Dear People of Ascension,

This week our church has been honored to host 16 hunger strikers who are fighting for the passage of a bill currently before the NY State Legislature, which would create a Fund of $3.5 billion in this year's budget to provide relief to workers who are otherwise excluded from government help. They are cash economy workers (domestic workers, delivery workers, vendors, laundry workers etc.), undocumented workers and recently incarcerated workers, among others. Many of them have labored throughout this pandemic year in roles deemed essential, but unprotected and excluded from vital supports for them and their families. 

The bill is in negotiation and there is a real opportunity for NY State to do justice for our excluded siblings and create a model for the rest of the country. Please, contact your legislators and Governor Cuomo and urge their support for Bill Senate Bill S4543/A5421. And please keep the strikers and their struggle in your prayers. 

Ascension's vestry voted last night to send a letter of support for this campaign to our representatives. I am so grateful for their leadership! 

When I heard about the strike, I thought immediately of the reading from Ash Wednesday: "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke?" We put this verse on the sign outside the church this Lent, long before I heard about this Fund for Excluded Workers. Rarely have I witnessed such a direct application of the scripture!

Surely this is the fast God chooses. May this Lent bring justice and hope.

Liz

If you do not have a device with a camera, you can still join with your phone by dialing the following number and enter the meeting ID: 929-205-6099 Meeting ID: 322 793 633

All of our online services, with their links, can be found on our public calendar, and are listed below.

Click this link to read up on some best practices for Zoom meetings.

Samuel Scheidt

Click here for link.

Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Psalm 51:1-13  (St. Helena Psalter)

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; *

   in your great compassion blot out my offenses.

Wash me through and through from my wickedness *

   and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions, *

   and my sin is ever before me.

Against you only have I sinned *

   and done what is evil in your sight.

And so you are justified when you speak *

   and upright in your judgment.

Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, *

   a sinner from my mother’s womb.

For behold, you look for truth deep within me, *

   and will make me understand wisdom secretly.

Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; *

   wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.

Make me hear of joy and gladness, *

   that the body you have broken may rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins, *

   and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, *

   and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence, *

   and take not your holy Spirit from me.

Give me the joy of your saving help again, *

   and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.

Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus, Lover of my soul,

let me to thy bosom fly,

while the nearer waters roll,

while the tempest still is high:

hide me, O my Savior, hide,

till the storm of life be past;

safe into the haven guide,

O receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none,

hangs my helpless soul on thee;

leave, ah! leave me not alone,

still support and comfort me!

All my trust on thee is stayed;

all my help from thee I bring;

cover my defenseless head

with the shadow of thy wing.

Plenteous grace with thee is found,

grace to cleanse from every sin;

let the healing streams abound,

make and keep me pure within.

Thou of life the fountain art,

freely let me take of thee:

spring thou up within my heart,

rise to all eternity.

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

The Rev. Posey Krakowsky

Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts;

Shut not thy merciful ears unto our pray'rs;

But spare us, Lord most holy, O God most mighty.

O holy and most merciful Saviour,

Thou most worthy Judge eternal,

Suffer us not at our last hour,

For any pains of death to fall away from Thee.

Leader I ask your prayers for God's people throughout the world; for our Presiding Bishop Michael, for our own bishops Andrew, Allen, and Mary; for this gathering; and for all ministers and people. Pray for the Church.

Leader I ask your prayers for peace; for goodwill among nations; for the well-being of all people; for this fragile earth, and for the will, wisdom and courage to care for and live sustainably with all creation. We pray for Joe our president, Andrew our governor, and Bill our mayor. We pray for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, Ethiopia, Yemen, Uganda, Haiti, and the Uygur people; for all laboring to end racism and white supremacy and establish racial justice in our country. We pray especially for our Asian-American siblings, that they may be protected and respected.

Leader Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours, and grant that we may serve Christ in them, and love one another as he loves us. We pray for all affected by COVID-19: for the frightened and the sick, for the dying and those who mourn; for all who have lost jobs and livelihood as a result of this pandemic; for all healthcare workers, especially Scarlett, Madonna, Trudie, Nancy, Anna, Sarah, Endine, Terese, and AJ, for all whose labor supports our common life; for those developing and distributing vaccines, for those charged with making decisions about public health and public policy.

