ascension this week volume 1 issue 7
TRANSCRIPT
ask if Safe Church training is
completed by those required
and expected.
Special thanks to members of
the vestry who took on the
responsibility of ensuring food
and refreshments for the day
either by preparing food or
offering a financial donation.
On Saturday November 12
Ascension hosted a Safe
Church workshop open to
everyone in the Staten Island
IPC. Several members from
St. Simons, one from Christ
Church and one from St. An-
drews along with Staten Is-
land’s Beloved Mother Rhoda
received training, certification
or recertification in the princi-
ples of Safe Guarding God’s
People and Safe Guarding
God’s Children. The certifica-
tion is valid for 5 years after-
which it must be renewed by
attending another training.
Mother Claire Woodley led the
all day workshop and empha-
sized that as a result of participa-
tion in this workshop our
churches will be even safer for
everyone.
Additionally both insurance
companies and auditors now
Safe Church Workshop
C H U R C H O F T H E A S C E N S I O N , 1 K I N G S L E Y A V E , S I N Y 1 0 3 1 4
November 17, 2016
“Our mission is to
celebrate God’s
transforming Love in
Jesus, by following
where Jesus’ Love is
calling us to serve the
community”
Vol 1 Issue 7
Ascension this week Volume 1 Issue 7
Special points of
interest:
Sun Nov 20 INGATH-
ERING SUNDAY ONE
MASS at 9AM.
Sun Nov 20 St. Mar-
tha’s Bake Sale
Wed Nov 23 Evening
Thanksgiving Holy
Eucharist
Christmas Mass
Schedule: Christmas
Eve at 5, and 10:30
Inside this issue:
What it means to be an parish in the Episcopal church.
2
And a little child shall lead them Christ the King—Mother Joanne
3
Healing Hurts, Releas-ing and Resolving Resentments, Free to Forgive and Live!
3
Shared Ministry 3
Grace, Gratitude and Generosity A great cloud of wit-nesses
4
The word Episcopal comes
from the Greek word for Over-
seer. The word presbyter
comes from the Greek word
Elder. The word deacon,
comes from the Greek word
for servant. All three roles, are
found in the New Testament
as a descriptive of how the
early church was formed, orga-
nized and functioned from the
earliest days of the first com-
munity.
Two of the New Testament
epistles are written to bishops,
Timothy and Titus. The au-
thor exhorts them in relation
to their duty and responsibility
as Overseers, bishops, authori-
ty for the congregations, small
churches, under their authori-
ty in the region where they
lived.
St. Justin wrote around the
year 100 that “where the Bish-
op Is there the church gath-
ers.”
At the time of the reformation
one of the unique aspects of
the Reformation of the
Church in England to the
Church of England was the
fact that Archbishop Cran-
mer , himself a scholar of the
early church history and scrip-
ture, appreciated the tradition
of the church and was ada-
mant to ensure the continu-
ance of the historic Episcopate
and the three sacred orders of
Bishop, Priests and Deacons.
Unlike other reform move-
ments of the times, the
Church in England was the
only one to maintain succes-
sion of the historic Episcopate.
The Roman, Orthodox and
Anglican Communion all
share in common the belief
and practice of a Church
founded upon Christ and or-
ganized hierarchically.
The Anglican Church of
which the Episcopal Church is
a member is a bridge between
the Orthodox Churches and
the Protesting Churches by the
fact that we have maintained
the historic Episcopate Locally
Adapted.
The priest is called by the bish-
op to works as a pastor, priest,
and teacher, together with the
bishop and fellow presbyters
and to take his/her share in
the councils of the church.
Just as where the Bishop is the
church gathers, so where the
priest is there the parish is
formed.
Churches without priests in
the Episcopal church are not
constituted as parishes, they
are congregations with a va-
cant cure.
We know from best practices
that congregations with a va-
cant cure do not thrive, they
may survive for a time, but
eventually they die. The
death is often sad, slow and
painful. We also know from
best practices that parishes
with even a shared ministry of
a priest not only survive but
discover how to thrive.
What does it mean to be a parish in the Episcopal Church?
“ To work in the
world lovingly means
that we are defining
what we will be for,
rather than reacting
to what we are
against.”
