Illustration from the early-1970s  Vie de Jesus Mafa
missionary outreach initiative  in Cameroon, Central Africa
Sunday, November 11

7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer  
8:00 a.m. Said Mass (Rite I)
9:00 a.m. Sung Mass 
11:00 a.m. Solemn High Mass 

Missa in tempore belli
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)




" A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins,
which are worth a penny ." Mark 12:42



This Week at Ascension + November 7 , 2018

 
IN THIS NEWSLETTER

From the Rector
Also from the Rector
Community Thanksgiving Dinner News
New Sales Tax Certificate Available
Saturday Work Day on November 10, 9:30 a.m.
Sharing Lunch, Sharing Blessings
Help us using your Facebook Posts
Coffee (Hour) Anyone?
Ascension Book Group: November
This Sunday at Ascension
The Parish Prayer List
Jazz Vespers at 1st St. Paul
Approved Vestry Minutes Online
The Last Word

FROM THE RECTOR

Election Announcement
 
" No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise.
Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst
form of Government except for all those other forms
that have been tried from time to time ."
-   Winston Churchill
 
Dear people of Ascension,
 
    My timing may seem poor if today you are suffering from an election night binge-watching hangover. Or my timing may be excellent if you caught the theme of citizen participation in the mid-term election cycle. In any case, I'm here announcing our January 29, 2019, parish annual meeting and elections.
   Our Episcopal Church, as some of you know, peculiarly combines and holds in tension both hierarchical and participatory forms of leadership and authority. We have Bishops, and our Rectors have significantly more authority than, say, Lutheran or Presbyterian counterparts.
   But the Episcopal Church came about as a result of the American Revolution and the autonomy of the colonies from England. William White, the first and the fourth Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church wrote as follows in 1782 of the orphaned Anglican congregations in America: "... it would seem, that their future continuance can be provided for only by voluntary associations for union and good government."
     Lay participation and leadership in the life of the church have since then always significantly contributed to the Episcopal Church's voluntary associations for union and good government-from our every-three-year national General Convention right down to the parish level.
     Some additional information about our own upcoming annual meeting and election may be found below. I trust it reflects the fact that Wardens and Vestry members and I have sought over the past few years to make our nominations, elections and all aspects of our annual meeting smoother, more transparent and more participatory. A good model for participation only works, however, if parishioners ... participate. Please do.




ALSO FROM THE RECTOR
Annual Meeting Election Information
 
● My thanks to Cliff Green, Jim Drury, Ken Kelling, Tim Kowalski and Cynthia Perrizo for agreeing to serve on the Vestry's Nominating Committee and for convening a first meeting two days ago. Please contact any or all of them with your questions or thoughts.

 
● "Should we present a single slate or multiple candidates?" For a variety of reasons the Nominating Committee seems inclined to present a single slate but open to additional candidates, subject to parishioners actively taking part in the nominating process.
 
● Link here for the nominating form if you wish to nominate a fellow member or yourself to serve on the Vestry or as Warden.
 
Your stewardship responses before Thanksgiving will be greatly appreciated. Please link here to view and print a 2019 pledge card. Paper copies are available at the church or call or email the church office to have one mailed. You may also make a pledge by providing the information in a confidential email to the church treasurer at finance@ascensionchicago.org
Congratulations to Ascension Choirmaster Benjamin Rivera for being appointed as Guest Conductor for the coming season of the prestigious William Ferris Chorale . (Longtime Artistic Director and Conductor Paul French stepped down in 2016.) The Chorale's season will begin with a Christmas Wonder Concert, December 1 & 2 . Dr. Rivera also continues his role as Chorus Conductor of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra and has been preparing the chorus for the performance this coming Saturday evening, November 10, of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem .
What? Another 'War Requiem'? Yes, this coming Sunday the Ascension Choir will offer Haydn's Missa in tempore belli . Both the Fort Wayne performance just mentioned and the repertoire here at Ascension (and many commemorations in diverse media globally) are meant to draw attention to the 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day, on which World War I combat ceased.
 
The poignant photo below captures a 2014 visit by Queen Elizabeth II to an installation at the Tower of London titled Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Blood. Coinciding with the centenary of the beginning of WWI, the installation consisted of 888,246 ceramic red poppies, each intended to represent one British or Colonial serviceman killed in the War.
 

 
We'll end Sunday's Prayers of the People with a Prayer Book Collect for Peace (p. 258) and I encourage you to pause and pray it now:
 
Almighty God, kindle, we pray, in every heart the true love of peace, and guide with your wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth, that in tranquility your dominion may increase until the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A record of the souls whom we remembered at our All Souls Requiem Mass may be found here. My thanks to all who took part and made it a memorable and meaningful mass. Please send an email or make a call to the parish office if the list includes errors or if you believe there are omissions.
COMMUNITY THANKSGIVING DINNER

It's not too late, so save the date!  We need volunteers to help prepare and serve the Thanksgiving Dinner for our Neighbors on Sunday, November 18 .  Helpers are also needed for set-up at 10:30 Saturday, November 17, and donations of carved, roasted turkeys (prepared by you or by your favorite grocer) are welcome.  If you haven't gotten around to signing up on the poster in Wheeler Hall, please  contact  Carol Noren or Bob Rarick to let us know how you'd like to participate. You can also support our efforts by contributing to the cost of the dinner. Make checks payable to Church of the Ascension and in the memo field, write "Thanksgiving dinner."

NEW TAX EXEMPT CERTIFICATE AVAILABLE

News from Church of the Ascension's Treasurer

The Diocese of Chicago has acquired a NEW Sales Tax Exemption Certificate. If you purchase materials for use by Church of the Ascension, you will need this new certificate. The former letter will no longer work. You may pick up a new certificate in the church office.

