Services Noonday Prayer, Tuesday 12:00 pm Bible Study, Thursday 9:30 am We currently offer Services at 8:00 & 10:15 am We are glad to offer in-person services each Sunday 10:15 am, and 8:00 am. Since March 2020, we have provided Sunday morning live-streamed services on YouTube and Facebook. We also offer a Noonday Prayer service on Tuesdays an 12:00 pm and Bible Study on Thursdays at 9:30 am, both on Zoom. Online Services are premiered Sunday at 10:15 am on both YouTube and Facebook. Passcode: 420173 Music Our services include music lead by Mitchell Miller. Our Choral Scholars allow us to hear hymns in church every week. Church of the Ascension is the home to one of Rochester's best organs--a Skinner organ donated by a parishioner who purchased it from the Rochester Auditorium more than 50 years ago. The organ has more than 3,500 pipes and attracts many talented musicians. Children's Programs Special programs are offered for Children and teens and nursery services are provided for our youngest children. Home Visitation For those who are temporarily or long-term unable to attend in-church services and receive the Holy Eucharist, home visitations can be arranged through the church office (585) 458-5423 Eucharist, Sunday 10:15 am Eucharist, Sunday 10:15 am

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The Rev. Adibhananthar John Rector Nicole Hercules Seminarian Cindy Smith Administrative Assistant Sarah Johnson Music Minister Angel Perez Sexton Vestry Christian Haller, Sr. Warden rin ger2@mac.com Dyson Gay, Jr. Warden dysong y@ao l.com Mary Bickel, Treasurer maryk bic@aol.com Kate Stella-Begy, Clerk of Vestry marykate7687@gmail.com Father Abi John, Chair ascpriest@aol.com D ebbie Copenhagen cupidsal@hotmail.com Bob Crystal crys24634@gmail.com Patricia Frasca thepatriciafr asca@gmail.com Kathy Kohler kkohler1026@gmail.com Ryan McDermott ryan.mcdermott1208@gmail.com Kathy O'Leary kathyjoleary@gmail.com Nancy Turchetti nturchetti@rochester.rr.com Jerry Welcher jswelcher@aol.com Bentley Church Dog

Prison Ministries Ascension has hosted several ministries recently, until COVID-19 put them on hiatus for an indefinite time. They include: SMART, a local association of agencies working on reentry issues "The Landing Strip", a part of the Alternatives to Violence program run by the Quakers for released prisoners Cephas of Western N.Y., a program going into the State Prisons Rochester Interfaith Jail Ministries, Inc. Ascension is the home of Rochester Interfaith Jail Ministries, Inc., a nonprofit charitable corporation. The work we do follows Four Spiritual Truths: Every inmate and prisoner is loved and lovable Every person is deserving of respect and acceptance Our true nature is fundamentally good and beautiful We are all needed in helping to heal our world Our mission is to bring this message to those whose lives are telling them otherwise. This is our calling. Our History Rochester Interfaith Jail Ministry was started in 1971 as an outreach of the Rochester Council of Churches. As the jails evolved and their needs changed, R.I.J.M. moved from serving as a ministerial resource to a missional project, bringing value to the inmates. Our Program We run our groups like a college seminar. The textbook is “Houses of Healing” by Robin Casarjian. Groups run 7–12 weeks, depending on the needs of the facility. Each inmate receives a copy of the text and a workbook, and is expected to read the assignments in them to prepare for each class. We watch a video made by Ms. Casarjian in a Massachusetts Prison and discuss. The program helps the students be aware of the foundations of their issues, to work on them and be more prepared to participate in society. Our Community Activity RIJM is a member of SMART (Safer Monroe Area Reentry Team) whose members offer help to people recovering from incarceration. (This agency is transitioning to become RAWNY ) Ascension offers former prisoners, their families, and friends a place to meet to deal with issues related to the Justice System. We send a representative to the County Criminal Justice Council Meetings. We offer a “Welcome Home” gift to be distributed by the State Parole office, containing toiletries for releasees. (They get food stamps, but any public assistance goes to their landlords.) We staff a table at the Parole “New Releasee Orientation.” Ascension/R.I.J.M. is an associated group of Kairos , an international prison visitation program. Ascension is an associated parish with the Episcopal Diocese of Florida’s prison ministry . Ascension is a member of Diocese of Rochester Prison Ministry Committee .

