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St. Bridget of Sweden having a vision in which a fire from heaven descends upon the altar during Mass and the host changes into the Christ-child, Illuminated breviary, Naples, c. 1390-1400 Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Netherlands) |
All Souls' Day
Saturday, Nov 2nd
Morning Prayer at 9:30 a.m.
Sung Requiem Mass at 10:00 a.m.
with the Ascension Schola
The Solemnity of All Saints
Sunday, Nov 3rd
7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
8:00 a.m. Low Mass (Rite I)
Nursery available, 8:45 a.m.
9:00 a.m. Sung Mass
11:00 a.m.
Procession
& Solemn High Mass
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This Week at Ascension + October 30, 2019
IN THIS NEWSLETTER
Why Ascension?
From the Rector
Community Harvest Meal Volunteer Opportunities
Sharing Lunch, Sharing Blessings
Last Sunday's Sermon
Upcoming Mass Commemoration
This Sunday at Ascension
The Parish Prayer List
Approved Vestry Minutes Online
The Last Word
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Kathryn Bacasmot
and Grady Parker
Worshiping and Serving at Ascension since 2017
Why Ascension?
 We made the decision to join the Church of the Ascension because of the church's Anglo-Catholic theology and the beauty and tradition expressed in its liturgy and music. Being part of a congregation that pursues the ideals of the Oxford Movement matters deeply to us. We are blessed to be in a community that is working to steward that unique heritage of beauty and orthodoxy for future generations.
What pleased us most in the last year?
This has truly been a tremendous year for the Church of the Ascension, with so many different blessings! For us, the most personally rewarding development has been the opportunity to get more involved in the practical side of parish life. From ushering to helping out with the Society of Mary, we keep finding that the more we get involved the more we see the innumerable ways that Christ is at work in this parish. These experiences have unquestionably enriched our lives and deepened our understanding and appreciation of Ascension's distinguished past, present, and future.
Dear people of Ascension,
This week marks the official beginning of our 2020 Stewardship Campaign. We ask you to consider how you will give of your time, talent, and treasure in the coming year to benefit the ongoing mission of Church of the Ascension.
You'll receive a letter in the coming days outlining the work of the parish over the last year and asking you to contribute to our future worship and service here in this place.
As part of this year's appeal, we've invited several members to share with us some of the reasons why they have made Ascension their parish home. Special thanks to Kathryn and Grady for kicking off this series! We hope their testimonials and those of others will inspire you to think about your own involvement in 2020 and beyond.
David Reeves and Gary Alexander, Stewardship Co-Chairs
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 My special thanks to Gary Alexander and David Reeves for agreeing to lead our 2020 Stewardship appeal.
I join them in thanking Kathryn and Grady for their reflections, above. And I join all who may be curious about other voices in weeks to come. Your questions about stewardship, pledges, special gifts and/or the parish's finances may be directed to the Wardens, Treasurer, Vestry members or me.
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Please take note of the times for the Vigil and Requiem Mass for the Rt. Rev. James Winchester Montgomery
, widely known as the IX Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago and also locally known as a longtime friend of and priest to the
Ascension parish family.
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My thanks to all who took part last Thursday, October 24, in the Requiem mass and burial of Dorothy Murray, and my special thanks to Fr. John Heschle, Warden of the Order of St. Anne,
for presiding at the mass, offering a meaningful and apt homily that you may read here and later presiding as well at the graveside Committal.
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A fine and meaningful time was had by all at the Society of Mary fall gathering this past Saturday, October 26.
Parishioner George Pineda prepared and served a Filipino-themed breakfast and was rewarded (or maybe not?) by being elected to a two-year term as Ward Secretary.
Next up for the Society of Mary
- a commemoration and celebration of the Immaculate Conception, Saturday evening, December 7. A rosary, mass and feast are anticipated. Further details will be announced as the time nears.
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Some Open House Chicago Follow-Up!
I was pleased to search Instagram and find that some Ascension photos were posted to various accounts following Open House Chicago, including these ...
And then came a lovely note from one of our OHC visitors named Max Grinnell. I learned that he curates a lovely website, very Ascension-esque, http://www.theurbanologist.com.
Also, we had copies of our Ascension history available to OHC Guests
... but I felt that new readers may want to know what's happened since 1982, the last year covered in the history. I wrote a very brief supplement, printed it, and inserted it in the back of the give-away books. I believe that such a supplement should be included from here on out, but I'm not sure what form it should take, and I welcome anyone interested to both read what I've created and/or to help with a better version of it.
