This Week at Ascension + May 17, 2023

"Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." - Psalm 96

May 17, 2023

Commemoration of Thurgood Marshall

Evening Prayer at 6:00 p.m. via ZOOM

In-person and Live-streamed

Said Mass at 6:30 p.m.

Unction will be available for those who wish it.

VIA YOUTUBE or FACEBOOK LIVE

Feast of the Ascension

Our 166th Feast of Title and

The Episcopal Visitation of

The Rt. Rev. Paula Clark

May 18, 2023

6 p.m. Evening Prayer via ZOOM

7 p.m. Solemn Mass

In-person & Live-streamed



The 7 p.m. Bulletin may be found here.

Image: The Ascension, 1490-1500

Altarpiece from Thuison-les-Abbeville,

The Art Institute of Chicago

Click to join us VIA YOUTUBE

or VIA FACEBOOK LIVE

The Seventh Sunday of Easter

May 21, 2023

7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via ZOOM

9 a.m. Sung Mass

11 a.m. Solemn Mass -

In-person & Live-streamed

The 11 a.m. Order of Worship may be found here.

Image: The High Priestly Prayer, 1900, Eugene Burnand

Click to join us VIA YOUTUBE

or VIA FACEBOOK LIVE

Blessing of "Ascension"

A painting of the Ascension that was commissioned by Benjamin Rivera has been given to the Church of the Ascension. It was painted by Josefien Stoppelenburg, who we hope to be with us for the bishop’s visitation and reception. Please look for it in Wheeler Hall where Bishop Clark will bless it at the beginning of the reception.

Ascension, Josefien Stoppelenburg (2022)

From The Interim Rector

The Ascension of Our Lord is explicitly covered in the Gospel According to Mark and the Gospel According to Luke. For both of these, the ascension is portrayed as a ‘taking up to heaven’, perhaps alluding to the prophet Elijah being “taken up into heaven.” In the Gospel According to John, the ascension is only alluded to, and not explicitly covered. Here, Jesus’ ascension is a return to the Godhead, where he had originated as outlined for us in the prologue

St. Luke’s portrayal is the most detailed: 

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple.

Bethany is on the Mount of Olives, to the west of the Old City of Jerusalem. Today, the Chapel of the Ascension is near the peak, in a structure that dates to the Crusades. Like its Byzantine predecessor, it was an octagonal shape, open to the sky, to which a domed roof was added. Inside the chapel is a slab that is said to contain the footprints of Jesus.

As with many sites in the Holy Land, certainty about precise location is not easily achieved. On the other hand, this site has been revered since the first century as the place where Jesus’ ascension occurred. I visited the chapel in February of 2020. This was one of the places where I had a sense of ‘rightness’. The place where the footprint sits had something unique about it; I had the same sense of holiness there that I’d felt in other places. It is something that I will never forget.

Blessing of a painting of The Ascension 

A painting of the Ascension that was commissioned by Benjamin Rivera has been given to the Church of the Ascension. It was painted by Josefien Stoppelenburg, who we hope to be with us for the bishop’s visitation and reception. Please look for it in Wheeler Hall where Bishop Clark will bless it at the beginning of the reception.

—Fr. Heard

From the Senior Warden

Blessings!

At the Vestry’s Buildings and Grounds Committee meeting, a sub-committee, consisting of Mike Vales (chair), Jay Jacot, Ken Kelling and David Robertson was set up to address the needs and potential uses —with the able help and insights from our Facility Manager George Panice— of 1125 N. La Salle and to explore potential future uses for the structure/site.

I have also charged the committee to solicit recommendations for the future use of the site from the congregation. Keeping a broad and open mind, please submit your ideas for its possible uses. No ideas will be considered too big or small. If you would, please forward your suggestions via email to: vales60659@gmail.com by 06/30/2023. Note, no actions will be taken until, or without further studies and an open congregational meeting(s) of voting members, after the new Rector has arrived. 

