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/