This Week at Ascension + August 18, 2021
"Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." - Psalm 96
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This evening, Wednesday, August 18
Commemoration of
William Porcher DuBose, 1918
6:30 p.m. In-person & Live-streamed Mass
Image: William Porcher DuBose, icon by Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG
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Sunday, August 22, 2021
The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
10:00 a.m. In-person & Live-streamed Sung Mass
Image: Last Supper, William Blake, 1799, National Gallery
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A Curate for Ascension!
Dear people of Ascension,
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Thanks be to God! With the support and participation of our Wardens and the diocesan Director of Ministries, and with funding made possible by the Vestry at its July meeting, I’ve reached an agreement with Deacon Meghan Murphy-Gill for her ministry at Ascension as full-time curate, beginning September 1. Final approval last week by the Diocese of Chicago Standing Committee for Deacon Meghan’s ordination as priest (in October, we hope) seems an added confirmation of her call here now.
Priorities for the curate’s ministry will include pastoral care, adult education and spiritual formation, and co-leadership of young adult ministries. I and others I enlist will also introduce Deacon -- soon to be Mother -- Meghan to all facets of parish, neighborhood and diocesan ministry. As is widely understood in the Episcopal Church, a curate’s place in a parish is unique by virtue of a congregation’s collective responsibility to positively shape the ministries of the newly ordained. Done right, important lessons, perspectives and gifts (many of them, in our case, informed by our Anglo-Catholic identity) go with a priest to later parishes, other service and leadership for the remainder of her or his ministry.
As our agreement was in the works but not knowing it would be completed, Deacon Meghan was already working on a message for today’s newsletter. Below she describes an opportunity and issues an invitation for upcoming conversations in which I hope many of you will take part. It strikes me that these conversations may give some of you a chance to get to know Deacon Meghan better than you’ve been able since she joined us on a part-time basis in March. Regardless, I ask you to join me in welcoming her now and in supporting and praying for and with her throughout the year to come.
PS If you missed seeing the resume that Deacon Meghan provided when she started her ministry here in March 2021, you may view it here.
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A question and an invitation from
Deacon Meghan Murphy-Gill:
How can we grow in wisdom and faith in the coming year?
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Celebrant Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
People I will, with God’s help.
From the Baptismal Covenant, BCP p. 304
Do you know what wisdom is, what it means to be wise? You may have a sense of it, even if unable to define it precisely. It’s one of those I-know-it-when-I-see-it qualities.
Our affirmations in the Baptismal Covenant arguably enroll us in a lifelong school of wisdom. The coursework to which we agree binds us to:
- continue in the apostles’ teaching;
- persevere in resisting evil;
- proclaim Good News, by word and example;
- seek and serve Christ in all persons; and
- strive for justice and peace.
Clearly, growing in faithful wisdom requires practice.
Whether you’ve been at Ascension forever or just a few weeks, whether or not you can define wisdom or feel you’ve been doing your wisdom coursework, Please, if you can, join me and seminarian Bonnie Scott and Father Raymond for one or both of two upcoming conversations, both to take place in St. Michael Hall (and both with a sandwich for you if you click the right link below).
Sunday, August 22, 12:15 p.m. (ending by 1:15 p.m.) and/or
Wednesday, August 25, 7:15 p.m. (ending by 8:15 p.m.)
Please click on this link to let us know if you intend to join us in person, and if you’d like us to have a sandwich ready for you. You may also click this link, whether or not you will join us, if you’d like to share your wise thoughts about programs, topics, guest preachers or speakers, fellowship and more for the coming year.
If you’d like to know a bit more about some of my own recent thoughts on wisdom that I’ll be bringing to the table for these conversations, click here.
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"We have to be educated by the other. My heart cannot be educated by myself. It can only come out of a relationship with others. And if we accept being educated by others, to let them explain to us what happens to them, and to let yourself be immersed in their world so that they can get into our world, then you begin to share something very deep. You will never be the person in front of you, but you will have created what we call communion."
Author and radio host Krista Tippet, from her book
Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living, 2017
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Thanks to all who took part in -- and special thanks to all who contributed to -- a meaningful and lovely celebration for Sunday's Feast of St. Mary the Virgin - Assumption. I was personally grateful for the offerings of herbs, the sandwiches and mimosas in the garden, the presence of a full choir, and more. |
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August Vestry Meeting
Thursday the 19th
Evening Prayer, 6:00 p.m.
Meeting starts at 6:30 p.m.
One vestry meeting topic will be the new(est) City of Chicago indoor mask mandate that will go into effect on Friday and how to appropriately adapt it for our common best health at Ascension. A related Chicago Tribune story may be read here. Count on few or no changes from recent precedents at Ascension unless we send a Weekend Edition newsletter ...
