This Week at Ascension + April 14, 2021

"Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." - Psalm 96
Wednesday in the Second Week of Easter, April 14

6:30 p.m. Live-streamed Mass


Image: Christ and Nicodemus, Fritz van Uhde, 1886
The Third Sunday of Easter, April 18

9:30 a.m. - Morming Prayer via ZOOM
10:00 a.m. Live-streamed Mass

Following the mass (about 11:15 a.m.)
Virtual Coffee Hour via ZOOM



Image:  Christ Appearing to His Disciples After the Resurrection,
William Blake, c. 1795, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.,

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 Junior Warden Kenneth Kelling
LGBTQ+ (?)
 Dear fellow Ascension members,

   At our January annual meeting, a young parishioner asked how Ascension could do more for the LGBTQ+ community. It came out of the blue and surprised me. Since then I have wondered: ‘What could we do?’
    Among the gay men who have long been and continue to be part of Ascension, I notice that the question tends to be answered in one of three ways:
  • Those of an older generation grew up and remember living with fears of exposure and risks to jobs or cultural status. They mainly prefer that, especially in church, we remain closeted and discreet.
  • Many in younger generations have benefited from more acceptance and civil protections and opportunities. They often want a more openly supportive church.
  • Those in a third group, younger and older, don’t want to belong to a “gay church.” They resist the prospect of such discussions at Ascension.
    These and other distinctions explain, I think, why Ascension has largely kept to a course of silence, charted long ago. Despite the relevance for many of us, including me, we’ve not rocked the boat. But our restraint has arguably drydocked Ascension, even as remarkable changes continue to take place both in our culture and in conversations among many Christians.
    Among my hopes and goals as warden is progress toward an atmosphere of, and opportunities for, more open acknowledgement and exploration. How? I’ll need your help: Speakers? A reading group? PRIDE Parade or picnic? Any of these may rock the boat. But in light of what many of our young adult newcomers are seeking here, Ascension may become not only drydocked but empty if we remain silent and inert.
    Please consider joining me for an initial conversation via ZOOM on Thursday evening, April 22, at 7:00 pm. Or feel free to contact me with your thoughts. 

Junior Warden
From the Rector
Charles 'Charley' Morgan Taylor
April 25, 1949 - April 10, 2021

Requiem Mass
In person and Live-Streamed
Wednesday, April 21, 6:30 p.m.


Contributions toward flowers and music will be gratefully received.
Whether by check or through our website,
please indicate 'Charley Taylor memorial.'
Thank you.

Further information about the requiem, including the order of worship
and an opportunity for a reception after the mass, if any,
will be provided in the April 21 newsletter.
April Vestry Meeting
Saturday the 17th, 11:00 a.m.
A main focus will be to build on the past two month's conversations about 2021 Vestry leadership: assignments, priorities and goals. The Rector will give a brief report on Ascension's newly installed technology -- what we're learning about it and what's needed to run it well. The Rector will also report on an April 13 clergy, staff and lay leader conversation about where and how to focus and lead with regard to ongoing pandemic restrictions and the prospect of some being relaxed in coming weeks or months.
Reminder: Bishop Anderson House workshop (and more)

An Advanced Care Planning workshop will be offered one more time by Bishop Anderson House: April 15, 7-8 p.m. More workshop information may be found be clicking a few tabs at the Bishop Anderson House website, here.

Preparing for Christian Death and Burial is a document that I authored (last revised in 2018). It's one way for you to convey additional information/wishes to loved ones and/or clergy and others. You may view this document here.

Providing information to your church can be a gift to all when the time comes to answer critical questions about your wishes--whether by way of the forms above or another means. Please consider sharing your related information so that it may be put in a confidential file here at Ascension. Contact Br. Nathanael in the parish office about how to do so.

Seminarian Bonnie Scott's sermon for the Second Sunday of Easter may be read here.


Organ Repertoire for the Third Sunday of Easter,
April 18
ORGAN
Schmücke dich, O liebe Seele BWV 654
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
 
At the Offertory
Hymn 193 PUER NOBIS
 
ORGAN
Fugue in G BWV 577
Johann Sebastian Bach
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

Forward Day by Day

Copies of the May-June-July 2021 Forward Day by Day: Daily Devotions for Disciples are now available by emailing the parish office. We have both regular and large print editions while supplies last.

You may also find them on the Forward Movement website.
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: August 'Augie' Alonzo, Jim Berger, David Byerly, Steven Wallis, Sarah Ponder, Taffy Wehe, Carnola Malone, Marvin Files, Leigh McDonald
 
Birthdays: Gary Lewis, 4/11; Rose J. Gordon, 4/11; Kim Keller, 4/15; Angie Barbour, 4/16; Shelley Hedley, 4/17
  
Requiescat in pace:
Charles 'Charley' Morgan Taylor, 4/10/2021
David Squire Belding, Sr., Priest, 4/11/2014; George Whitman, 4/15/1993

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

Approved minutes of Vestry meetings are always available online to parishioners who request the link. If you would like Internet access to these Vestry Minutes, please email the Parish Office and request the link. Once you access the web page, you can read all recent Vestry meeting 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 link remains live indefinitely. Any parishioner who has the link will not need to request a new link from month to month.