This Week at Ascension + July 5, 2023

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

Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Proper 9 Feria



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

Saturday, July 8, 2023

Requiem for Burton Edwin Nelson

Said Mass at 2 p.m.

In person & Live Streamed

Click to join us VIA YOUTUBE

or VIA FACEBOOK LIVE

The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

July 9, 2023

7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer via ZOOM

9 a.m. Sung Mass

11 a.m. Solemn Mass -

In-person & Live-streamed

Followed by The Rosary (2nd Sunday)

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

Image: Come Unto Me, oil on canvas, Joann M. Reed [© 1967. Used with Permission of the Artist.]

Click to join us VIA YOUTUBE

or VIA FACEBOOK LIVE

From the Interim Rector

I think most of you know that I am incredibly grateful for the work of Thomas Cranmer and others in the creation of the Book of Common Prayer. Its genius of liturgy in the vernacular continues to this day. Over several hundred years, as our liturgies have been updated to embrace the world in which we live, the grace and majesty of Cranmer’s form and language have maintained a presence even to our current edition.

The official name of our current edition is: The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church Together with The Psalter or Psalms of David According to the use of The Episcopal Church. The framers of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer took on a massive task. In it, they introduced the Holy Week Liturgies (the Triduum), Baptism as full and complete Christian initiation, contemporary language liturgies, as well as eucharistic rites consistent with pre-Constantinian theology. There are still folks that refer to this edition as “the new prayer book”. That’s indicative of what a poor job we did to educate our clergy who, in turn, couldn’t educate the people about the groundbreaking content of the book. Then, of course, there is the resistance to change that seems to be particularly common among Episcopalians.

The framers did some incredible work around aspects that had proven to be problematic. When we have normal text with internal punctuation, there are no formal rules in English for how it is to be observed. Not everyone treats commas, colons, and semi-colons the same. Not everyone can say all of a long sentence without a breath. Where it is intended that we read or sing corporately, the framers did this through the text layout. Those texts that are intended to be said corporately, are set as individual lines of text. We are to read from the beginning of the line to the end and stop before starting the next line. Sometimes the phrases seem too short, but in the interest of being together, this was the accommodation they chose. Specifically, this allowed the people to say the post-communion prayer together with the priest. We’ve become so accustomed to it that in liturgies where it is to be said by the priest or bishop alone (burial office, marriage, ordinations), we all join in even though the text is not laid out for it.

I’ll have more to say about the 1979 book next week.

—Fr. Heard



Housing Items for The Quevedos

Thank you to all who have generously purchased and donated items for the Quevedo Family as they move into their new home. We’ve already received many items and will begin delivering them this week. You still have until July 9 to return the item(s) listed on your prayer card. 

If you wanted to purchase an item but did not get a prayer card, please purchase a gift card to Target. These cards allow the family to purchase a variety of items they need, including groceries, household items, and clothing. Please leave your card in Mtr. Murphy-Gill’s mailbox or hand deliver it on Sunday. She will give you a prayer card so you may recall your gift and continue to pray for the Quevedos.

¿Hablas español?

Spanish Translator Needed

If you speak Spanish and have some availability during the week, please email or call Mtr. Murphy-Gill to assist with some translation with the Quevedos. She is specifically looking for someone who can come in on a Tuesday morning or Wednesday afternoon to meet with the family.

Pastoral Visitors Info Sheet Now Available

Previously, an information sheet about lay pastoral visits was linked in the newsletter but was unfortunately not accessible because of permission settings.

That information sheet is now accessible and available here.

Summer Retreat Saturday, July 29

Step out of your busy life from 11 am to 3 pm, Saturday, July 29, to spend some time with yourself, fellow spiritual journeyers, and God. This retreat will take place at Ascension and will be led by Lauren Schwer, Director of Ignatian Spirituality at Loyola University Chicago. We’ll learn how to spend time daily in reflection on God’s presence as well as explore the things in our lives that can prevent us from living the lives that God calls us into. Lunch will be provided. Look for the sign up sheet at coffee hour or you may use this link (so we know how much lunch to order) or email Mtr. Murphy-Gill to RSVP.

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:

Sam Sommers, Sarah Reece Glanman, The Gibbons family,

Noah Riggenbach, Sgt. Manuel Arroyo, Nat Simpson,

The Quevedo family, Andrew Abbott, Suzanne Dines, James Christiansen, Lee Gould,

John Schram, Gertrude Isaac, Thomas Wikman, MB Hwang, Juanita Malone, Oksana, Tyler,

David S. Jones, Richard Francis Tracz, Robert Browning, Natalia & Victor, Dorothy,

Victor Fernandez, Claire Green, Beth Hall, Sue Lenz, Brenda Martins

Birthdays: Gary MacDougal 7/3; Albie Gill, 7/3; Jahari Sean Moore, 7/4;

William Ford, 7/5; Judy Di Zhao, 7/6

Requiescat in pace: Bernard Markwell, 7/2/2003; Doris Mae Horne, 7/6/1980;

Raymond E. Harkness, 7/8/1995

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 July 9, 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.