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The Burial of the Dead for the Rev. Canon Edgar Wells will be celebrated Saturday, August 21, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT - 9:00 a.m. CDT). With the Rt. Rev. Andrew Dietche, Bishop of New York, presiding, the mass will take place at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, New York City, where Fr. Wells served as Rector from 1979 - 1998. Here he's shown in a 2010 photo with the Rt. Rev. James W. Montgomery, Bishop of Chicago 1962-1987. (Bishop Montgomery died in 2019.) Canon Wells died June 7, 2020; pandemic limitations caused multiple delays in planning Saturday's liturgy. Click here to read a reflection written a week after Fr. Wells' death by the current St. Mary's Rector, Fr. Stephen Gerth. If there is to be a live stream of Saturday's liturgy, I believe it will be found at the St. Mary the Virgin Facebook page here. The information is being shared here due to the myriad longtime connections between Ascension, the Church of St. Mary the Virgin and Fr. Wells. Rest eternal grant unto him, O Lord ...
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Two sections of the wrought iron fence between our church parking lot and LaSalle Street were replaced over the past weekend, following a hit-and-run incident late on Sunday, August 8 that blew a hole through said fence sections and demolished our Ascension sign at that corner (but as far as we know did no other damage and resulted in no injuries). Thanks to Ricardo of Diamond Parking for alerting me to the damage and arranging for the repair. I'll be pleased to hear from anyone who'd like to make a special gift to Ascension for a new sign!
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How can we not feel troubled and alarmed by tragedies in Haiti and Afghanistan this past week? And how can we not pray? If a collect from the Book of Common Prayer may be of help, I've included one below, slightly modified. Episcopal Relief and Development seeks to be agile and timely in response to many urgent needs around the world. Donations are welcomed through ERD's website, here.
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Almighty and most merciful God, we remember before you
all poor and neglected persons whom it would be easy for us
to forget: the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick,
refugees and those at risk due to natural disasters and wars,
and all who have none to care for them. Help us to heal those
who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow
into joy. Grant this, Father, for the love of your Son, who for
our sake became poor, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer, page 826
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Organ Repertoire for August 22, 2021 |
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ORGAN
Recitative and Adagio espressivo
(fr. Sonata for Organ, 1959)
Calvin Hampton (1938-1984)
At the Entrance Procession
Hymn 408 MIT FREUDEN ZART
At the Offertory
Hymn 893 (Cantate Domino) ST. OSMUND
At the Communion
Hymn 304 LAND OF REST
At the Retiring Procession
Hymn 524 ST. THOMAS (WILLIAMS)
ORGAN
Giga maggiore e minore [ca. 1744]
Elizabeth Turner (d. 1756)
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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!
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From Benjamin Rivera
Dear friends,
Our vocal music has returned to its usual (pre-COVID) summer format:
-congregational Mass Ordinary, hymns, and service
music
-chanted propers, solos, and/or motets sung by the
Schola
If you haven’t attended a summer Mass for a while, you may not be aware that many of these Masses feature a quartet or quintet of mixed voices. We hope you’ll join us in the building, or online if you’re unable to attend in person.
Peace be with you!
Benjamin
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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:
except for Morning Prayer,
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
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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!
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For our prayers: August 'Augie' Alonzo, Jim Berger, Steven Wallis, Sarah Ponder,
Taffy Wehe, Amy Peterson, Stephanie, Gwen Clark-Mason, The Rev. Canon Paula Clark,
Lee Gould, Maria, Beth Hall, Claire, Inez Bahena, Gina, Catherine C., Steven Upmeyer, Sue Lenz, Ted Long, Ted Saunders, Ben, Ricardo Avila, Thom Ehlen, David D. Jones, Kathy Sattler
Birthdays: Judy Williams Nitka, 8/15; Woody Abbott, 8/16; Eliot Raymond, 8/17;
Scott Cisek, 8/18, John A. West, 8/18; Jim Caldwell, 8/19; Marvin Files, 8/19;
Peter Frame, 9/20; Elizabeth Way McLaughlin, 8/20;
Requiescat in pace: Lena Patrick, 8/15; Shirley M. Akan, 8/15/2008;
James Hobson Dunkerley, Priest, 8/16/2018; Sylvia Isabelle Fertig, 8/17/2011;
Joann Bruce Montgomery, 8/20/2013; Lucy Valla, 8/21/2014;
Lois Kimani, 7/31/2021, Peter Folger Stetson, 8/2/2021; Mary Gesel, 8/8/2021
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. Patrick Raymond, Rector
Susan Schlough, Treasurer
Br. Nathanael Deward Rahm BSG, Parish Office
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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.
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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