Leader I ask your prayers for the poor, the sick, the hungry, the oppressed, and those in prison. We remember especially Robert, Ed, Janet, Ellen, Joseph, Brielle, Lucas, Holly, Allejandro and Jesus, Nancy, Barbara, Dorothy, Stewart, Patricia, Judith, Marco, Hannah, Jurek, Alice, Michael, Marcy, Deb, Deacon Luis, Stephen, Martin, Marion, Sandy, Jonathan and family, Cammie and family, Ed, Liz, Soren, and Mary Ann. Pray for those in any need or trouble.

Leader I ask your prayers for John, Adora and the child she carries, and for her safe delivery through childbirth.

Leader I ask your prayers for all who seek God, or a deeper knowledge of him. Pray that they may find and be found by her.

Leader I ask your prayers for the departed, especially Desaix Anderson, Jean Rice, Jeff Paley, Jack Chinery, Bill Burket, Mike Kehoe, Andrew Brannon, Minerva Viera, and the more than 540,000 Americans who have died from Covid-19, as well as others around the world. We remember also Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, and the four others, whose names have not yet been released, murdered this week in Atlanta.

Leader I ask for your other prayers and thanksgivings.

Leader Praise God for those in every generation in whom Christ has been honored. Pray that we may have grace to glorify Christ in our own day.

 Our Father, who art in heaven,

     hallowed be thy Name,

     thy kingdom come,

     thy will be done,

          on earth as it is in heaven.

 Give us this day our daily bread.

 And forgive us our trespasses,

     as we forgive those

          who trespass against us.

 And lead us not into temptation,

     but deliver us from evil.

 For thine is the kingdom,

     and the power, and the glory,

     for ever and ever. Amen.

Celebrant: Bow down before the Lord.

Look with compassion, O Lord, upon this your people; that, rightly observing this holy season, they may learn to know you more fully, and to serve you with a more perfect will; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

In the cross of Christ I glory,

towering o’er the wrecks of time;

all the light of sacred story

gathers round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o’ertake me,

hopes deceive, and fears annoy,

never shall the cross forsake me:

lo, it glows with peace and joy.

When the sun of bliss is beaming

light and love upon my way,

from the cross the radiance streaming

adds new luster to the day.

Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,

by the cross are sanctified;

peace is there that knows no measure,

joys that through all time abide.

In the cross of Christ I glory,

towering o’er the wrecks of time;

all the light of sacred story

gathers round its head sublime.

Forum this Sunday- Restorative Justice in NYC Schools- Join us after the 11 am service to learn about tools used to restore a community when harm has been done. We welcome Mihret Maxwell as our forum leader; she is restorative justice coordinator at Harvest Collegiate High School where she guides and trains members of the community in restorative justice processes.

Lenten Community Suppers - Join us at 6:30 p.m. for our final Lenten Zoom Gathering for Food, Prayer and Conversation this Lent. Participation is limited to 10 participants but there is plenty of room remaining for this final gathering.

To Register, go to ascensionnyc.org/lent-suppers and click the "Reserve a Spot" botton. If you have any questions, please contact the church office by email at info@ascensionnyc.org or by phone at 212-254-8620.

Wednesday, March 24

Lenten Devotional Books Are Here! The devotional is made up of 40 personal reflections from members of the parish and clergy at Ascension. The booklet is available online and in hardcopy (limited supply), with original artwork by Matthew Snow. To download the PDF of the Lenten Devotional, go to ascensionnyc.org/lent-devotions and follow the instruction to download or read online. The daily meditations from the booklet will also be available on our Facebook page starting Ash Wednesday. To request a hard copy (suggested donation $5), please email the Parish Office at info@ascensensionnyc.org. If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Adams. Thank you to all our writers for their work to make the devotional a reality.

Sunday, March 28, 11:00 a.m.

or https://zoom.us/j/322793633

Monday, March 29, 5:30 p.m.,

Tuesday, March 30, 5:30 p.m.,

Wednesday, March 31, 5:30 p.m.,

or zoom.us/j/770597201

Thursday, April 1, 7:00 p.m.

or zoom.us/j/98669423643

Friday, April 2, 12 Noon

or zoom.us/j/97846082843

Saturday, April 3, 10:00 a.m.

or zoom.us/j/95743570876

Saturday, April 3, 7:00 p.m.

or zoom.us/j/91403568982

Sunday, April 4, 11:00 a.m.

ascensionnyc.org/easter

or https://zoom.us/j/322793633

Easter Flower Memorials - To include the names of loved ones in the Easter Flower Memorial list on Easter Day (April 4), please contact the parish office with your names (info@ascensionnyc.org or 212-254-8620). The deadline for submitting names is Palm Sunday, March 28. You can donate to the Easter Flower Fund via Abundant Giving or by sending your checks to Church of the Ascension (be sure to write “Easter Flowers” in the memo, but remember that in order to include the names you must contact the office!