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Fr. Patrick Raymond
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COMMUNITY HARVEST MEAL
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
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Are you tired of sending turkeys to Washington? Then send one to Church of the Ascension! We need two to four more turkeys, and we need even more volunteer workers for our Community Harvest Meal, which will be held on Sunday, November 24, 2019, after the 11:00 a.m. Solemn High Mass. In particular, we need the following help: 6 table hosts (you will dine with our guests), 2 pumpkin pie servers, 2 take-out order servers, 1 coffee and tea manager, and clean-up help to clear St. Michael's Hall after the meal. Volunteers will be needed on Sunday, November 24, in the kitchen by 10:00 a.m. To volunteer, send an email to
James Baran or
David Robertson, or sign up on the new sign-up sheet posted in Wheeler Hall (note: please write your full name). We also welcome financial contributions to underwrite the cost of the groceries; checks should be made out to the church, indicating in the memo line "Thanksgiving dinner fund".
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SHARING LUNCH, SHARING BLESSINGS
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Our November gathering is scheduled for Wednesday, November 13 following the weekly mass at 12:00. Be sure to bring a hearty appetite because there will be lots of hearty food. The menu features oven-roasted beef and gravy, roasted potatoes and carrots, spinach salad, and pumpkin cake. No one will go home hungry!
The special theme for discussion will focus on "Little Moments that Matter." Our lives often seem to revolve around large events or annual celebrations that provide the major milestones for our work, our families and our faith. But there are always those smaller events/people/places/words--
sometimes totally random and frequently unexpected--that shape us and guide us. Find a little moment to share that you hope might be a blessing to other members of our group.
Questions? Contact Cheryl Peterson at 773-322-7995.
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 Thank you, Fr. Lawler (here shown with Society of Mary convener and secretary George Pineda,) for serving at Ascension and for taking part in Saturday's SOM fall gathering.
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Wednesday, October 30th
Commemoration of
St. Simon & St. Jude
(Tr.)
Apostles
6:10 p.m. Evening Prayer
6:30 p.m. Said Mass
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- The Rosary follows the 11:00 a.m. Solemn High Mass. All are welcome.
- 3:30pm Organ Recital by David White
- (Bach-Known and Unknown, works of Johann Sebastian Bach)
- 4:00pm Choral Evensong
- (William Byrd (c. 1540-1623) Magnificat and Nunc dimittis from Short Service
- Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) Justorum animae)
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Please remember these people in your daily prayers
Geoffrey Wainwright, Fr. John Graham, Dorothy Murray, Mary Lou Devens, Michael Milano, Charley Taylor, August 'Augie' Alonzo, Ted Long, Jim Berger, Ethel Martin, Yuka Asai, Dean Pineda, Bazelais Suy, Carnola Malone, Charlene MacDougal, Pablo Illás, Doreen Finn, Monica, Donnie Richmond, Jim, Jack Johnston, Patricia Johnston, George, Joshua Simpson, Andy
Prayers for the departed
Prayers are requested for the repose of the soul of
The Rt. Rev. James Winchester Montgomery,
Ninth Bishop of Chicago
Prayers are requested for the repose of the souls of
Ben Jameson
and
Scott Socquet,
cousins of Jenna Jones
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.
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APPROVED VESTRY MINUTES ONLINE
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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.
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I imagine I've shared the following poem here in the past, maybe more than once, maybe before, as now, in anticipation of All Souls Day and Sunday's Solemnity of All Saints. Even so, I often return to and never tire of it. Hope it finds a good landing place in and for you.
- Fr. Raymond
Watching Sandhill Cranes
by William Stafford
Spirits among us have departed-friends,
relatives, neighbors: we can't find them.
If we search and call, the sky merely waits.
Then some day here come the cranes
planing in from cloud or mist-sharp,
lonely spears, awkwardly graceful.
They reach for the land; they stalk
the ploughed fields, not letting us near,
not quite our own, not quite the world's.
People go by and pull over to watch. They
peer and point and wonder. It is because
these travelers, these far wanderers,
plane down and yearn in a reaching
flight. They extend our life,
piercing through space to reappear
quietly, undeniably, where we are.
"Watching Sandhill Cranes" by William Stafford,
from Even In Quiet Places. © Confluence Press, 1996. Reprinted with permission of the author.
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Sandhill Cranes,
woodblock print, Andrea Rich.
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Stay Connected
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Nominations to serve as a Member or Warden on the 2020 Vestry are now being received. 
