Church of the Ascension

Archives for March 2021

Holy Week Services

God is with us; O, come, let us worship!

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week

Evening Prayers – 8pm
These short services of scripture and prayer will be broadcast on our Facebook and Youtube pages. Download the order of service here.

Maundy Thursday

Prayers and Dinner – 6pm

Set up your worship space at your table, if possible, and have a candle to light and a simple meal such as bread, cheese, fruit, hummus, olives, and wine (or its substitute) set out.  We will give thanks for our food and one another and hear the call to self-giving love before eating.

You can choose whether you wish to eat online or off. Either way, when you are done, you are invited to strip your homes in preparation for Good Friday.

How to join the service:
Pray on your own, knowing you are not alone or join the service on Zoom. The Zoom link is available through the parish email list or on request from the office. This service will not be recorded.

The bulletin and other resources for the service can be found here.

Good Friday

Love is Stronger than Death: Stations of the Cross for All-Ages – 10am
This moving service uses simple language and the hope-filled refrain that love is stronger than death to tell the story of Jesus’ journey to the cross in a way that is suitable for young children as well as their elders. Unlike a traditional Stations service or the Liturgy of Good Friday, we end the service with the (quiet) good news of the Resurrection in order to ensure our youngest members feel safe and reassured as they wait for Sunday.

How to join the service:
This service will take place on Zoom at 10 am with time for people to interact with one another. This service will not be recorded but a pre-recorded version of the service will be made available for home use.

The Zoom link is available through the parish email list or on request from the office.

Liturgy of Good Friday – 11:30am
Set up your worship space with just a cross – perhaps one you make for the occasion by tying two found sticks together.

This simplified Good Friday service includes the reading of the Passion of Christ according to St. John, the solemn intercessions, and a time of meditation on the Cross of Jesus.

How to join the service:
Download the order of service here.

Pray the service on your own, knowing you are not alone, or join others on Zoom. The link is available through the parish email or on request from the office.

We will not be recording this service although some elements will be pre-recorded and available for private prayer.

Easter Sunday

Claiming the Hope of the Resurrection

Easter is coming, friends, even if it’s going to feel a little weird.

Easter Morning Greeting
Join in a phone chain to spread the Good News of the Resurrection with the traditional Easter greeting: Alleluia! Christ is risen! Sign up here to give permission for your number to be shared with your designated Easter Greeter and to be assigned a number to call in your turn. Calls will be made between 9 and 9:45 on Easter morning. Deadline to sign up is Tuesday, March 30.

Easter Service – 10 a.m.
Our Easter service (on Zoom and streamed to Facebook) will include some of the stories of God’s saving work, presented with poetry, song, and imagination by different members of our community. We will release the Alleluias and ask God to set our hearts free to soar after them as we proclaim the Easter Gospel. We will renew our baptismal vows and be reminded of who we are called to be in a world that is crying out for rebirth.

Prepare to join in the celebration by setting up your worship space with :

  • your Good Friday cross, now decorated with lights, flowers, or streamers
  • a candle ready to light
  • Alleluia streamers or banners to wave
  • a big bowl of water

How to join the service:
Download the order of service (available soon).

Join Zoom with a computer or smartphone or call in to Zoom by dialing 1-647-374-4685 and entering the meeting ID 301 177 504. This service will be recorded and made available on Facebook and Youtube later on Easter Sunday

Worship at Ascension

Sundays 10am Holy Eucharist with music (Sunday School every second week)

Mondays 8:30pm Compline (refreshments and conversation 7:30pm)

Tuesdays 10am Lectio Divina and Eucharist (in the hall)

Thursday Evenings Taizé, Contemplative Eucharist, Book Study and more. Check the calendar for details!

Saved to Sing our Praises

The Story for the
Fourth Sunday in Lent
March 14, 2021

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

Psalm 107:1-3,17-22

Give thanks to the Lord who is good,
and whose mercy endures for ever.

Let all those whom the Lord has redeemed proclaim
that God redeemed them from the hand of the foe.

The Lord gathered them out of the lands;
from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

Some were fools and took to rebellious ways;
they were afflicted because of their sins.

They abhorred all manner of food and drew near to death’s door.
Then they cried to you, O Lord, in their trouble,
and you delivered them from their distress.

You sent forth your word and healed them and saved them from the grave.
Let them give thanks to you, O Lord, for your mercy
and the wonders you do for your children.

Let them offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and tell of your acts with shouts of joy.


Something to Do

Walking through Lent

This week’s breath prayer to accompany you on your walk:

This week, as you take a breath in,
Give thanks to the Lord
and, as you slowly release your breath,
whose mercy endures forever.

End your walk by thanking God for keeping you company.

A sacrifice of thanksgiving

It’s a simple assignment – say thank you this week. Say thank you to the people in your life. Say thank you to the earth that sustains you. Say thank you to the God who made you. Write your thank you’s down or speak them aloud – just don’t keep them inside.

Something to Wonder

afflicted because of their sins

Sins have consequences – sometimes because we punish ourselves in our thoughts and hearts and sometimes because of the impact they have on the world around us. When have you been afflicted because of your sins? Have you ever punished yourself – drawing near to death’s door? Have you let God deliver you?

You sent forth your word

What is the word you are waiting to hear from God? Is it possible that God has already sent it forth to you?

Something to Learn

The Whole of Psalm 107

Psalm 107 is on of the longer psalms with 47 verses organized into a set of stanzas recalling different ways in which God’s people needed (and received) God’s saving.

Read the whole psalm in the NRSV translation here.

Read an explanation of the structure of the psalm here.

Something to Pray

Holy God, we do not always understand your word or your ways. 
Give us wisdom and imagination and courage as we learn and grow. 

The story this week has made me wonder about…
         (what questions are still on your heart?)
Receive my questions and help me hear your answers.

The story this week has filled me with…
         (how are you feeling?)
Accept my praise, heal my hurt, ease my worry.

The story this week has reminded me of…
         (are there situations or people you are thinking of?)
Be with all who are in need of you.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen.