Church of the Ascension

The Story at Home

Risen & Embodied

The Story for the
Third Sunday in Easter
April 18, 2021

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

Luke 24:36b-48

Jesus himself stood among the disciples and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you – that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” 

Something to Do

Hands & Feet; Mouths & Bellies

The Risen Jesus is adamantly physical – he touches and is touched; he hungers and eats. Pay attention to your own body this week. Stretch and move. Notice what things feels like. Notice what things taste like. Rejoice in your body.

Have you anything here to eat?

Some day, we are going to be able to have friends over for dinner again. Plan the menu for your first party. Make a version just for yourself – you know, for practice!

Something to Wonder

In their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering

Faith and doubt; joy and uncertainty – these things can co-exist. Where do they co-exist in your life and faith? How does their co-existence make you feel?

Risen and Embodied

Jesus’ incarnation extends past his death to his resurrection. Why is this such an important point for the Gospels? What does it tell us about the nature of Jesus? About the nature of God? About the nature of humanity?
Does it matter to you?

Something to Learn

Easter – 50 Days for Resurrection

This “Something to Learn” is a bit of a stretch but the video is worth it. Primate Linda Nicholls participated in a program called Pew and Beyond to discuss the year that has been and where she sees signs of resurrection even in the midst of the pandemic.

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.

Resurrection Life and Money

The Story for the
Second Sunday in Easter
April 11, 2021

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

Acts 4:32-35

Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 

Something to Do

No one claimed private ownership of anything

How can you participate in this radical vision of community? Perhaps there is something you can give away. Perhaps there is something you can receive. Perhaps there is something you can share.

Give your testimony to the Resurrection

In the season of Easter, we are called to live the resurrection – to embrace the fullness of life in God’s love and creativity. Do something to celebrate that life.

  • Go for a walk and see how many signs of new life you can see.
  • Make something beautiful – sing or paint or dance or plant or write or bake
  • Try something new – a new food or a new hobby or a new path

Something to Wonder

Faith & Works

This short description of the community of the apostles weaves together its spiritual and its material characteristics – they were one heart and mind; they shared all things in common; they testified with power and in grace; they ensured there was no one in need.

How woven together are the spiritual and material characteristics of our community? Of your family? Of your life?

No one claimed private ownership of anything

Does this vision of Christian community appeal to you? Why or why not?
What does this expression of Christian faith reveal about life in Christ?
Are there other ways in which that aspect of life in Christ can be expressed?

Something to Learn

Christianity and Money

For as long as there have been followers of Jesus (longer, in fact!), there have been questions about wealth. This article from the Christian History Institute gives an interesting overview of the Urge for Poverty .

And this article from the Anglican Journal discusses the vow of poverty as understood by the Sisterhood of Saint John the Divine, a Canadian Anglican religious order: The paradox of poverty

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.

Considering Holy Saturday

The Story for
Holy Saturday
April 3, 2021

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

Psalm 31:1-4, 9-16

In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness. 
Incline your ear to me; make haste to deliver me.
Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe, for you are my crag and my stronghold;
for the sake of your name, lead me and guide me. 
Take me out of the net that they have secretly set for me,
for you are my tower of strength.

Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;
my eye is consumed with sorrow, and also my throat and my belly.
For my life is wasted with grief, and my years with sighing;
my strength fails me because of affliction, and my bones are consumed. 
I have become a reproach to all my enemies and even to my neighbours,
a dismay to those of my acquaintance; when they see me in the street they avoid me.
I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; I am as useless as a broken pot. 
For I have heard the whispering of the crowd; fear is all around;
they put their heads together against me; they plot to take my life.
But as for me, I have trusted in you, O Lord. I have said, “You are my God. 
My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies,
and from those who persecute me.
Make your face to shine upon your servant, and in your loving-kindness save me.” 

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,
In you, O Lord,
and, as you slowly release your breath,
have I taken refuge.

End your walk by thanking God for keeping you company.

Holy Saturday Silence

Holy Saturday is a strange day – a day in between; a day of emptiness. The drama of Thursday and Friday has ended and the festivities of the Vigil and of Easter have not yet begun. It’s an easy day to skip past, filling it with the usual Saturday activities or with last minute Easter preparations. This year, though, give it its due by creating a space for silence.

  • Some possibilities
    • sit in silent contemplation, perhaps using a breath prayer to keep yourself focused, for 10 minutes (30 minutes? 60 minutes?)
    • make some portion of the day (the whole day?) silent by turning off radios, televisions, notification beeps, social media, etc
    • go for a walk with someone but commit to being silent in one another’s company
    • if you live with other people, make and share a meal in silence (or a snack, if the people you live with are young)

Something to Wonder

Rescue me from my enemies

For some people, particularly those with the great privilege of health and safety, the vivid language of the psalms of deliverance, like psalm 31, can make them difficult to relate to.

For others, the vivid language speaks directly into the pain and suffering of their lives and assures them that they are not outside the community of God’s people or the attention of God, Godself.

Where do you find yourself in relation to these psalms? Have you always been in this place or has it changed over time or in different circumstances? How does remembering that others experience them differently impact you?

In the upper room

When Jesus died, the disciples locked themselves away in “the upper room” (although some of the women kept watch at the tomb for a time). They were sad and they were scared. The outside world had become a dangerous place and the future profoundly uncertain. Sound familiar?

Archbishop Linda Nicholls, the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, and National Bishop Susan Johnson, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, speak to the fear of Saturday and the hope of Sunday in this joint Easter message.

