Category: Newsletter

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.”

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.

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.

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke?” — Isaiah 58:6

Even as we “spring forward,” we look back on a most exceptional year in our individual lives and as a parish. The rector writes: “As we mark this solemn one year anniversary, I want to thank God, who has been with us in the wilderness and is with us still, bringing water in the desert for so much longer than any of us imagined.”

From the rector: “This year I am thinking of Lent not as spring cleaning, but as spring thaw. When I walk around the city, I see the dirty remnant of the last snow, and in the parks, the wet ground where the snow has melted. It is slushy and then muddy — a mess before the new growth of spring crocuses peak up through the earth. What, I wonder, in my life or in yours might thaw this Lent?”
 
Join us at 11 a.m. for Sunday’s service via Zoom and in our activities in the weeks ahead as we warm to the message that the Creator and Ruler of the Universe loves us to the point of even dying for us if we demanded it.

The rector writes: “I wonder if a holy Lent is one in which we bring ourselves to God just as we are, seeking deep rest and nourishment for our hearts and bodies. Maybe this season invites us to relax in the presence of the holy one who loves us, dream and playfully imagine the fullness of life, and move as feels good to us, following the lengthening warmth and light.”
 
Join us at 11 a.m. for Sunday’s service via Zoom and in our activities in the weeks ahead as, together, we discover restorative joy and rest, and the knowledge that we are loved.

Having spent a tumultuous year, this Lent we are asking ourselves how to stand for justice; how we can seek reconciliation; how to forgive and love our enemies; how to care for the vulnerable and marginalized; and how we can build Beloved Community.
 
From the rector: “It’s not always easy to figure out what we are called to do in situations of conflict, injustice and hurt. And yet there is no more important work for our world, our church, our personal relationships or our own souls.” Join us at 11 a.m. for Sunday’s service via Zoom and in our activities in the weeks ahead as we explore this work.

While we can’t have imposition of ashes this year, due to the pandemic, we will still gather for our annual liturgy marking the beginning of Lent and a time of self-examination and reflection. Join us at 6pm, Wednesday, February 17, via Zoom — ascensionnyc.org/ashwednesday — or via phone: 929-205-6099, using meeting ID 988 5984 7802.