Please check us out at ascensionnyc.org/give to find out how easy and secure it is. Click the envelope on the right to go the Ascension Website for more information and to give, whether a one-time donation, pledge payment, or make a new pledge.

(If you experience any issues with Abundant Giving, please email us at websexton@ascensionnyc.org)

On Anti-Asian Violence: A Message to the Clergy and People of the Diocese of New York from the Rt. Rev. Allen K. Shin, Bishop Suffragan with a supporting message from the Rt. Rev. Andrew ML Dietsche, Bishop of New York, and the Rt. Rev. Mary D. Glasspool, Bishop Assistant. Click here to read Bishop Shin's message to us regarding this week's shooting of Asian-Americans in Atlanta, as well as the increasing violence against our sisters and brothers of Asian descent. His comments are joined by Bishops Deitsche and Glasspool.

"Lessons To Be Learned From The 2020 Pandemic", by Stanley Weinberg - When it's all over, what will we have learned? How will the pandemic have changed our lives; or how could it change our lives? Click here to access Stanley’s article, soon to be published in the Episcopal New Yorker,

Space Use at Ascension - While the church is closed and not in general use, occasionally someone in the church will want to use one of our spaces. (Please note, that such uses are strongly discouraged.) During the pandemic we must be extra careful to coordinate these things so there is no overlap, and to schedule plenty of time for cleaning. If you think you might need the space for something, please coordinate via the church office - contact Br. Andrew at info@ascensionnyc.org or 212-254-8620.

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent by the Rt. Rev. Allen K. Shin, Bishop Suffragan. This video sermon is one of a series by our bishops for the Sundays between the Epiphany and Easter.

Episcopal Relief and Disaster (ERD) Response in Texas. Episcopal Relief & Development is supporting the Episcopal dioceses of Dallas, Texas and West Texas as they provide emergency relief to individuals and families impacted by the unprecedented ice storm, low temperatures and power outages last week. Click here to learn more and help support their relief efforts.

Join us each weeknight at 5:30 for Evening Prayer & discussion. Click this link to join: ascensionnyc.org/eveningprayer. To call in (voice, no camera), dial 929-205-6099; the meeting ID is 770 597 201.

For Your Daily Prayers - "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) During this time of global crisis and personal anxiety, we offer you this prayer form to include in your daily prayers.

Sunday Paper Junior - The lectionary, our yearly schedule of Bible readings, carries us through Jesus’s life and teachings. The Church of The Ascension subscribes to the Sunday Paper Junior and we offer it to you and your family as a fun, creative way to study the lessons each week. Click here to access this week's paper. Please feel free to print out the pages each week and use as you desire. Check out this section each week for the current Sunday Paper Junior!

Vaccine Registration Assistance? Do you need help scheduling your vaccine appointment? Are you a tech-savvy and patient person who would like to help register people? Please contact Madonna Stack-Barker at m.stack@rcn.com for more information.

Open Church, Tuesdays & Fridays, Noon to 3. The church is open for private prayer and meditation. Attendance is limited to a maximum of 20 people at one time and all safety precautions (properly worn masks, physical distancing, hand sanitizing, and contact tracing) will be followed.

In-Person Midweek Eucharists Remain Suspended. In light of the rising infection rates in New York City, we continue to suspend our Wednesday evening in person Eucharists.We will revisit the question early in the new year.

Beware of Fraudulent Emails Purporting to be from the Ascension clergy! Several people received scam emails today pretending to be from Fr. Ed, using a Gmail account under a user name that appears to be him. Click here to read more and learn what you can do.

Church Service (Zoom) 11:00 a.m.

Meditation with Prayers and Music (Available on our Facebook page)

Evening Prayer (Zoom) 5:30 p.m.

(Speak to Sibyl Piccone if you are interested in this group)

Evening Prayer (Zoom) 5:30 p.m.

Evening Prayer (Zoom) 5:30 p.m.

Lenten Community Supper (Zoom) 6:30 p.m.

Evening Prayer (Zoom) 5:30 p.m.

Evening Prayer (Zoom) 5:30 p.m.

Rehearsal for Sunday Service (Zoom) 2:00 p.m.

Church Service (Zoom) 11:00 a.m.

Meditation with Prayers and Music (Available on our Facebook page)

The Church of the Ascension -- Fifth Avenue and Tenth Street

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