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!
In this week’s newsletter, Mother Liz celebrates Earth Month alongside Eastertide, noting how resurrection speaks not only to humanity but to “the groaning of the whole creation” and God’s determination to make all things new. She observes that when Mary Magdalene mistakes the risen Christ for a gardener, we glimpse the deep interconnection of all beings—and when we touch creation’s wounds with reverence and compassion, we meet God. Quoting Robin Wall Kimmerer, the rector reminds us that “when we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us,” and invites us to deepen our love and commitment to our fragile, beautiful planet.
Listen to the sermon preached by the Rev. Ed Chinery on the Third Sunday of Easter, April 19, 2026.