THIS WEEK AT ASCENSION + September 2, 2020 |
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"Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." - Psalm 96
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This evening, September 2
Commemoration of
The Martyrs of New Guinea
Evening Prayer 6:00 p.m.
Low Mass, 6:30 p.m.
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Please note unique schedule features for the next two Sundays
Sunday, September 5
14th Sunday after Pentecost
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8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:00 a.m. Live-Streamed Mass
10:15 a.m. Virtual Coffee Hour
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Sunday, September 13
15th Sunday after Pentecost
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Virtual Worship & Fellowship
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:00 a.m. Live-Streamed Mass
(from the church)
10:15 a.m. Virtual Coffee Hour
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One In-Person Mass, 11:00 a.m.
Mass attendance will be limited to 26 persons and will require pre-registration. Please see below and next week's newsletter for more information.
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Expectations
"How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts!
My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God." - Psalm 84:1
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Dear People of Ascension,
What will it be like? I gather you may be asking yourselves that question and preparing for changes as we aim to return to in-person worship on Sunday, September 13, at 11:00 a.m. Expectations, as you know, can make or break our experiences, including those of a mass.
The photo here has been included in the past few newsletters in large part so that you may know what to expect with regard to a critical moment in the mass: your Communion. It won’t resemble any past Communion at Ascension.
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I or another priest will be at the head of the main aisle in the nave, with mask and face shield. A Host will be dropped into your outstretched palm by way of culinary tongs. There will be no chalice. You’ll move to one side, remove your mask, consume the Host, and return to your seat.
Will you feel a blessing for having received the Sacrament? Or will any edification be diminished, perhaps even overcome, by all that is foreign or missing?
Of course I am praying that our in-person masses will be more of a blessing than a disappointment. We'll go for the blessing by retaining what we can that is familiar and reverent and also by giving you information -- here, below and elsewhere -- that may inform your expectations.
As those expectations take shape, please pray for others who will be showing up for our first in-person masses as well as for those who, for whatever reason, will not be present. And please continue to pray for all who have been and continue to be working so hard toward re-opening and to sustain our virtual connections.
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Some Re-Opening Basics
+ The Sunday Schedule starting September 13.
Considering a wide array of factors, our task force has settled on the Sunday schedule indicated below, to begin on September 13. Note that the schedule includes ongoing live-streaming elements and one in-person mass. We will stick to this schedule through mid-October, then evaluate and make changes if needed.
+ 8:30 a.m. Virtual Morning Prayer via Zoom (as at present)
+ 9:00 a.m. Live-Streamed Mass from the church, much as the present format, via Zoom and Facebook Live.
+ 10:15 a.m. Virtual Coffee Hour, subject to willing facilitators.
+ 11: 00 a.m. In-Person said mass with organ voluntaries, in the church.
+ Twenty-Six (26) Communicants in the pews only
Yes, if need be call it a slow opening. Ascension is big in our hearts but in fact a fairly intimate space. Our task force members have agreed that no more than twenty-six persons should be present for any one mass. This number does not include clergy and lay ministers, the organist or our greeter/usher/screener crew.
+ You will need a reservation to take part. Off-putting as that may sound, it's the norm among churches I know that have returned to in-person worship. We are still refining the system so that it will be accurate, timely and fair. Some additional information from Br. Nathanael in the parish office may be found below.
+ The Communion of the People, as noted in my message above, will be significantly different. Tomorrow our task force will consider a draft diagram and suggested practices that comply with the Bishop's directions. You may view that information here.
"You saw it here first ..."
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More from Br. Nathanael, BSG, regarding mass reservations |
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Ascension’s Task Force, formed for implementing the Bishop’s Diocesan Guidelines for re-opening the church for in–person worship, has been hard at work. One of the issues they have been discussing at length is attendance at the in-person Masses. That issue involves seating configurations, how many people can be present for any one mass, and a viable reservations system. With regard to this last matter, here are some things I can share now:
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We will likely be using the reopen.church online reservation system. You may check it out by clicking here.