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Home Visitation For those who are temporarily or long-term unable to attend in-church services and receive the Holy Eucharist, home visitations can be arranged through the church office (585) 458-5423

January 3rd, 2021 January 17th, 2021 January 31st, 2021 February 14th, 2021 February 28th, 2021 March 14th, 2021 March 28th, 2021 Easter Sunday April18th, 2021 April 25th, 2021 May 9th, 2021 May 23rd, 2021 June 6th, 2021 June 20th, 2021 July 4th, 2021 July 18th, 2021 August 1st, 2021 August 15th, 2021 August 29th, 2021 September 12th, 2021 September 26th, 2021 October 10th, 2021 October 24th, 2021 November 7th, 2021 November 21st, 2021 December 5th, 2021 December 19th, 2021 January 10th, 2021 January 24th, 2021 February 7th, 2021 February 21st, 2021 March 7th, 2021 March 21st, 2021 Good Friday April 11th, 2021 Sarah Johnson, DMA Recital May 2nd, 2021 May 16th, 2021 May 30th June 13th, 2021 June 27th, 2021 July 11th, 2021 July 25th, 2021 August 8th, 2021 August 22nd, 2021 September 5th, 2021 September 19th, 2021 October 3rd, 2021 October 17th, 2021 October 31st, 2021 November 14th, 2021 November 28th, 2021 December 12th, 2021 Christmas Eve, Pageant Service December 26th, 2021

Support Ascension Church of the Ascension is passionate about the community it serves and the people who make it a beacon of hope and love for those around us. Giving to the Church answers the need that we all have to make a difference in the world through our generosity and makes it possible for the Church to be that beacon, through food, clothing and other ministries. Yearly Pledge Each year in October we prepare our budget for the following year and we ask each parishioner to fill out a pledge card to let us know how much they anticipate giving in the following year. This pledged income is used for the running of the parish--it pays for outreach ministries and our support to the diocese, salaries, programmatic initiatives, insurance, and required property investments and maintenance. Capital Projects As our parish grows and changes, our needs change and our building needs to be upgraded and repaired on a regular basis. In 2016-2017 we completed the lift from the Church to the Great Hall, which makes our facility even more accessible by allowing those who are in wheel chairs or have difficulty navigating the stairs from our worship space down to the Great Hall. The E. M. Skinner Organ Fund The E. M. Skinner Organ Fund is dedicated to the ongoing restoration of Skinner Op. 711. Op. 711 is an amazing instrument that is almost 100 years old, and has been installed at Church of the Ascension since 1967. As with all musical instruments, this pipe organ requires regular maintenance. In the future, we plan to have the entire organ restored which will entail dismantling each of the 3,500+ pipes, cleaning each pipe, cleaning the chambers where the pipes live, rebuilding all the wind chests and mechanisms, and then putting it all back together. The organ will have a much cleaner and more transparent sound after this work is completed. One estimate for this project is $1,550,000. Clergy Discretionary Fund On the first Sunday of each month, all undesignated income from the Offerings is deposited to the Clergy Discretionary Fund. The Priest uses these funds to provide emergency help to those in need, to pay for youth to go to diocesan activities, to support the Care Closet, to help parishioners attend workshops, and to help pay for unfunded neighborhood initiatives that they believe are important to support. Give online through Donorbox

History Church of the Ascension has been a strong and vibrant community in Rochester for more than 130 years. It began as a group of people gathering in homes to share the love of God through word and worship; it took on a role as a sanctuary for those who were frightened and ill, and it continues today as a beacon of hope in the community it serves. The parish we are today is a testament to the history that brought us here.