Peace,

—LaVerne Saunders

New Ministry Opportunity to Accompany Migrants in Chicago

Approximately 25% of Venezuela’s population, more than 7.2 million people, has left that country largely thanks to a dire economic crisis. To put that in perspective, Ireland saw 1 million of its people depart during the mid-19th century thanks to famine, many of whom arrived in the United States.

Knowing what to do or how to help can feel overwhelming, especially when it seems as if this crisis is taking place at a political level. But there are absolutely human beings involved and there are also very humane ways to get involved and support those who have been uprooted from their homes and thrust into a different country and culture. One of those ways members of Ascension are invited to consider is the ministry of accompaniment.

This ministry may include accompanying parents to appointments at a local school, a doctor's office, Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), Immigration Court, as well as on trips to the grocery store. Accompaniment is critical during an asylum seeker's first several months in the Chicago area and even more important for a family of asylum seekers with small children. 

Ideally those who volunteer to walk with asylum seekers when they arrive in Chicago are Spanish speakers, because so many (at least 8,500 with more expected) are from Venezuela. But more important to engaging in this ministry is a strong sense of compassion, understanding, patience, and integrity as well as a good knowledge of Chicago locations, streets, and public transportation. 

Contact Mtr. Murphy-Gill if you are sensing a call to this and would like to learn more. 

Update on the Venezuelan Family We Have Been Assisting

Thanks to everyone who continues to offer support to the family seeking asylum from Venezuela. The priority right now is finding them housing that will begin sometime around mid-June. Mtr. Murphy-Gill has been collaborating with a representative from the Sanctuary Working Group and other related organizations to explore all options and find suitable housing for this family, but this continues to be a challenge given the critical status of housing shortages and influx of migrants. If you are aware of housing possibilities or are able to temporarily host a family of five in some way yourself, please call or email Mtr. Murphy-Gill.



Prayer Requests

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. 

Share your prayer requests here.

For our prayers: Suzanne Dines, James Christiansen, Cynthia, Julie Jones, Daniel, Nikki Shaw, Lee Gould, John Schram, Gertrude Isaac, Thomas Wikman, MB Hwang,

Luis & Rocio Hernandez, Juanita Malone, Oksana, Eric Magnuson, Mary W., Tyler,

David S. Jones, Richard Francis Tracz, Thom Racina, Robert Browning,

Natalia & Victor, Dorothy, Victor Fernandez, Claire Green, Beth Hall, Sue Lenz, Brenda Martins

Birthdays: Bob Sheridan, 5/16; Carter & Dana Luery, 5/19

Requiescat in pace: Wilton H. Bunch, Priest, 5/16/2021; Lucille Berger, 5/17

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.

Prayer for the Rector Search Committee

Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family. Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent. Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a rector for The Church of the Ascension that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.



Organ and Choral Repertoire for May 21, 2023

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

Weekly Ascension Schedule

For connections:

via Zoom (click here)

SUNDAYS

7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via Zoom

9:00 a.m. In-person Sung Mass

11:00 a.m. In-person and Live-Streamed Solemn High Mass

VIA YOUTUBE or FACEBOOK LIVE

MONDAY-FRIDAY

8:00 a.m. Morning Prayer via FACEBOOK LIVE

6:00 p.m. Evening Prayer via Zoom

WEDNESDAYS

6:30 p.m. Said Mass

VIA YOUTUBE or FACEBOOK LIVE

Wardens and Vestry of Church of the Ascension

LaVerne Rollé Saunders, Sr. Warden;

SeniorWarden@AscensionChicago.org

David Reeves, Jr. Warden;

JuniorWarden@AscensionChicago.org

Ian Barillas-McEntee, Jim Lo Bello, Ken Cozette, Marlea Edinger, Sean Hansen,

David A. Robertson, Elizabeth Simpson, Joshua Simpson, Samuel Sommers, Clerk



Susan Schlough, Treasurer

Finance@ascensionchicago.org

Br. Nathanael Deward Rahm BSG, Parish Office

Office@ascensionchicago.org

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.