Tonight: 'Hand of God' salad, Minestrone Encore soup,
hard-crusted Italian bread, assorted drinks
.
6:10 pm Evening Prayer; 6:30 pm Low Mass;
7:15 pm Meal & Program in St. Michael Hall, ending by 8:45 pm.
More information below.
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Entry into Jerusalem
,
Duccio di Buoninsegna
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Sunday, April 14
The Sunday of the Passion:
Palm Sunday
7:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
8:00 a.m. Low Mass (Rite I)
9:00 a.m. Sung Mass
11:00 a.m. Palm Procession &
Solemn High Mass
Lodovico Grossi da Viadana
(c. 1560-1627)
Missa L'Hora passa
See the complete Holy Week
and Easter schedule below.
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This Week at Ascension + April 10, 2019
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From the Rector
Holy Week and Easter Schedule
Also From the Rector
Last Sunday's Sermon
Ascension Connections: April 13
Ascension Book Group News
St. James Commons Reception: April 11
This Sunday at Ascension
The Parish Prayer List
Approved Vestry Minutes Online
The Last Word
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 Do ask, do tell
"They were both my patients and they were two kids.
I took care of both of them...of both their bodies.
And... for a brief moment I wondered if
this is how God feels when he looks down at us.
How we are all his kids...Our bodies...Our souls...
And I felt a great deal of compassion...for both of them..."
-
Dr. Cantway, from The Laramie Project
Dear people of Ascension,
I can't comprehend being gay. I can't speak with any legitimacy for or about others who are gay. And now I serve as rector of a parish in which gay members, staff and clergy have long been a defining constituency. I can't imagine Ascension without the faith, gifts and leadership of that constituency. Can you?
Some of you may wonder why I believed and believe that this evening's Lenten program was and is a good idea. Well, times have changed. We all know that. So, why talk about it? Aren't we all inundated by talking about it?
Perhaps. But talking about it is a primary feature of a widespread cultural change that seems to have been knocking on Ascension's door, unanswered, for a long time. 'Don't ask, don't tell' still seems to be a prevailing norm. It seems a dissonant norm for a church in which the clergy have presided at same-sex unions (and, subsequently, marriages) since 2011. And it's a norm that younger newcomers, of whatever sexual identity or faith tradition, can't comprehend and, frankly, won't long tolerate.
 Tonight's program will not be a deep dive into theological or moral questions per se. There won't be time to examine all matters under the umbrella of 'LGBTQ.' We won't be positioning Ascension at the prow of change.
The evening will include time to share stories and to hear the stories of others. The program and atmosphere will, I trust, invite meaningful connections, questions and reflections. I'm personally praying for a sense of how--
amidst so much change in the meeting places of sexuality, relationships and faith
--Ascension can remain most authentic, faithful and lively. In that prayer, I trust we may all find common ground.
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HOLY WEEK AND EASTER SCHEDULE
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Holy Week
Sunday of the Passion:
Palm Sunday, April 14
Regular Sunday Schedule.
Maundy Thursday rehearsal following Solemn High Mass.
Maundy Thursday, Apr. 18
Liturgy at 7 pm
Good Friday, April 19
Stations of the Cross, Noon
Liturgy rehearsal 4:00 p.m.
Good Friday Liturgy at 7 pm
Holy Saturday, April 20
Liturgy
in the
Garden, 10 am
Vigil Rehearsal 11 am
Celebration of Easter
Great Vigil of Easter, Sat. 4/20, 8 pm
Wheeler Hall reception.
Easter Day, April 21
(
No 8 am mass
)
Sung Mass, 9 am
Acolyte rehearsal 10:30 am
Solemn High Mass, 11 am
A Security Guard will be on-hand for all evening liturgies.
Invite a friend!
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Regarding this evening's fourth and final Lenten program, '
Speaking love's name: Being gay and the Anglo-Catholic Christian' ...
● My thanks to Father Bob Petite and Junior Warden Gary Alexander
for leading and facilitating. I know they have been thoughtfully preparing. If you're unable to take part this evening but have comments or questions, please direct them to Fr. Petite and/or Gary and/or me.
● My thanks as well to all who have taken part in all of our evening Lenten programs
: our presenters and participants, and especially those who have helped with the dishes!
● Remember to come to the parish house doors and ring the bell
if you arrive after the end of the 6:30 p.m. mass and find the church doors closed.
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Please consider your contributions of time, talent or treasure to our Holy Week and Easter worship, devotion and fellowship.
I'm sorry to report that only ONE individual has made a commitment on the sign-up sheets placed in Wheeler Hall. Please find your way there, or speak to or email me or contact the parish office to:
● Take part in the Maundy Thursday Watch at the Altar of Repose.
● Assist with hospitality for the reception following the Easter Vigil.
● Assist with coffee hour following the Solemn High Mass on Easter Day.