-Christina Baldwin
Page 2
Ascension this week
This Sunday the Children will
be collecting non-perishable
food items for the food basket
and will bring these forward
during the offertory.
Also the Children will be join-
ing Mother Joanne at the Alar
during the Eucharistic Prayer
and will Lead Us all in the
recitation of the Lord’s Prayer.
Moms and Dads, Grands
please practice the Lord’s Pray-
er during the week with your
child.
This is the first in a series of arti-
cles about Shared Ministry .
You have all heard by now Ascen-
sion was invited to be part of a
pilot project where a team of
priests, will work to prepare As-
cension for Sharing a priest with
either one or two other Episcopal
congregations on Staten Island.
And a Little Child Shall lead them US!!!
Shared Ministry:
The Last Sunday of Pentecost—Christ the King
This Sunday, Nov. 13 we celebrate the end of Pentecost Season in the feast of Christ The King of the World, and our lives. In this liminal place between Pentecost and Advent we are remind-ed of the intimate connection between Christmas and Crucifixion: the Incarnation of Redeem-ing Grace realized in His Once For All Sacrifice that all the earth be reconciled to God.
“ The church must be
reminded that it is not
the master or the
servant of the state,
but rather the
conscience of the state.
It must be the guide
and the critic of the
state, and never its
tool. If the church does
not recapture its
prophetic zeal, it will
become an irrelevant
social club without
moral or spiritual
authority.”
-The Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.
Page 3
Vol 1 Issue 7
Phase I: Mother Joanne, repre-
senting the Canon For Transition-
al ministry worked with Ascension
to develop a Mission Statement
and encourage Ascension to
choose how to carry out that mis-
sion in the local community.
Phase II: Mother Joanne and Fr.
Mark Brown SSJE teamed up to
serve Ascension with Mother
Joanne attending to administra-
tive details and Fr. Brown SSJE,
to pastoral ministry. Phase III: Fr.
Roy Coles ,as canon missioner for
Staten Island, tasked under the
Canon to the ordinary, will step
into an administrative role and
Mother Joanne will leave. Fr.
Brown will remain until July.
Phase IV: With input from Fr.
Cole Bishop Dietsche will appoint
a Priest In Charge of Ascension
shared with 1-2 congregations.
“Let Every Heart prepare Him room!”
Healing Hurts, Releasing Resentment, Finding the capacity to Forgive
On Sunday December 4th after the 8am mass and again after the 10am mass Mother Joanne will offer a
25 minute guided experience to allow participants to shake loose parts hurts, resentments in order to live
more freely and lovingly now. This guided exercise allows us to experience God’s grace expelling the nega-
tive effects of the past that we still carry with us in the present once and for all so that we are freed to
enjoy the fullness of life in Christ Jesus Our Lord on earth as in Heaven. Participants will not share their
hurts or resentments with others. “And heaven and nature Sing”
Grace, Gratitude and Generosity
You have heard me say people do not give to
organizations in need but rather to
organizations that meet needs and this is
true. It is also true that there is another
need, one deeply felt by all human beings,
the need to Belong. We all Long to belong to
someone, to something larger than
ourselves, to make a difference in the world,
to know our lives matter. When this need is
satisfied, a second need in us is liberated
bubbles up: The need to express our joy and
gratitude to God and others that our deepest
longing is met.
In these last days of our annual stewardship
campaign reflect back on how The Church of
the Ascension over the years has met your
need and that of others to belong; to make a
difference in the world . Let the Joy and
Gratitude bubble over in generous giving as
you are able.
On Monday November 21 the church re-
members the contributions of three com-
posers whose music continues to beautify
and grace our worship. William Byrd,
Thomas Tallis and John Merbecke.
In 1550 John Merbecke creatred musical
notation enhancing the first prayerbook of
1549. Below are youtube links for each.
The Nicene Creed, John Merbecke:
https://youtu.be/tLHfbGoChy4
O Gracious Light, Thomas Tallis:
https://youtu.be/wKAtbjlEJcQ
Sing Joyfully, William Byrd:
https://youtu.be/lRtOLRPceQ8
A Great Cloud of Witnesses
Where there is always a place at the table
Visit us on the web at
http://
www.ascensionsi.org/