We hope you have a chance to get away this summer and enjoy some rest and re-creation. Meanwhile, the Church of the Ascension is still here, and we need to pay salaries, keep the electricity on, support our various programs, and keep the doors open for the many, many summer visitors that pass up and down Fifth Avenue and stop in to pray or simply enjoy the quiet and beauty of our church.
So, a reminder: If you’re going away, still please keep your pledge up to date. Thank you!
Listen to the sermon preached by the Rev. Ed Chinery on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 21, 2025.
This week, the rector reflects on Advent’s invitation to hope when circumstances feel bleak or overwhelming. Drawing on Isaiah’s story of King Ahaz and Matthew’s account of Joseph, she explores the tension between realism and trust—between protecting ourselves from disappointment and daring to imagine what God might do. These texts challenge us to notice where cynicism or caution keeps us from hope, and to consider the risks of faithful dreaming. Advent asks whether we can trust that God is truly with us, even in the messiness and brokenness of our world.