Trinity Sunday
June 7
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via Zoom

9:00 a.m. Live-Streamed Mass
via Zoom

10:15 a.m. Rosary via Zoom

11:00 a.m. Bring Your Pets or Pics Virtual Coffee Hour via Zoom




WHAT'S NEW, Part I (ongoing!)
WEEKDAY MORNING PRAYER
Join us for Morning Prayer, Mondays through Saturdays at 8:00 a.m. on Facebook Live. We've created  a dedicated group as part of Ascension's Facebook page here  where you can find these videos. (Or navigate from the Ascension Facebook page by clicking on "Groups" at the left side of the screen.) Pray with us while watching live or while visiting the videos later. If, having seen these, you find that you'd like to officiate, please reach out to Br. Jonathan Wheat, SMJ (pictured here) or MB Hwang .
WHAT'S NEW, Part II (once only!)
Bring Your Pet to Coffee Hour: Sunday, June 7
As we gather for Zoom meetings, we occasionally encounter unexpected visitors—our pets. We can’t stop what we are doing, especially when saying the Office, but it would be nice to introduce our pets.

So on Sunday, June 7, we will have that opportunity during our virtual Coffee Hour at 11:00. Please bring your pets so we can meet them. If you had pets that are no longer with us, bring pictures. It’ll be fun. I'll be hosting and, with or without pets, I look forward to seeing you there. - Cynthia Perrizo
FROM THE RECTOR
Dear people of Ascension,

As I explained and anticipated in a Pentecost Weekend Special Edition newsletter , I'm presently away from the parish. In my absence, Father Bob Petite  and  Father Alonzo Pruitt  will minister at times that I have recently been offering masses:
Trinity Sunday, June 7, 9:00 a.m.
Father Petite will offer a
stay-at-home low mass via Zoom .
He'll be assisted by his husband,
the Rev. Mark Tabbut,
a Presbyterian pastor.


This evening,
Wednesday, June 3, 6:30 p.m. and
Wednesday, June 10, 6:30 p.m.
(also via Zoom )
Father Pruitt will offer a reflection
(on themes of his choice)
and will welcome your responses,
questions and fellowship.

I am presently uncertain about plans for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Sunday, June 14, but at minimum I believe I will be able to arrange for at least some respectful semblance of a mass and, separately, for your remote adoration of the Sacrament.

Peculiar and difficult as these times are being in so many ways, I've been blessed to note among us an increased and more widespread sense of mutual concern. The kind notes and thanks I've received from a number of you have meant a great deal and kept me going. I look forward to being safely back with you later next week.




PS One more icon below ... 'INTERESTED'. You may recognize it from our Facebook Events page. If you let us know that you are interested, you'll also be letting your own Facebook followers know. And, who knows ... ?
Guidelines from the Bishop's Task Force for Re-Entering our Church Buildings have been shared with all clergy and congregations in the past 24 hours. You may read all or parts of the document by clicking here. Our own Ascension task force will now be translating the guidance from the diocese into our own place and circumstances. Our parish task force members include Mary Beth Hwang, Patrick Johnston, Carol Noren, Br. Nathanael Rahm, BSG, and Benjamin Rivera , also the Wardens and me. We anticipate reaching out to others for counsel and assistance with regard to numerous matters. Please share your interests or questions.
FROM THE CHOIRMASTER

Dear friends,

Given the backdrop of unrest in our city and across the country, it seems appropriate that choir members have been working on a recording of Mendelssohn’s setting of Luther’s text,  Verleih uns Frieden . Luther’s German text was a poetic translation of a centuries-old Latin hymn,  Da pacem Domine , which appears in English in older editions of the Book of Common Prayer as follows:
Give peace in our time, O Lord.
Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God.

You will most likely recognize a later version of this text from Evening Prayer (Rite 1):
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in thee can we live in safety.

Whether you prefer the more active or the more passive construction of this prayer, please continue to pray and work for the safety and peace of all people, especially those who are marginalized and most at risk.

And for those who wish to celebrate Trinity Sunday in true Anglican style, here is a link to a full  Te Deum laudamus , set by Stanford in 1879. We last sang this “cathedral classic” at Ascension on Trinity Sunday, 2017.