- At present the plan is to have a hyperlink (to a specific upcoming Sunday mass, at reopen.church) in each Wednesday edition of This Week At Ascension for the upcoming Sunday. The newsletter is usually emailed on Wednesdays by 2:00 p.m. or shortly thereafter.
- We will not normally take phone-in reservations in the church office, and in any event not prior to the sending of the Wednesday newsletter.
- The Task Force has yet to address how to assist those with inadequate or no Internet access.
- The Task Force has yet to address matters of fairness: Should one person who has become adept at the system attend mass regularly when others have had no chance to attend at all?
Thanks for your patience as we seek to address so many important details.
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So many details ...
Such as this hanging rack, built by Sexton George Panice, and intended for acolyte vestments -- to reduce congestion in the sacristy, vestries and adjoining hallways. Like so many re-opening logistics, this photo is mundane but represents quite a bit of time, ingenuity and work.
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Remaining well informed will become increasingly important as we near our reopening target date of September 13. Please keep abreast of newsletter information and consider sharing it with those who may not have the technology to stay current. |
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A date for a requiem mass and committal in the Ascension columbarium for Sr. Barbara Louise, OSA, who entered God' rest August 11, has been set for Friday, Oct. 2, 11 a.m. Seating will be limited and will partly be determined by the Order of St. Anne guest list (if I may call it that). More exact and reliable details will be shared when available as the date nears.
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A date for a requiem mass and committal in the Ascension columbarium for former parishioner John Mulcare, who died March 17, has been set for Saturday, October 3, at 11:00 a.m. Seating will be limited and will partly be determined by the family's guest list (if I may call it that). More exact and reliable details will be shared when available as the date nears.
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I publish the Banns of Marriage between Bonnie Scott and Joseph 'Joey' Keegin, who will be joined in Holy Matrimony on September 19. I bid your prayers for them and their marriage. If any of you know cause, or just impediment, why these two persons should not be joined together in Holy Matrimony, you are to declare it. This is the first time of asking. |
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“I publish the Banns of Marriage between Paloma McDonnell and Trevor Peterson, who will be joined in Holy Matrimony on September 26. I bid your prayers for them and their marriage. If any of you know cause, or just impediment, why these two persons should not be joined together in Holy Matrimony, you are to declare it. This is the first time of asking.
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Yes, but what are the 'Banns of Marriage'?
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Owen Raymond Update. Thanks to all who have inquired about and prayed for our son Owen following his August 20 motorcycle accident and injury in San Francisco. He was discharged from the hospital last Thursday and elected to stay at the home of a friend in San Francisco, where he is receiving good care and being doted on. His surgeon was encouraged by what he saw at a follow-up appointment yesterday but still has concerns about infection and stressed a long recovery road ahead. We are all grateful that injuries are apparently confined to his right lower leg. Brooke or I will be with Owen at the time of a third surgery later in September. Forgive the use of the newsletter for a family matter; I trust you can understand the value of giving the same information to all in the same place and at the same time. |
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Dear friends,
This coming Sunday, September 6th, marks the final Sunday before our scheduled return to the church building for Sunday Mass. However, for several reasons, including the COVID restrictions in place throughout our diocese, the in-person Mass at 11 AM will have no vocal music. The 9 AM Zoom Mass will continue, with the same vocal music components provided by our music staff: portions of the Mass Ordinary, Gregorian Propers, Offertory hymn, and Communion solo. (You are encouraged to sing responses, the Mass Ordinary, and the hymn!) Both Masses will include organ music. If you aren’t yet eager to gather together with others, I hope you will “attend” the 9 AM Mass, either on Zoom or on Facebook Live. As a reminder, if you are unable to view a Mass at its scheduled time, you may find it here on YouTube or here on Facebook.
Peace,
Benjamin
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Sunday's Organ Repertoire |
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Opening Voluntary
Préambule, op. 31, no. 1
Louis Jules Vierne (1870-1937)
At the Offertory
Hymn 577 UBI CARITAS (MURRAY)
Closing Voluntary
Cortège a Augustin Barié, op. 31, no. 2
Louis Jules Vierne
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I regret having to remind you that visits to Ascension, other than for urgent or essential matters or for brief personal devotion in the church, are to be avoided. Another exception: your participation with a mask in the August 22 cleaning crew training. Any (other) visit should be arranged in advance with Br. Nathanael Rahm Thank you for your understanding.
