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Location Church of the Ascension is located at 2 Riverside St., Rochester, NY 14613 in the Maplewood Historic District. It is a short walk from beautiful attractions such as Lower Falls Park, Maplewood Park, and the Maplewood Rose Garden. Driving Ascension is located near the intersection of Lake Avenue and Ridge Road. From downtown Rochester, head north on State Street, continuing to follow it as it becomes Lake Avenue. Turn right into the upper parking lot just past Riverside Street. From the Greece area, follow Ridge Road headed East, turn right at the intersection with Ridge Road and then turn left into the church lot. From Irondequoit, follow Ridge Road headed West, turn left at the intersection with Ridge Road and turn left into the church lot. Bus Ascension is conveniently located along the 22 bus route from downtown, with the most convenient stop being Lake & Riverside. The church is also less than half a mile from the Ridge & Lake stop on the 40 bus. Parking Ascension has two parking lots. The Upper Lot is directly off Lake Avenue, by the ramp/accessible entrance to the Sanctuary and is the most convenient for attending Sunday Services. The Lower Lot is off Riverside St. and is particularly convenient for events in the Great Hall and accessing many of the important ministries in the Church's lower level (church dinners, MEEK, Care Closet, NA/AA etc.).

Ascension Choir The Ascension Choir is a dedicated group of volunteers, joined by four Choral Scholars from the Eastman School of Music. Ascension has a long history of excellent choral music; the choir sings on Sundays at the 10:15 am service from the beginning of September until Pentecost, and currently rehearses on Wednesday s from 7:30 to 9:00 pm. Our Choral Scholars this year are: Maeve Berry Madelin Morales Adam Catangui The mission of the choir is to support and adorn the liturgy at Church of the Ascension through hymnody, Anglican chant, plain chant, and weekly anthems. Towards this goal we sing a wide range of repertoire sourced from the Renaissance to today, and often collaborate with the Ascension Youth Choir to encourage the next generation of musicians. We are always happy to welcome new choir members; please be in touch with Minister of Music Mitchell Miller if you are interested in joining or trying out the choir - all are welcome!

The Rev. Adibhananthar John Rector Nicole Hercules Rochester Youth Soccer Vestry Paul Schwartz, Sr. Warden schwpaul@gmail.com D ebbie Copenhagen cupidsal@hotmail.com Mary Bickel, Treasurer maryk bic@aol.com Jerry Welcher, Clerk jswelcher@aol.com Father Abi John, Chair ascpriest@aol.com Melissa Frasca mugzy@gmail.com Moo Leah Htoo mooleachhtoo1996@gmail.com Nancy Turchetti nancyturchetti@rochester.rr.com Patricia Frasca kkohler1026@gmail.com Steve Fries sfries1@icloud.com J udy Soscia jesoscia02@yahoo.com Kate Stella-Begy marykate7687@gmail.com

Ministries Church of the Ascension is a proud member of the community it serves. Our ministries focus on the health and well-being of every person. In Matthew 25: 35-36, Christ shared the measure of a true disciple saying, I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home. I needed clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me. As disciples of Christ, we seek to offer Godly love, provide for, and share compassion with all people. Care Closet MEEK Food Ministry Prison Ministries Home Visitation

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Collection Counters & Ushers Collection Counters are responsible for counting and depositing money received as pledges and other donations at all church services. Our team of Ushers always aim to greet members and visitors in a way that makes them feel welcome and included in our church family. If you are a newcomer please ask one of our ushers for one of our "Get Acquainted" information folders.

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 .

Men's Group The men's group heads up parish clean-up days. They also put on the Shrove Tuesday pancake dinner (the night before Ash Wednesday) and help Kevin Gall with the annual Lobster Dinner.

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September 26, 2021 October 3, 2021 October 10, 2021 October 17, 2021 October 25, 2021 Sunday Oct. 31st

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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