This Week at Ascension + March 24, 2021

"Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." - Psalm 96
With the sending of this newsletter,
(required) pre-registration is now open for all
Holy Week and Easter Liturgies.
Please see additional information and links below.
Join us this evening as we anticipate and celebrate the
Feast of the Annunciation

6:30 p.m. In-person & Live-streamed Mass
followed by the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary

(Those registered for the mass may remain for the rosary.)


Image: The Annunciation rosary window at Church of the Ascension
Sunday, March 28
The Sunday of the Passion:
Palm Sunday

9:30 a.m.
Morning Prayer via Zoom
10:00 a.m. - In-Person &
Live-Streamed Mass with Blessing of Palms, organ, hymn improvisation and
choir motet



Click here to join us for the Liturgy VIA YOUTUBE

11:15 a.m. - Virtual Coffee Hour via Zoom


Triumphal Entry, stained/leaded glass window, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Glen Ellyn, IL

Note: After clicking on the link, you will be able to see how many spots, if any, are still available for a particular mass.

When you register online, you will be sent an email confirming your online registration. This same link will also have a
blue CANCEL THIS RESERVATION tab.
Please note: if you have not yet taken part in an in-person mass, please click here to see some basic information that you will want to know before registering, upon arrival and during and after the mass.

From the Rector
Dear people of Ascension,

I have quite a bit to share with you now without also writing (and expecting you to read) a pastoral message. What follows is a mix of features with elements that some or all may find edifying, heartening and/or time-sensitive. Please take special note of any that invite or suggest your responses. Please pray for one another, for Ascension and for the Church throughout the world as we anticipate Holy Week and Easter.
Updates on pandemic guidance for worship
Last Wednesday, March 17, the Diocese of Chicago issued new guidance for in-person worship in all congregations of our diocese. The newsletter by which the revised guidance was conveyed may be viewed and read in its entirety here. As important as any one point or proposed option is how we will respond and adapt at the local level here at Ascension. I have final responsibility for most related decisions and won't shrink from owning those decisions. However, I aim to make these and other decisions in ways that are pastoral (sensitive to our Ascension context), pragmatic, (mindful of our human resources and limitations) and collaborative (taking into account the wisdom of those responsible for various aspects of our worship and music ministry as well as that of our good wardens and vestry members). Please feel free to share your related questions or observations with me or others along the way.
Ethel Martin + July 14, 1936 - March 8, 2021
Many thanks to all who took part in yesterday's requiem mass for Ethel, and the immediately following committal in our columbarium. Members of Ethel's family thanked me for the faithfulness and beauty of the liturgy and the welcome they'd received. I'm passing that along here! Also, I'm mindful these days that any in-person service 'takes a village,' due to our cleaning and other pandemic-related protocols aimed at keeping all safe, in addition to all that is normally involved: music, bulletin, family support and more. In remarks he made yesterday about his mom, Ethel's son Ricardo Avila said of Ascension, "This has been my second home since I was six-years-old," Those of us who gathered yesterday could feel some of that long history of belonging.
photo: Ken Kelling
Professor Edward Minieka in the NYT
Never in my more than five years at Ascension have I received more texts and emails of a more urgent nature than those alerting me to the lovely March 11 feature story in the New York Times about about longtime Ascension parishioner Edward Minieka. The article from the Theater section is titled He Went to 105 Shows in One Season. Now he watches TV. I know that he has been up to a lot more than TV ... but the article is full of delights, particularly for those acquainted with Edward and who have been guests in his art-filled and artful home. You may read the story here (or find it via a Google search if the provided link does not work).
PRIDE: Who? What? Where? Why? When?
Since I started my ministry at Ascension, in 2016, June Vestry meetings have invariably included questions, and resulting lively conversations related to PRIDE. It tends to start with: Should we or should we not fly a rainbow flag on the day of the parade (or throughout June)? Why or why not? Ten or twenty minutes later the conversation has grown tentacles reaching out to many other aspects of Ascension's members, history and identity. Nothing substantive has yet come of those June Vestry conversations, partly because of sensitivity to parishioner's surprisingly diverse views and partly due to lack of willing leadership. Mostly, though, the inactivity arises from the recognition that anything to be done in any realm of parish life in June should be in the works for weeks or months beforehand. Junior Warden Ken Kelling has recently recapped this a number of times and in a number of contexts and hopes to learn of parishioners' thoughts, interests and willingness -- if possible long before June.

To share your thoughts, interests and willingness to lead or help or show up with regard to matters of PRIDE, please be in touch with Ken by email (click here) or call or text him on the phone number found in the parish directory.
I'm grateful that Brother Jonathan Wheat, CMJ (Community of the Mother of Jesus) has agreed to preach for this evening's Annunciation Mass. Brother Jonathan has been an Ascension parishioner since the summer of 2019. Since early in the pandemic he has been leading Morning Prayer, Monday through Saturday mornings at 7:30 a.m. via Facebook Live, and I'm always grateful to hear the insightful, faithful reflections he often offers after the Gospel readings. Click here if interested to learn more about the Community of the Mother of Jesus or be in touch with Jonathan.
Schedule and Pre-Registration for
Holy Week and Easter Liturgies

The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday
March 28
Morning Prayer, 9:30 a.m. via Zoom.
Liturgy of Palm Sunday, 10:00 a.m.
via YouTube/Facebook and in-person

Wednesday in Holy Week, March 31
Morning Prayer, 7:30 a.m. via Facebook Live
Evening Prayer, 6:00 p.m. via Zoom.
Low Mass, 6:30 p.m. via YouTube/Facebook
Tenebrae, 7:15 p.m. via Zoom

Maundy Thursday, April 1
Morning Prayer, 7:30 a.m. via Facebook Live

Evening Prayer, 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Liturgy of Maundy Thursday, 7:00 p.m.