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Due to COVID-19, Church of the Ascension’s Treasurer and Bookkeeper are limiting the amount of time they spend working in the parish offices. All checks received at Ascension via the United States Postal Service, not always a reliable service in our area, will be bank deposited approximately every 4-6 weeks. They will next be here Tuesday, September 8, for several hours beginning by 10 a.m. You may contact the Treasurer by email anytime at Finance@AscensionChicago.org.
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Ascension Connections
Below
(with your click and God's help)
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Meeting ID:
792 031 7452
Password: 1133
Join-by-Phone Option: (312) 626-6799
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Weekly Ascension Schedule
for the (stay-at-home) time being
All connections are
via Zoom (click here)
except for Morning Prayer,
via Facebook (click here).
SUNDAYS
8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
9:00 a.m. Mass
10:15 a.m. Scripture reflection
11:00 a.m. Virtual Coffee Hour
MONDAY-FRIDAY
6:10 p.m. Evening Prayer via Zoom
WEDNESDAYS
6:30 p.m. Low Mass
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Yes, but I still haven't Zoomed ... |
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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!
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For our prayers: Charley Taylor, August 'Augie' Alonzo, Jim Berger, Ethel Martin, Dean Pineda,Charlene MacDougal, Jim Lo Bello, Marty Stenson, Jessica, Maxim, Ted Long, Ken Kelling, David Byerly, Leigh McDonald, Bonnie Joseph, Catriana Patriarca, Robert Devens, Richard Laibly, Tony Payne, Nicholas Carl, Sara, the Howard family, Susan, Owen Raymond, Diane Burnett, Sandra, Rhea
In Thanksgiving
Birthdays: Matt Keller, 8/29; Daniel Vargas, 8/31; Eric Magnuson, 9/1; Dennis Wentz, 9/1
Requiescat in pace: Robert L. Chaney, 8/30/2010; Olga Jonasson, 8/31/2006;
Harry William Knitter, 9/1/2011; Stephen L. Taylor, 9/4/2006; George F. DeWolfe, 9/5/1989
Prayers for the departed: Mary Lou Devens, 8/5/2020; Sr. Barbara Louise OSA, 8/11/2020;
James Govis 8/12/2020; Mike Lazos, 8/16/2020; Michael Shamie, 8/24/2020
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.
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My thanks to Canon Pruitt for leading Morning Prayer on Sunday, August 23, for bringing to our attention for prayers our many present national tragedies, divisions and concerns, and for reintroducing and leading us in the timely Supplication from the
Great Litany in the Book of Common Prayer (p. 154). You may take it to heart and pray it below. Please pray in particular at this time for all the people of Kenosha Wisconsin. - Fr. Raymond +
The Supplication
For use … as a separate devotion; especially in times of war, or of national anxiety, or of disaster.
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O Lord, arise, help us;
And deliver us for thy Name's sake.
O God, we have heard with our ears, and our fathers have declared unto us, the noble works that thou didst in their days, and in the old time before them.
O Lord, arise, help us;
and deliver us for thy Name's sake.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
O Lord, arise, help us;
and deliver us for thy Name's sake.
V. From our enemies defend us, O Christ;
R. Graciously behold our afflictions.
V. With pity behold the sorrows of our hearts;
R. Mercifully forgive the sins of thy people.
V. Favorably with mercy hear our prayers;
R. O Son of David, have mercy upon us.
V. Both now and ever vouchsafe to hear us,
O Christ;
R. Graciously hear us, O Christ; graciously hear us, O Lord Christ.
The Officiant concludes Let us pray.
We humbly beseech thee, O Father, mercifully to look upon our infirmities; and, for the glory of thy Name, turn from us all evil, distress, hatred and sorrow; and grant that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy, and evermore serve thee in holiness and pureness of living, to thy honor and glory; through our only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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The Very Rev. Patrick Raymond, Rector
Susan Schlough, Treasurer
Br. Nathanael Deward Rahm BSG, Parish Office
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