Peace,
Benjamin

Ascension Connections
(with your click and God's help)
Weekly Ascension Schedule
for the (stay-at-home) time being

SUNDAYS
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via Zoom
9:00 a.m. Mass via Facebook LIVE
10:15 a.m. Scripture reflection via Zoom
11:00 a.m. Virtual Coffee Hour via Zoom
Also: David White Organ Recital (YouTube)

MONDAY-FRIDAY
6:10 p.m. Evening Prayer via Zoom

WEDNESDAYS
6:30 p.m. Low Mass via Facebook LIVE
Masks for our Pantry Guests
Join in giving thanks for the parishioner who single-handedly sewed 165 masks to share with our pantry guests this Saturday. And thanks to Deacon Charles Farrell for agreeing to include these masks in Ziploc bags with Chicago Shares vouchers for our guests. For the safety of all, we will again refrain from usual volunteer participation (to prepare and share grocery bags and lunches) and interacting with guests at the door. The distribution will again take place outdoors, at the garden gate.
In case you missed it:
Feast of Pentecost

Choir and Organ Music Fest

Evening Prayer via Zoom
Mondays-Fridays, 6:10 p.m.
Please note the addition of
Evening Prayer on Fridays!

AND NOW ALSO ...
For those already Zooming: please heed the repeated Zoom requests to UPDATE YOUR ACCOUNT. Due to important security upgrades, Zoom will begin requiring everyone to connect using the latest version of the Zoom client app after May 30. If you're not already using the latest version (5.0), you will eventually be prompted to upgrade when you connect.  If you'd like to ensure a smoother transition, you can also update ahead of time by clicking here to to download the latest version.

For the Novice, Newbie, or tech-challenged : It may be easier than you know . We've simplified instructions on the sheet that you can view by clicking here. Please know that you can block your camera (and don't need one to start with), and you could join our Scripture study or Virtual Coffee Hour, for instance, without having to say a word. Give it a try.
Please give generously as you are able.
Treasurer Susan Schlough has asked me to remind you of Ascension's ongoing expenses at this time. To the extent that you are able, payment on your pledges or the offering of Holy Day or other special gifts will be greatly appreciated. You may still write a check and mail it to the church, or online payment is possible through the buttons at various places on our website. Thank you!
THE PARISH PRAYER LIST
For all businesses, schools, public institutions, and especially at this time all religious congregations facing questions of opening, welcoming, timing and safety.
 
For the unrest and violence in Minneapolis and now throughout our nation, including in our own City of Chicago, following the recent death of George Floyd; for our national courage and wisdom in addressing all matters related to race and racism; for those entrusted with restoring order.
 
For Charley Taylor, August 'Augie' Alonzo, Jim Berger, Ethel Martin, Yuka Asai, Dean Pineda, Carnola Malone, Charlene MacDougal, Patricia Johnston, Stewart Marks, Char Yurema, Mary Drell, Jim Lo Bello, Steve Waltz, Mary Lou Devens, Marty Stenson, Donna Neglia, John Brower, Steve, Peter Bergman, Catriana Patriarca, Noah and Clem, Jessica, Jim Wilson, Ricardo Carillo, Maxim Richard Fleer, Ted Long, Ken Kelling, Beth Hall
 
Recent/Upcoming Birthdays : Kelly Colomberti, 6/1; Owen Raymond, 6/1; Jim Wilson, 6/2; Trevor Taylor, 6/2; Judith Cook, 6/4; Pedro Illás, 6/4; Bill Flodin, 6/11; Jim Lo Bello, 6/11; Katie DuClos, 6/12; Jim Lenz, 6/13; Fr. Gary Lawler, 6/13; Christopher McKee, 6/14; Ricardo Avila, 6/15; David Knox, 6/20; David Jones, 6/28; Michael Malone, 6/29
 
Prayers for the departed :
All who have died due to complications of COVID-19
   and for
Jack Johnston (5/15)
Curley Woods
George Floyd


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. Amen.

THE LAST WORD

TRINITY
Frederick Buechner

THE MUCH-MALIGNED doctrine of the Trinity is an assertion that, appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, there is only one God.  
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit mean that the mystery beyond us, the mystery among us, and the mystery within us are all the same mystery. Thus the Trinity is a way of saying something about us and the way we experience God.  
The Trinity is also a way of saying something about God and the way he is within himself, i.e., God does not need the Creation in order to have something to love because within himself love happens. In other words, the love God is is love not as a noun but as a verb. This verb is reflexive as well as transitive.  
If the idea of God as both Three and One seems far-fetched and obfuscating, look in the mirror someday. 
There is (a) the interior life known only to yourself and those you choose to communicate it to (the Father). There is (b) the visible face which in some measure reflects that inner life (the Son). And there is (c) the invisible power you have in order to communicate that interior life in such a way that others do not merely know about it, but know it in the sense of its becoming part of who they are (the Holy Spirit). Yet what you are looking at in the mirror is clearly and indivisibly the one and only You.

- Originally published in  Wishful Thinking   

Below: ‘Allegory of the Trinity,’ image with three faces, a Medieval fresco in Perugia, Italy.
The Very Rev. Patrick Raymond, Rector

Susan Schlough, Treasurer

Br. Nathanael Deward Rahm BSG, Parish Office