Get Involved There are many ways to get involved at Church of the Ascension. In addition to attending services , participating in Bible Study , attending fellowship events and dinners , and subscribing to our newsletter , we have many opportunities to get involved in our community! Our Acolyte Guild, Altar Guild, Men's Group, Ushers & Counters, and Women's Group are very active. Read a bit more about each group below! There are also events throughout the year that could use a helping hand - check the calendar to stay up to date on these events, or email the church office at ascension@rochester.twcbc.com to learn more. Acolyte Guild Ushers Altar Guild Women's Group Men's Group Calendar

Change Ringing on Our Tower Bells Welcome to our website entry. As a potential visitor to our tower, whether to ring (welcome!) or to watch us ringing and learn what it’s about, we will greet you warmly, take you upstairs to see the bells, show you how we raise and ring the bells, and answer all your questions. The sound of church bells has become an iconic symbol of worship in the Christian Church, informing hearers that a service is about to start, and inviting worshipers. That is particularly true in England, where the art of change ringing was developed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (every second village in England has a bell tower, and towns and cities have several). The custom has spread around the world, mostly to places where the British had colonies. Rochester’s Church of the Ascension is pleased and proud to have such a set of bells, installed in its tower in 2015. There are many things that make these bells a unique feature in the Rochester community. They are beautifully tuned, but because of the manner in which they hang, they do not ring tunes, they ring changes on the order of the bells. When the bells are well rung by experienced ringers, the result for listeners is a beautiful musical experience, although change ringing is not usually considered a performance art. Unlike a carillon or a chime, at which a lone person pulls or pushes or otherwise manipulates a large keyboard to ring a tune, a peal of change-ringing bells requires one person per bell. Each person pulls on a rope that hangs down from the bell chamber, on a floor above the ringing chamber. In Ascension's tower, the ringing chamber is at ground level, so it is easy to watch the ringers. There are ten bells at Ascension hung for change ringing (defined as the ringing of sets of church bells or handbells in a constantly varying order; see Wikipedia for basic and general information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_ringing .) Because of considerations of safety and volume , people cannot see the bells as they actually ring, but here is a brief clip of Ascension's ten bells swinging and sounding forth: "Bristol Royal" rung on Ascension's Tower Bells From here in western New York, the nearest similar change-ringing bell tower is in Toronto, Canada (175 miles away); and if we stay in this country, the nearest are in Pittsburgh (300 miles), Kent School, Kent, CT (also about 300 miles), New York City (340 miles), and Philadelphia (350 miles). For more information about change ringing at other bell towers in North America, see www.nagcr.org . For more information about ringing and bells worldwide, see www.cccbr.org.uk . Chris and Helen Haller, the major donors of the bells, selected the persons to be honored by having a bell named after them. Some are very personal choices, some are notable Rochester names, and some are notable national, international, or bell-ringing people. Our lightest bell, “Trudy”, weighs 375 pounds, and the heaviest, “Martin”, weighs 1267 pounds. That may sound intimidating to non-ringers, but the fact is that they are well counter-balanced and swing on modern bearings, so that it does not take unusual effort to ring them. Anyone weighing over about a hundred pounds can ring most bells. Each of our bells is inscribed with the name of the person honored, and one or two appropriate lines from Stanza 106 of “In Memoriam” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Chris Haller reading “In Memoriam” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson The expert workers at Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London, England (a firm with centuries of experience) drew up the plans, cast and tuned the bells, and made the frame and fittings that enable them to swing. Everything was shipped to Church of the Ascension, and installed in the waiting church tower. The Ceremony of Blessing and Dedication took place on November 21, 2015, with The Right Reverend Prince G. Singh, Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, presiding, and our Rector at the time, The Rev. Dahn Gandell, welcoming those attending. Here is a video showing highlights of some of those events: The arrival, installation, and dedication of the ten bells at Church of the Ascension When at least three ringers are available, we ring the bells before and after the 10:15 AM Sunday service. We are fortunate to have a computer-actuated chiming mechanism also in place, that can chime changes before the service if fewer ringers are available. We have practices twice a week, for an hour and a half after the service on Sundays, and on Friday evenings between 6:30 and 8 PM. Yes, it takes plenty of practice to learn to ring and to improve and advance our skills. This is what change ringing looks like: C hris Haller, Helen Haller and the English bell hanger, Neil Thomas, ringing on the first day the bells were rung If you are considering a visit to ring or to watch the ringing, please check with Chris Haller (585-203-7457; ringer2@mac.com ) to confirm that ringing will take place on your proposed date. Also call Chris if you think you are interested in learning to ring; a series of one-on-one lessons can be arranged at mutual convenience, to make you ready to ring with our band in the regular practices.

Altar Guild The Altar Guild would love you to join us. We are a dedicated group divided into teams that rotate the duties on a monthly basis. It involves setting up for services, follow-up after the services, and changing the hangings according to the color of the season.