Something to Learn

Harrowing of Hell

The creeds declare that Jesus died, was buried, and descended to the dead before rising again but we tend to skip past that middle bit: descended to the dead. In doing so, as is usually the case when we skip things, we miss something quite profound and quite beautiful: Christ’s death and resurrection was retroactive. When St. Paul says that nothing can separate us from the love of God, that includes hell.

Of course, particular interpretations of this doctrine vary (the wikipedia article gives an interesting overview) and it is not very helpful to get bogged down in practical details. Instead, I invite you to enter the grace of the teaching through this powerful Orthodox icon, known as  Christ’s Descent into Hades, Anastasis or Resurrection Icon.
An explanation of the icon, as well as a larger image and discussion of the Orthodox understanding of the harrowing of hell, can be found 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.

Holy Week 2021 – here we are again

Last year, I began the Holy Week post with this paragraph:

This year, Holy Week will not be what we are used to. Ours is an incarnational faith, celebrating and relying on our bodies and the world we encounter with those bodies. We will miss the comfort of one another’s presence. We will miss the physicality of our corporate worship – shared food, shared touch, shared movement, shared breath. Some of us will be grieving our inability to participate in the Eucharist, especially on Maundy Thursday and Easter morning. Some of us will be grieving our inability to sing and speak in audible chorus together. Some of us will be grieving our inability to embrace one another.

The only thing I would change now (other than the first sentence) is the verb tense: we are missing; we are grieving. We’ve been here before – in fact, we’ve been here for a year – and we are tired.

So, this year, just give yourself into Jesus’ care. Remember that we follow One who knows what it is to suffer and who wants, perhaps more than anything, to be with us. Let him come to you. Let him give the gift of his life to you. Let yourself fall into Holy Week and know that you are safe in the company of Jesus.

Below are a number of ways to enter into Holy Week, some alone or with other members of your household and some in communal on-line worship. Whatever you choose to do, I pray that you will know the presence of Jesus in the world and in your own life.

The Story
Holy Week

Mark 14:1-15:47
John 18:1-19:42

As we are in Year B of the lectionary cycle, we will be reading the Passion according to Mark on Palm Sunday and, as in every year, we read the Passion according to John on Good Friday. Both are too long to copy into this post but the links above will take you to the Oremus Bible Browser site. Or, better still, pull out your own Bible and work your way through the story in your own time this week.

You may wish to use this model to organize your reading.

Self-guided Prayer

Resting in the Presence of God

Prayer Walk – The guide offers two forms for a prayer walk. The first is a deeply contemplative walk, using breath prayers to focus your heart and mind as your allow your body to move through the world God made. The second is a form of intercessory prayer that calls on you to be attentive to your surroundings and love God’s world in prayer.

Finger Labyrinth – The guide invites you into the presence of God to release your burdens, receive God’s blessing, and return to God’s world.

Download the guide and a paper finger labyrinth.

Holy Week Story with Symbols (for kids)

Prepared by the Rev’d Susan Oliver Martin, Rector of Christ Church in Edmonton, this story is designed to be told bit by bit over the course of Holy Week. It requires a little advance preparation but is a beautiful option for households with children under the age of 6 or so.

Contemplative and Creative Arts

Prepared by members of the Contemplative Arts Group last year, this resource provides options for Scripture based meditations and creative responses, including visual art, movement, writing, baking, and music. It makes use of materials you likely have at home and is easily adaptable for use with younger children.

Music for Holy Week

The Contemplative and Creative Arts Kit, above, includes suggested songs to sing or listen to (all findable on Youtube or similar services). In addition, our music director, Aude has created three Youtube playlists to accompany your prayer time.

Praying Holy Week

The Society of St. John the Evangelist, an Episcopal monastic order, provide a resource page for each day of Holy Week with readings, prayers, reflections, and music.

Services

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. Find 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

Freed by Forgiveness

The Story for the
Fifth Sunday in Lent
March 21, 2021

prepared by the Rev’d Rhonda Waters

Psalm 51:1-13

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness;
in your great compassion blot out my offenses.

Wash me through and through from my wickedness
and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.

Against you only have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight.

And so you are justified when you speak
and upright in your judgement.

Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth,
a sinner from my mother’s womb.

For behold, you look for truth deep within me,
and will make me understand wisdom secretly.

Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure;
wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.

Make me hear of joy and gladness,
that the body you have broken may rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence
and take not your holy Spirit from me.


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,
Create in me
and, as you slowly release your breath,
a clean heart, of God.

End your walk by thanking God for keeping you company.

I know my transgressions

Last week, we said “thank you” – this week, say “I’m sorry”. This might be a big apology to another person or to God or to yourself. It might also be little apologies – the kind you offer after small transgressions and might not even notice. Bring them to your attention this week and make each one an offering to God.

Something to Wonder

Renew a right spirit within me

Have you ever felt your spirit needed to be renewed? How did that feel?
Is this how you feel these days?

Have you have experienced renewal? How did that feel?

Are there things that reliably renew your spirit?

Confession and Forgiveness

One of our commitments as baptized Christians is to avoid sin but, when we fail, to repent and try to do better. The prayer Jesus taught us includes a request that we be forgiven as we forgive. The spiritual discipline of confession and forgiveness is central to Christian maturity.

What is your experience of confession and forgiveness? Consider times when you have needed forgiveness and times when you have been asked to forgive.

Something to Learn

Praying the Psalms

The brothers of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, like all members of religious orders, structure their common prayer around the psalms. Learn about this ancient practice and its modern expression directly from the brothers.

Come, Pray the Psalms

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.