This Week at Ascension + June 8, 2022
"Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." - Psalm 96
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Tonight, June 8, 2022
Wednesday after Pentecost
Ember Day
In-person and Live-streamed Said Mass at 6:30 p.m.
Pentecost, 14th C. Illuminated Missal, National Library of Wales
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Sunday, June 12, 2022
The First Sunday after Pentecost:
Trinity Sunday
9:00 a.m. In-person Sung Mass
with Organ and Hymns
11:00 a.m. In-person & Live-streamed
Solemn High Mass
Image: The Holy Trinity, 2016, egg tempera and acrylic on wood,
Ivanka Demchuk (b. 1990) Lviv, Ukraine
Following this Mass, the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary will be prayed
at the Shrine of St. Mary the Virgin.
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The Nicene Creed
One of the features of our liturgy is the corporate recitation of the Nicene Creed. The rubrics of the 1979 Prayer Book require its inclusion “on Sundays and other Major Feasts.” Those who fondly remember the 1928 version might remember another creed recited on some specific days: The Athanasian Creed. It was posed as an option on Trinity Sunday, the First Sunday after Christmas, and the Feast of the Annunciation. I would be curious to know how many actually remember using it on those days. If you’re wondering what I’m going on about, take a look at page 864 or your BCP, and be glad we don’t recite that one every Sunday!
Why do we recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday, and where does it come from? I’m glad you asked. It is more properly called the Niceno-Constatinopoitan Creed. We need a bit of perspective to situate ourselves.
Constantine the Great was the Roman Emperor from 306 until 337. Beginning in about 312, he began to favor Christianity, which was significant because it led to the proclamation of the Edict of Milan, an agreement between Rome and the Balkans to treat Christian benevolently that changed everything for the church. The church gained legal status and persecution ended. It didn’t become the state church until the Edict of Thessalonica in 380.
The Church that Constantine inherited was really a bunch of regional groups. They all had bishops and deacons and priests. There were few theological writings of the church. The canon of scripture hadn’t been settled yet, so this early church almost looked like a bunch of denominations. Naturally, not everyone thought, believed, or acted the same way and, surprise: there was conflict.
Constantine called the first ecumenical council in 325 in Nicaea, where the original Nicene Creed was forged and accepted as a creed of the church. The creed declared that Christ was “of the same substance” as the Father. It was actually a huge deal because not all churches were in agreement on this pont.
Not all of the church’s disputes were “solved” at Nicaea and a second council was called together at Constantinople in 381. The creed from Nicaea was revised concerning the Holy Spirit and declared that Christ was “begotten of the Father before all time.”
In the Nicene Creed we recite today, every sentence expresses a specific theological. For example, “of one being with the Father” relates directly to the “same substance” declaration from Nicaea. “Begotten not made” comes from the council at Constantinople. Most of these statements assert the councils’ decisions on matters of doctrine and are in response against the beliefs about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit the councils deemed heretical. As such, it isn’t a statement of faith, like the Apostles’ Creed. It is a theological statement of the church and, importantly, promotes unity among believers.
In its original form the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed was written in the first person plural (We believe …). In the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, the creed was part of the communion service and stated it in first person singular. That was never the intention of the councils of the church and is not how it is used in the Eastern church. It is one of the reforms of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer that restore the Nicene Creed to its conciliar form, unifying all of the Christan church together. This is entirely consistent with the recovery of Baptism as full and complete initiation, and the ‘rediscovery’ of the holy week liturgies of that same period.
With all of the turmoil, anxiety, and insecurity of our world today, knowing that we share with Christians throughout the ages and across boundaries, a source of unity and solidarity that grounds us, that helps us be the hands and heart of Jesus in the world, and to actively work for the fullness of the Kingdom of God. The framers of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer knew that. They intended for us to be unified with Christians everywhere. On the Third Sunday after Pentecost, we’ll switch to the “We” form of the Nicene Creed using S104 in Hymnal 1982. You’ll recognize the tune; it is essentially the same, having been tweaked by Mason Martens to fit the differences in the text. I’m betting you’ll find it easier to sing, too.
—Fr. Heard
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Fr. Petite’s 50th Anniversary to the Priesthood This Sunday |
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This Sunday, Trinity Sunday, we will celebrate Fr. Petite’s 50th Anniversary of ordination to the priesthood. He was ordained a priest on St. Barnabas Day, June 11, in 1972. Fr. Sam Portaro, Theologian in Residence at nearby St. Chrysostom’s, will preach at both the 9 a.m. Sung Eucharist and 11 a.m. Solemn High Mass. A festive reception will follow.
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From the Rector Search Committee |
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Last Chance to Take the CAT Survey
We are happy to report that participation in the CAT Survey has been good. Thank you to all who completed and submitted the survey. If you haven’t taken the survey yet, there is still time for you to do so before it closes on June 13. It only takes 30 minutes and we really do want your input.
After the results are in, Holy Cow! Consulting (that really is their name) will produce a report that we will share with the parish. The parishioners will be organized into small groups where they can discuss the results with each other. They will also provide valuable feedback to the Search Committee. The method of organizing the small groups will be described in next week’s TWAA.
