altar Guild.
The Altar Guild is a group of men and women who work almost entirely behind the scenes in any church. But peek into the sacristy on a Sunday after the service, and you will see them hard at work! The Altar Guild’s ministry involves the care of the altar, vestments, vessels, and altar linens of the parish. They prepare the sacraments before each service, and clean up after the Eucharist service. They are responsible for caring for the host and wine, both before and after it has been blessed. The setting of the table, as it were, for our weekly gathering to break bread together.
At Ascension, the Altar Guild is also responsible for the floral arrangements behind the altar, and the window basket arrangements we enjoy during the Christmas and Easter seasons.
Our volunteers work under the direction of Karen Albaugh in teams of two that rotate during the month. Karen is currently looking for new members for this group and the incredibly important service they perform for our community.
If you are interested, or to find out more information about this ministry, please contact Karen Albaugh - kpalba@juno.com
As a final note, if you have any stories about Ascension Parish that you would like to share with me, please feel free to email them to me - oboelynn@gmail.com I would love to hear more about this incredible place where we come together to worship!
Lynn
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Dear Parish family,
We're having a long Epiphany season this year because Easter falls a little later than usual (it's on April 20!). That also means that our seasonal choir has had a well-deserved break after singing so beautifully for Advent, Christmas, and the Feast of the Epiphany.
Our spring choir season will begin on March 2, the first Sunday in March. We'll rehearse this spring on Sundays from 11:30 A.M.-12:15 P.M. (please note the slightly later start time - by popular demand, the choir gets 15 more minutes for after-church coffee!).
We will learn music to sing at three special choral services this spring: Maundy Thursday Mass on April 17 at 7 P.M., Easter Sunday Mass on April 20 at 10 A.M., and an Evensong for the Eve of the Ascension on Wednesday, May 28 at 5 P.M.
If you would like to sing with us this season, and haven't already contacted me, please let me know! There are no auditions for the choir but due to our limited rehearsal time, members do need to know how to read music. The choir is open to singers aged teen and above, and there is no requirement to be a member of Ascension or to attend every rehearsal.
And if you are a listener rather than a choral singer, I hope you will encourage our choir and take advantage of the three lovely choral services we will offer this spring! They're all great opportunities to invite friends to church - perhaps Evensong especially, since it is a very beautiful prayer service which doesn't require a lot of Anglican know-how to enjoy!
Soli Deo gloria,
Emma
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From Our Rector
SuEllen Pommier, PhD., MDiv.
rector@ascensionepiscopalparish.org
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Lenten Book Club
Please join me for a Season of Lent book club. This year's book choice is Receiving Jesus, The Way of Love by Mariann Edgar Budde. This book is currently sold out and on backorder from Church Publishing, although I have a copy. I will produce excerpts from the book for study if we cannot receive individual copies.
We will meet each Sunday morning during the Lenten season in Reinhart Hall from 8:50 until 9:45 A.M. All ages are welcome.
If at least four people sign up for this group, it is a Lenten Go. Contact me if you have any questions or concerns at rector@ascensionepiscopalparish.org. This experience is certain to be a meaningful exploration of our faith.
Mother SuEllen
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This Week At Ascension
February 16, 2025
8 A.M.: Said Mass with The Rev. SuEllen Pommier
10 A.M.: Sung Mass with The Rev. SuEllen Pommier
Next Week
February 23, 2025
8 A.M.: Said Mass with The Rev. SuEllen Pommier
10 A.M.: Sung Mass with The Rev. SuEllen Pommier
Next Month
March 2, 2025
8 A.M.: Said Mass with The Rev. SuEllen Pommier
10 A.M.: Sung Mass with The Rev. SuEllen Pommier
11:30 A.M.: Choir rehearsals begin in Sanctuary
March 4, 2025
5 -7 P.M.: Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper in Reinhart Hall
March 5, 2025
12 P.M.: Ash Wednesday Service with The Rev. SuEllen Pommier
March 9, 2025
8 A.M.: Said Mass with The Rev. SuEllen Pommier
8:50-9:45 A.M.: Lenten Book Club begins in Reinhart Hall
10 A.M.: Sung Mass with The Rev. SuEllen Pommier
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Sunday Service Schedule
8:00 A.M. Said Mass
10:00 A.M. Sung Mass with Hymns
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Get to Know Ellin
This month, get to know a little better Ellin Johnson, long-time parishioner, lay eucharistic minister and lector (pictured right, with her husband Fletcher).
Where did you grow up and where have you lived?
Born in New York City and went to school in Massachusetts and upstate New York.
What was your first job?
Editorial Assistant, women’s magazines, NYC
Have you always been an Episcopalian?
Yes
What else do you do on Sundays?
Paint the walls of our new house, do the NYTimes crossword, and practice tennis overheads
What are you passionate about?
Dental hygiene
What are you really bad at?
Carrying a tune/singing in any form
Hero?
Father Patrick Tompter
Favorite Portland restaurant?
Anywhere my gastrophile husband, Fletcher Johnson, chooses
Favorite book?
Anything by Noam Chomsky
Beethoven or Beatles?
Anything Nan Bode ever played on the organ at Ascension
Best Ascension Memories?
Painting the downstairs bathrooms with Anita Holt, the annual Attic Treasure sale, Quinland Porter singing at my wedding, with Tom and Diane Hussey’s son as acolyte
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An Invitation from Mother SuEllen
I would like to meet with all of you, individually or in small groups. Please know that these chats are important to me, and to the future of this church. We need to know where we are starting from so that we can go forward together.
I am at Ascension Parish on Tuesdays from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. I am also at the church Wednesdays through Fridays, when my schedule varies, so it is best to meet me by appointment. If you would like to schedule a specific time to meet with me, please give me a call at 971-200-0970. Remember, I do make house calls as well. I am here to be of service to you.
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Thank you for your generous donations of household supplies, non-perishable food, clothing, and shoes to our bin in the foyer. Please click below to see the updated wish list for this fall and winter. | | | |
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In Our Prayers
- Moises Guimaraes
- Barbara
- Fr. Steve Norcross
- Tom
- Jean Vanberg
- Ann Hinderschied and family
- Gene
- Kay Johnson
- Quinland
- Hank Barton
- Jesse Cowell
- Ramona Becker
- Bob Turner
If you would like to add a loved one or concern to our prayer list, please contact Kris Vanberg in the office.
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The Collect for The Sixth Sunday After Epiphany: February 16, 2025
O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Lectionary Readings for The Sixth Sunday After Epiphany: February 16, 2025
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Ascension Episcopal Parish | 1823 SW Spring St., Portland, OR 97201
503-227-7806 | office@ascensionepiscopalparish.org www.ascensionepiscopalparish.org | | | | |