Watch at the Altar of Repose, in-person following the Liturgy. No pre-registration, but those who take part will be asked to provide name and contact information.

Good Friday, April 2

Stations of the Cross, Noon
in person only, no pre-registration required, but masks will be required.

Evening Prayer, 6:30 p.m.
The Liturgy of Good Friday, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 3

Holy Saturday Liturgy, 10:00 a.m., in the Our Lady of Victory garden,
in person only, no pre-registration required, but masks will be required.

Evening Prayer, 7:30 p.m. via Zoom.

The Great Vigil and First Mass of Easter, 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, April 4
The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ: Easter Day

Morning Prayer, 8:30 a.m. via Zoom

Mass of the Resurrection, 9:00 a.m.
Same mass, same music as the 11:00 a.m. mass.
In-person only, pre-registration required. (Register here beginning March 24)

Mass of the Resurrection, 11:00 a.m.
Same mass, same music as the 9:00 a.m. mass.
Connections updates . . .
We've continue to receive positive feedback and helpful observations regarding our new technology and live-streaming via Ascension's YouTube channel (click here). We continue to use Zoom and/or Facebook Live for the Daily Offices (see the schedule later in this newsletter). Look for more updates in the weeks to come -- for now, we are mainly focusing on week-to-week improvements and employing the technology for our Holy Week and Easter liturgies.
We intend to offer Stations of the Cross in person on Good Friday at Noon. Watch next week's newsletter to learn if we will also be able to live-stream it. The Stations of the Cross rite with mezzo-soprano Cassidy Smith and Organist David White that was recorded in Lent 2020 may be viewed and prayed here. Regrettably, for a number of reasons, we have been unable to share the traditional Lenten Friday evening Stations of the Cross and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at the church in person.
Organ Repertoire for Sunday, March 28
ORGAN
Herzliebster Jesu, op. 122, no. 2
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Valet will ich dir geben  BWV 736
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

At the Procession
Hymn 154 VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN
(pre-recorded)
   
At the Offertory
ORGAN Improvisation on HERZLIEBSTER JESU

At the Communion
Hymn 313 JESU, MEINE ZUVERSICHT
(pre-recorded)

ORGAN
Symphonie-Passion, op. 23
III. Crucifixion
Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
About our 2021 Repertoire
As I develop a long-range plan for repertoire each year, I choose a theme or area of emphasis, often complete works or a complete large-scale work by one composer. During 2021, organ music by women composers and African-American composers is being and will be featured in voluntaries and recitals throughout the year. There are some little-known gems waiting to be discovered, as well as music by major composers, with whom works for the organ are not generally associated. Enjoy!
Choir of the Ascension:
Now on Soundcloud!
Please visit SoundCloud and listen to our playlist! There are currently 40 tracks, and several more will be added each month.

Benjamin Rivera, Choirmaster
Other than for urgent or essential matters or for brief personal devotion in the church, visits to Ascension are presently to be avoided. Any (other) visit should be arranged in advance with Br. Nathanael Rahm. Thank you for your understanding.
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. You may contact the Treasurer by email anytime at Finance@AscensionChicago.org. 
Ascension Connections
(with your click and God's help)
Participate in Ascension masses at our YouTube Channel. (Look for other connections options soon.)
Meeting ID:
792 031 7452
Password: 1133
Join-by-Phone Option: (312) 626-6799
Weekly Ascension Schedule

For connections:
via Zoom (click here)
except for Morning Prayer,
via Facebook (click here).

SUNDAYS
9:30 a.m. Virtual Morning Prayer
10:00 a.m. Live-Streamed Mass
11:00 a.m. Virtual Coffee Hour

MONDAY-FRIDAY
6:00 p.m. Evening Prayer via Zoom

WEDNESDAYS
6:30 p.m. Low Mass
Yes, but I still haven't Zoomed ...
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 our prayers: For our prayers: August 'Augie' Alonzo, Jim Berger, Dean Pineda, David Byerly,
Bonnie Joseph, Steven Wallis, Sarah Ponder, Paula Budzban, Taffy Wehe, Neil, Carnola Malone, Rocky Ermilio, Catriana Patriarcha, Charley Taylor, Richard Laibly, Lauren
 
Birthdays:
Jim Redden, 3/23; Robert Temple, 3/25; Susanne Lenz, 3/26

Anniversaries:
Andrew & Allison Wallace, marriage, 3/25/2006;
Rod & Adriana Luery, marriage, 3/26/2007
 
Requiescat in pace:
Ethel Martin, 3/8/2021; Diane Burnett, 3/12/2021; George C. Giles, Jr., 3/21/2014; Douglas Alan Poe, 3/25/1998; Oscar Patrick, 3/27/2004



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.

The Rev. Patrick Raymond, Rector

Susan Schlough, Treasurer

Br. Nathanael Deward Rahm BSG, Parish Office
Vestry of Church of the Ascension
Cheryl Peterson, Sr. Warden; Kenneth Kelling, Jr. Warden; Kelly Colomberti, Marilyn Evans, Lynette Hector,
Jim Lo Bello, George Pineda, David Reeves, Samuel Sommers, Enrique Vilaseco, Amber Zelazny