Blessings,
The Rector Search Committee
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News from the Ascension Archives |
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This statue of John Mason Neale, English Anglican priest, scholar, translator and hymnwriter, is dedicated to Henry Klages, Sr.
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We are pleased to announce the acquisition of several very old architectural drawings of renovations to the church from the early part of the twentieth century. These are a gift from Karen and Michael Grace. Karen's grandfather, Henry Klages, was a contractor/builder, and served warden, clerk, and vestry member at Ascension from 1930 on. One of the statues in the back of the church is dedicated in his memory. We hope to display some of the drawings during Open House Chicago, in October.
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Confirmations and Receptions this Saturday |
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This Saturday, June 11, at 11 a.m. Dan Stell will be received into the Episcopal Church by Bishop Chilton Knudsen. If you would like to join us in supporting Dan, please email Mtr. Murphy-Gill.
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Pastoral Listening Sessions continue Sunday, June 19
Join Fr. Petite in St. Michael Hall at 1 p.m., Sunday, June 19 for the second in his series on learning pastoral listening skills: Moving from a Friendly Visit to a Pastoral Conversation: Who Does the Talking and What to Talk About
Please RSVP using this link so we have an idea of how much lunch to order. You can use this same form to RSVP to the other sessions as well. Those topics are below:
- Session Three (June 26:) Feelings as Messengers: The Suffering is not your Problem to Solve.
- Session Four (July 10): Prayer: Entering the Canopy of Vulnerability
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Do you have a need for special prayer in your life? Whether your prayer needs are because you have an upcoming surgery, an ill family member, or you’re just feeling particularly lonely lately, Fr. Heard and Mtr. Murphy-Gill would like to know.
We’ve created a way for letting us know about your requests for prayers in a way we hope makes it easy for you to reach out, though you can always call the church or reach out to one of the priests personally.
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Contribute to This Week at Ascension
If you would like to include an announcement in our weekly newsletter, please email your contribution to office@ascensionchicago.org by Monday at noon. Include a photo if you can!
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Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has set September 17 as the day he will ordain and consecrate the Rev. Paula E. Clark as the Thirteenth Bishop of Chicago. The service will take place at the Westin Chicago Lombard in Lombard, Illinois.
Read more about the Consecration here.
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Organ and Choral Repertoire for June 12, 2022 |
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ORGAN
En Feste La Sainte Trinité
I. Andante
II. Ben moderato
III. Movendo
IV. Sognando
Charles Arnould Tournemire
(1870-1939)
At the Entrance Procession
365 MOSCOW (9 a.m.)
370 ST. PATRICK'S BREASTPLATE
/DEIRDRE (11a.m.)
At the Offertory
370 ST. PATRICK'S BREASTPLATE
/DEIRDRE (9 a.m.)
365 MOSCOW (11 a.m.)
At the Communion
367 RUSTINGTON (9 a.m.)
LONG MELFORD (11 a.m.)
At the Retiring Procession
362 NICAEA
ORGAN
En Feste La Sainte Trinité
V. Triptyque
Charles Arnould Tournemire
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Mass Setting
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756-1791)
Missa in C major
(in honorem Sanctissimae Trinitatis), K. 167
Offertory Motet
Charles Wood
(1866-1926)
Father, all-holy (1912)
Communion Motet
Everett Titcomb
(1884-1968)
Let Us Bless the God of Heaven
Solemn Te Deum
Ralph Vaughan Williams
(1872-1958) Festival Te Deum
Chanted Mass Propers from the Graduale Romanum
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Between Masses, please don’t forget that The Choir of the Ascension has recorded upwards of 60 tracks that you can listen to anywhere you have an internet connection. They can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/choir-of-the-ascension
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Ascension Connections
(with your click and God's help)
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Meeting ID:
792 031 7452
Password: 1133
Join-by-Phone Option: (312) 626-6799
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Weekly Ascension Schedule
For connections:
SUNDAYS
9:00 a.m. In-person Sung Mass
11:00 a.m. In-person and Live-Streamed Solemn High Mass
MONDAY-FRIDAY
WEDNESDAYS
6:30 p.m. Said Mass
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For our prayers: David Schrader, LaVerne Saunders, Ted Saunders, August 'Augie' Alonzo, Taffy Wehe, Beth Hall, Sue Lenz, Ben, David D. Jones, Gina, Tom Baer, Edward Minieka, Brenda Martins, Claire Green, Marion Cantore, Lee Gould,
Gertrude Isaac, Ken Kelling, Marty Stenson, Paula Clark (Bishop-elect)
Birthdays: Jim Lo Bello, 6/11
Requiescat in pace: Edgar F. Wells, priest, 6/7/2020
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.
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The Rev. Thomas Heard, Interim Rector
The Rev. Meghan Murphy-Gill, Curate
Susan Schlough, Treasurer
Br. Nathanael Deward Rahm BSG, Parish Office
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Vestry of Church of the Ascension
Ian Barillas-McEntee, Jim Lo Bello, Ken Cozette, Marlea Edinger, Sean Hansen, George Pineda, Joshua Simpson, Sam Sommers, Enrique Vilaseco, Vestry
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.
The link remains live indefinitely. Any parishioner who has the link will not need to request a new link from month to month.
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