The Lord is risen indeed! Allelulia!
Happy Easter! Our service again this year takes place via Zoom. Preludial choral music begins at 10:45 a.m.; the service itself begins at 11 a.m. Please join us as we celebrate the resurrection, rebirth and renewal of Easter, spring, and an increasingly vaccinated city!
Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
This podcast episode features the hymns and anthem recorded by Dr. Dennis Keene and the Ascension Choir, featuring the Manton Memorial Organ, for the Church of the Ascension’s worship service on Good Friday, April 2, 2021, which took place online via Zoom.
The Great Vigil — Easter’s equivalent of Christmas’s Eve — was the ancient gathering of believers in the hours of darkness to hear scripture and offer prayer. Initially a night-long service ending at dawn, this practice of prayerful watching anticipated the baptisms that would come at first light. Easter was the primary baptismal baptismal occasion for the early church, and still today, whether we celebrate a baptism during the Vigil or not, we reaffirm our own baptismal vows after hearing the record of God’s saving deeds in history. In this way, we further link the meanings of Christ’s dying and rising to our understanding of our own baptisms.
To commemorate Good Friday, please join us online, via Zoom, at noon. The rector writes: “We invite you to bring a cross with you to the service. This may be a cross that you already use for prayer, or one that you make, paint or draw for this day. This past year has been so full of extraordinary occasions that show us the cross: agonized suffering, cruel injustice, helpless vigils, unspeakable courage, self-giving sacrifice. As we contemplate all that we have lived through in the shadow of Jesus’ Passion, may the crosses we bring remind us of the depth of God’s love for us and for the whole world.”
This podcast episode features the hymns and anthem recorded by Dr. Dennis Keene and the Ascension Choir, featuring the Manton Memorial Organ, for the Church of the Ascension’s worship service on Maundy Thursday, April 1, 2021, which took place online via Zoom.
At 7 p.m. on Maundy Thursday, we will gather online via Zoom to remember Jesus’ last night before his crucifixion. The rector invites us, in our own homes and in our own ways, to then spend part of our evening following the service keeping watch with Christ. “Light a candle, read a psalm, perhaps open your journal. Sit in quiet. Ask Jesus to be present to you and bring all your griefs, struggles and hopes for yourself and the world into that space.”
And please join us for the rest of the week for our Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Great Vigil and Easter services, as well. See the complete schedule here.
This podcast episode features the prelude, hymns and anthem recorded by Dr. Dennis Keene and the Ascension Choir, featuring the Manton Memorial Organ, for the Church of the Ascension’s worship service on the Palm Sunday, March 28, 2021, which took place online via Zoom.
The rector writes: “The liturgies of this week speak to some of the deepest, most difficult experiences of human life. They invite us to walk with Jesus from Palm Sunday hosannas to the crowd calling for a lynching; from the intimacy of the upper room to the betrayal, dereliction and God-forsakenness of Good Friday; from the anguish, and silence of death to the wonder and joy of Easter Day.”
Please join us for our Sunday service for Palm Sunday, March 28 at 11 a.m., via Zoom, when we start to share the wondrous gift of Holy Week with its readings, characters and moments. And please join us for the rest of this week, Monday through Easter, by joining our different services marking the passion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.