SATURDAY WORKDAY on NOVEMBER 10, 9:30 a.m.

Come one, come all to the Fall Workday! Bring garden shoes, garden gloves and any handy garden tools (rakes, clippers, trowels) to church on Saturday, November 10. The fountain has been covered, the plants are yellowing, and we need to prepare our garden for winter days ahead. Coffee and donuts will be ready at 9:30 a.m. Then we begin raking leaves, removing summer plants and bulbs, trimming trees and bushes, planting spring tulips, and laying down some protective soil and mulch. Some indoor cleaning projects are also planned. Many hands make light work!
SHARING LUNCH, SHARING  BLESSINGS

The 2nd Wednesday of November is fast approaching!
November 14th is the day to "think lasagna!" We will gather in St. Michael Hall after the 12:05 mass. Lots of lasagna (meat and veggie varieties) plus warm bread, crudites and cookies will nourish body and soul. Be prepared to share a few thoughts about a memorable saint--saints of the church or saints you have encountered in your own life. This informal time together can bring many blessings! Contact Cheryl Peterson at 773-322-7995 with any questions.

HELP US USING YOUR FACEBOOK POSTS

We at Church of the Ascension are coming into a very busy season, and request your help with Facebook. Please "share" our posts to your Timeline.
In addition, please remember to "check in" each Sunday or when attending a Church of the Ascension event. When the church posts events, please say "you are going." ~ DiAnne Walsh
 

COFFEE (Hour) ANYONE?

The latest sign-up sheet for hosting a Church of the Ascension Sunday Coffee Hour is now available in Wheeler Hall. Please pick your favorite November or December Sunday and volunteer for this important ministry of hospitality.
 

ASCENSION BOOK GROUP


For November the Ascension Book Group will be reading
Thomas Wingfold, Curate (1876) by George MacDonald (1824-1905).  





THIS SUNDAY AT ASCENSION

The  Sunday Lectionary readings ,  Schedules of Acolytes, Lectors & Ushers as well as Hymnody, Motets and Organ Voluntaries for  Sunday, November 11, 2018 may be found by clicking  here . 

The Lector's Pronunciation Guide may be found here .

THE PARISH PRAYER LIST

Please remember these people in your daily prayers
Geoffrey Wainwright, Charlene MacDougal, Fr. John Graham, Dorothy Murray, Mary Lou Devens, Doreen Finn, Ronna Case, Michael Milano, Thomas Holden, Brenton Boitse, Charley Taylor, Marlea Edinger, David Belding, Jr., August 'Augie' Alonzo, Ann Halikas, Helena Wilson, Emily Cole, Mthr. Judith Marie OSA, Burton Nelson, Fr. Richard Daly, James, Keith, Kenvert Samuel, Carnola Malone.

Pray in thanksgiving
For the upcoming marriage of Allie Metcalf & Jack McLarty, Saturday, October 10, 2018.

Prayers for the departed
Prayers are requested for the repose of the soul of Delores Peter, aunt of DiAnne Walsh.
Prayers are requested for the repose of the soul of Robert White, father of David White.
Prayers are requested for the repose of the soul of  Sharon Przybocki , friend of Carol Noren.

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.
 
JAZZ VESPERS AT 1st SAINT PAUL'S
An invitation from our Lutheran neighbors ... THIS SATURDAY ...


APPROVED VESTRY MINUTES ONLINE

The Approved Minutes of Vestry meetings are now available online to parishioners who request the link.  If you would like Internet access to the Approved Vestry Minutes, please email the  Church Office and request the link. 
 
Once you access the web page, you can read all recent Approved Vestry Minutes.  In addition, if you click on the subscribe button at the top right, you will be given email notice whenever a new set of Approved Minutes is added. 

THE LAST WORD


   The Tragic Condition of the Statue of Liberty

By Bernadette Mayer

 

 

                                     A collaboration with Emma Lazarus
 
Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Give me your gentrificatees of the Lower East Side including all the well-       heeled young Europeans who'll take apartments without leases

Give me your landlords, give me your cooperators

Give me the guys who sell the food and the computers to the public
     schools in District One

Give me the IRS-FBI-CIA men who don't take election day off

Give me the certain members of the school board & give me the district           superintendent

Give me all the greedy members of both american & foreign capitalist             religious sects

Give me the parents of the punk people

Give me the guy who puts those stickers in the Rice Krispies

Give me the doctor who thinks his time is more valuable than mine and
     my daughter's & the time of all the other non-doctors in this world

Give me the mayor, his mansion, and the president & his white house

Give me the cops who laugh and sneer at meetings where they demonstrate
     the new uses of mace and robots instead of the old murder against               people  who are being evicted

Give me the landlord's sleazy lawyers and the deal-making judges in
     housing court & give me the landlord's arsonist

Give me the known & unknown big important rich guys who now bank on
     our quaint neighborhood

Give me, forgive me, the writers who have already or want to write
     bestsellers in this country

Together we will go to restore Ellis Island, ravaged for years by wind,
     weather and vandals

I was surprised and saddened when I heard that the Statue of Liberty was
     in such a serious state of disrepair & I want to help

This is the most generous contribution I can afford.
 
-       From Up Late: American Poetry since 1970, Four Walls Eight Windows Press, 1987.
 

 Calvary Episcopal Church, Wadesboro, North Carolina


Fr. Patrick Raymond,         praymond@ascensionchicago.org
Rector

Susan Schlough,                finance@ascensionchicago.org
Treasurer

Parish Office                      office@ascensionchicago.org