Category: News

This week, our rector marks the spring equinox with a reflection on balance, renewal, and our deep connection to the natural world. As light and dark meet in equal measure, we are invited to notice the beauty around us, trust in the Holy Gardener at work within us, and step boldly into new life. Included is a poetic blessing by Christine Valters Paintner to guide us into the season. Also: Join us this Sunday as we prepare bag lunches for our unhoused neighbors — an opportunity to share spring’s generosity in action!

In this week’s newsletter, Mother Liz reflects on Jesus’ deep grief and longing as he laments over Jerusalem, using the image of a mother hen gathering her chicks — a scene depicted in a mosaic at the Dominus Flevit Church on the Mount of Olives. In the face of a broken world, we are reminded that God not only weeps for us but with us. Lent can be a season of lament, but also one of comfort and renewal, as we take shelter under God’s loving, mothering wings and find strength for the work ahead. On Sunday we are delighted to welcome the Rev. Megan Sanders as our guest preacher and forum leader! Mother Megan is chaplain to Canterbury Downtown and staff in charge of the Episcopal Diocese of New York’s Young Adult Network.

This week, our rector reflects on the urgency of grace and the nearness of God’s love as we begin our Lenten journey. Drawing from Paul’s letters and the gospel’s assurance that the Word dwells among us, we are reminded that love is always within reach — and that now is the time to act. In a world filled with uncertainty, we are called to turn toward love, to engage with those around us, and to take even small steps toward justice and compassion.

This week, our rector reflects on the story of Jesus’ transfiguration — a radiant moment of divine revelation that offers a glimpse of how things truly are. In Malcolm Guite’s poem, which she shares, the light of Christ not only shines outward but also stirs within us, awakening hope and awareness. As we approach the last Sunday of Epiphany, we are invited to remember our own encounters with God’s presence, to notice holiness even in the ordinary, and to be strengthened by beauty, joy, and love for the journey ahead. Also this week: the Shrove Tuesday pancake supper; Ash Wednesday services; a special conversation Thursday evening with the Rev. Fadi Diab, rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Ramallah and St. Peter’s Church in Birzeit; and much more!

Our rector challenges us this week with Jesus’ radical call to love our enemies — a teaching that feels more urgent in a world where harm and injustice persist. Mercy, the heart of the gospel, is not passive; it is an active, courageous practice of breaking cycles of hate and violence with love, prayer, and justice. She suggests we are called to extend compassion to those who suffer and even to those who do harm, trusting in God’s boundless grace.

This commitment to mercy takes shape in action, and this Sunday, we welcome Archdeacon Denise LaVetty as our guest preacher and forum leader. She will introduce us to Ecclesia Ministry, a congregation of unhoused people worshiping at St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery. Our parish is invited to participate by joining in worship and providing food on the fourth Sunday of each month. Come learn how we can share God’s mercy through service and solidarity.

In this week’s newsletter, our rector reflects on a recent visit to the Whitney Museum’s Edges of Ailey exhibit, a vivid tribute to the life and work of Alvin Ailey. The experience sparked deep gratitude for the beauty of Black culture, as well as concern for the future of Black History Month amid efforts to curtail diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The rector reminds us that honoring our shared, diverse heritage is both a spiritual and societal imperative — one that calls us to celebrate the richness of all God’s people with courage, inspiration, and joy.

The rector writes: “I spent part of this morning at a press conference called by the New York Immigration Coalition at our neighbor parish, St. Mark’s in the Bowery. It was specifically to protest the executive order that ends the ‘sensitive site’ designation that protects houses of worship, schools and hospitals from targeting and raids by ICE. I went because I feel strongly that our church and food pantry must be open to all God’s beloved people, regardless of immigration status. Our faith calls us to welcome the stranger, care for those who come to us in need, do justice and love mercy. It does not stop at national borders.” In this week’s newsletter, learn more about what Mother Liz learned and about the fear that’s been tearing through the immigrant community and the teachers, medical professionals and others trying to serve them and their families.

In this week’s newsletter, Mother Liz shares a poem by Denise Levertov and has a series of questions for each of us to consider as we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord, colloquially known as “Candlemas.”

This week, the rector reflects on the sermon preached Tuesday by the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde at Washington National Cathedral — and the reaction to it. In light of many markers and milestones for our parish and the nation, Mother Liz asks: “What and whom do we love? What strengthens our love for God and God’s people? May our life together and our care for each other help us grow deeper into that holy love.” Among those markers: the annual meeting of the parish takes place this Sunday following the 11 am service.

In this week’s newsletter, Mother Liz reflects back on her ten years so far as rector at the Church of the Ascension. Also this week: parishioners who have pledged to support the church will receive email invitations to vote online in this year’s vestry and warden elections in anticipation of our 2025 annual meeting, which is always held the last Sunday of January: in other words, next week!