This Week at Ascension + July 12, 2023

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

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Benedict of Nursia,

Abbot of Monte Cassino, 540 (tr.)



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.

Image: St. Benedict, Hans Memling (1430-1494)

VIA YOUTUBE or FACEBOOK LIVE

The Seventh Sunday

after Pentecost

July 16, 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 Sower III, Vincent van Gogh (1858-1890) Van Gogh Museum, Netherlands

Click to join us VIA YOUTUBE

or VIA FACEBOOK LIVE

From the Interim Rector

In 1535, the early days of liturgy and scripture in the vernacular, Myles Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter, published the first complete English translation of the bible. Much of his work survived into the Authorised Version that most of us know as the King James Bible of 1611. Coverdale’s translation of the psalms was based on Martin Luther’s German translation and the Latin Vulgate translation. This version is still found in many places in the Anglican Communion.

Even in Judaism, there are varied opinions on the authorship of various texts, as well as their liturgical use. This extends even to the Psalms, and majority opinion holds that the psalms were sung by the Levites at the Tabernacle and the Temple. 

In considering the Psalms for the 1979 prayer book, the framers took two different approaches. They continued to use typesetting to unify our recitation for the Psalms. In addition, a thorough and systematic look at the underlying Hebrew was undertaken. Archaic and obsolete words used in other translations were removed, and difficult renderings of phrases adjusted. 

The rhythmic structure of the Hebrew was preserved where possible. Texts were oriented so that the psalms could be sung with Anglican Chant. The numbering of the psalms follows the Hebrew, rather than the Latin. The psalms in the prayer book are printed as poetry, recalling their Hebrew origin. That structure is based upon parallelism of: clauses, form, similarity, or expansion. Often you see chiastic or reflecting ideas and structures.

So to support this, when the typesetting for the psalms was undertaken, they were very careful to keep the Hebrew sense of the lines. Each printed line is intended to be said or sung without regard to any internal punctuation. (The one exception to this is a period.) This enables a congregation to sing or recite the psalms in unison. 

Yes, there are some psalms that have very long lines. Take a look at Ps:19 vv7-10. The deep indent is an indication of the continuation of the line. Verse 10 is set just like 7-9 and should be handled identically.

Part of the reason for this is that there is no "settled law" for how commas, colons, and semicolons are to be observed. While a choir singing the psalm by itself can agree on how these will be observed, if it is carried to congregational singing, it turns into "secret code". This is also characteristic of any of the unison recitation texts in the prayer book. Sometimes the place where a line has been broken doesn't make sense, but there you go.

—Fr. Heard



Thank you!

Pictured are your donations received for the Quevedo Family as of this past Sunday, 7/9. Thank you to our parishioners who picked up prayer cards and made this photo a reality. (Contributed Target gift cards are not included in this photo.) The donations will be delivered soon.

Photo: Jay Peterson

¿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

Last week, 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.

Join us as we pray for Br. Nathanael Deward Rahm BSG and all Brothers of the Brotherhood of Saint Gregory meeting for their Annual Summer Convocation at St. Mary Seminary and University in Baltimore, MD (July 17-22). This summer they will be celebrating the reception of one Novice and three Life Professions of Vows.

Nathanael will be out of the office from Thursday afternoon, 7/13, through Monday, 7/24.

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:

Ann Griffin, Russell Staufenbiel, Joyce Lee, Patricia Spencer, Rachel Smolinski,

Sarah Reece Glanman, Sgt. Manuel Arroyo, 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:

The Rev. Paul Ahn, 7/11 

Requiescat in pace:

Arthur Ritchie, Priest, 9th Rector, 7/9/1921;

David Knitter, 7/9/2018; Betty Lodine, 7/11/2006;

Oliver William Porter, 7/13/1999; Edward Jacobs, 7/13/2000;

Jerry Haapanen, 7/13/2017

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 16, 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.