● Help with the arrangement of Easter flowers
on Saturday, April 20, at 11 a.m.
●
Make an online donation now
toward flowers for Easter Day
and for the Maundy Thursday Altar of Repose. Please specify if you wish to designate a thanksgiving or memorial.
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The new flat roof
over a large section of the parish house (pictured here) was largely completed yesterday. The new rectory and gutters are being completed today. Hooray! (In lieu of what can't be said in Lent.)
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ASCENSION CONNECTIONS: April 13
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IT'S NOT TOO LATE
It's not too late to reserve your spot for Ascension Connection's next outing:
G. B. Shaw's witty and complex play, The Doctor's Dilemma at ShawChicago.
The performance is at noon on Saturday, April 13th at Ruth Page Center for the Arts,
1016 N. Dearborn, right around the corner from Ascension.
The show runs 2 hours, 30 minutes, and there will be a short discussion after the performance featuring Mother Jackie Cameron (a specialist in medical ethics) and the director, Ascension's own Gary Alexander. ShawChicago announced earlier this year that it is closing after 25 years of operation so this may be your last chance to experience the wit, wisdom, and beauty of Shaw's writing in a format dedicated to celebrating his inimitable use of language.
Plan to meet at 11:30 a.m. Tickets will be procured on your behalf.
"One of Shaw's sharpest works-in a beautifully spoken performance."
Recommended
Albert Williams
Chicago Reader
"Gary Alexander adds his expertise to a production that celebrates the music of the spoken word. He's assembled and directed a gifted cast of actors, all of whom understand the beauty and power they wield in a concert reading.
Colin Douglas
Theatre in Chicago
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ASCENSION BOOK GROUP NEWS
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For April the Ascension Book Group will read two of the plays from
Four Major Plays by Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906),
Ghosts (1881) and
Hedda Gabler (1891).
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ST JAMES COMMONS RECEPTION REMINDER
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Parishioner Jim Lenz has asked us to share
:
 A free reception at St. James Commons on Thursday evening, April 11, 6-8 p.m.,will feature information on Holy Land pilgrimages and on the ministry of the Episcopal/Anglican church in the region and ... "Enjoy Middle Eastern Food"! The event is sponsored by
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The
Sunday Lectionary readings
,
Schedules of Acolytes, Lectors & Ushers
as well as Hymnody, Motets and Organ Voluntaries for
Sunday, April 14, 2019
may be found by clicking
here
.
The Lector's Pronunciation Guide may be found
here
.
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Please remember these people in your daily prayers
Geoffrey Wainwright, Fr. John Graham, Dorothy Murray, Mary Lou Devens, Michael Milano, Thomas Holden, Brenton Boitse, Charley Taylor, August 'Augie' Alonzo
, Kenvert Samuel, Ted Long, Jim Berger, Ethel Martin, Rachel Barton Pine, Demos Kukeas, Norb Bragiel, Yuka Asai, Dean Pineda, Pastor Fred Overdier,
Kristen Halvorsen, Helena Wilson, Denise Gordon, Vicki Giusti, Sr. Barbara Louise OSA, Bazelais Suy, Carnola Malone, Charlene MacDougal, Thom Ehlen, Mary Pascale, Frank & Annette Kuhle, Krista Delaney, Pedro Illás, Courtney Walsh, Doreen Finn
Prayers for the departed
Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord: and let light perpetual shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
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APPROVED VESTRY MINUTES ONLINE
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The Approved Minutes of Vestry meetings are now available online to parishioners who request the link. If you would like Internet access to the Approved Vestry Minutes, please email the
Church Office and request the link.
Once you access the web page, you can read all recent Approved Vestry Minutes. In addition, if you click on the subscribe button at the top right, you will be given email notice whenever a new set of Approved Minutes is added.
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The Exhortation and Collect from
'The Witnessing and Blessing of a Marriage'
Approved by General Convention 2015
Dearly beloved, in the name of God and the Church we have come together today with N.N. and N. N., to witness the vows they make, committing themselves to one another in marriage. Forsaking all others, they will bind themselves to one another in a covenant of mutual fidelity and steadfast love, remaining true to one another in heart, body, and mind, as long as they both shall live.
The lifelong commitment of marriage is not to be entered into lightly or thoughtlessly,
but responsibly and with reverence. Let us pray, then, that God will give them the strength to remain steadfast in what they vow this day. Let us also pray for the generosity to support them in the commitment they undertake and for the wisdom to see God at work in their life together.
Presider
The Lord be with you.
People
And also with you.
Presider
Let us pray.
Almighty and everliving God: look tenderly upon N.and N., who stand before you in the company of your Church. Let their life together bring them great joy. Grant them so to love selflessly and live humbly, that they may be to one another and to the world a witness and a sign of your never-failing love and care; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, to the ages of ages. Amen.
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