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

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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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

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.

Ascension Youth Choir If you love music and are in grades 3 through 10, The Church of the Ascension Youth Choir is for you! Join us for rehearsal to make new friends, learn to sing together, and have lots of fun! AYC learns and performs a diverse and educationally enriching repertoire ranging from traditional sacred hymns to gospel and folk tunes at venues across the Greater Rochester community. Best of all, our program is free of charge. Our team of star volunteers and staff works tirelessly to make sure AYC is accessible to any interested student. For more information on enrolling in our program, or with questions on accommodations for your family (transportation or otherwise), please email or call the church office. The AYC team would like to thank all of our donors for making this ministry possible. If you are interested in making a contribution to our program, please contact our church office at (585) 458-5423. Blessings - we are grateful for you!

Care Closet The Care Closet provides personal care items, cleaning supplies, and other household items on a rotating schedule to our neighbors in need of assistance. The Care Closet is run by volunteers from the parish and serves the Maplewood-Edgerton area. We are once again serving the community on the second and fourth Saturday of each month, from 9:00am to 11:00am. Please call (585) 458-4682 to make an appointment.

Bible Study Each week you have the opportunity to deepen your relationship with God through our Sabbath-day Bible Study. Bible Study is held in person on Sundays at 9:00 am in our library, accompanied by light refreshments. During this time we explore God's word in fellowship with one another. Through prayer and discussion we nurture our relationships with God and open our hearts to his plan for our lives. For more information call the church office at (585) 458-5423.

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The Rev. Adibhananthar John Rector Nicole Hercules Seminarian Vestry Christian Haller, Sr. Warden rin ger2@mac.com Paul Schwartz, Jr. Warden schwpaul@gmail.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 Nancy Turchetti nancyturchetti@rochester.rr.com Patricia Frasca kkohler1026@gmail.com Ryan McDermott ryan.mcdermott1208@gmail.com Steve Fries sfries1@icloud.com Jerry Welcher jswelcher@aol.com J udy Soscia jesoscia02@yahoo.com

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.