Welcome to The Church of the Ascension

Read The Anglican online. Check out page 12 of the September issue for a story about the Ascension's Un-extreme Home Makeover story!

OUR LIBRARY CONTINUES TO GROW: Building the Library As our Ascension library continues to grow, we encourage you to make use of it's many resources for yourself, family and your faith life. We have a number of books, videos and CDs ready to be processed and added to our great collection. If this is a job that might interest you (it could be done in two or three hours), please let Karen Stiller know and we will set you up with a stamp, some sticky envelopes and a manageable stack of intriguing books.

This week at the Church of the Ascension

Sun. Sept. 5: Last joint Sunday Service of the summer, 9:00 am. All are welcome!

Mark your Calendar

Ascension Praise Band Members meet Thurs. Sept 9

Let's get together from 7:30 - 8:30 pm, bring black binders and instruments that are portable. Questions?

Fall Worship Schedule begins Sept. 12

It's another great year of Morning Song at 9:00 am, with Divine@Nine and Communion/Morning Prayer at 10:30 am. Sunday School happens during both services. New Teachers and Kids are always welcome! The first Sunday of every month is extreme-family-friendly at Morning Song (9:00am) this year, kids will remain in the service and join in the worship.

Jr. YATA begins on Tues. Sept. 14

Everyone in Grade 7&8 is invited to the church and encouraged to bring a friend as we share our summer experiences over pizza and sundaes. The fun begins at 6:30pm until 8pm. Email with any questions.

Share your teaching skills

Divine@Nine is a unique, fun-filled, faith-learning time for children (K to Grade 6) who attend Morning Song at the Ascension. We would love to welcome new teachers who have a love for kids, a love for fun and a love for God. We will provide the training and support you need, as well as a light and flexible teaching schedule. Call Karen Stiller at 905-982-0697, or email for more information. Interested in teaching at the 10:30 service? Email here.

Ascension Six Week Mountain Biking Clinic

Tracey Green and her team will share their passion and experience as we begin a mountain biking ministry Monday evenings, 6-7 pm Sept. 20 until Oct. 25, riding the trails of Durham Forest for kids Grades 2-8. Parents are welcome as well! Email for more details. Bring a friend! This outreach activity is part of George's 50/50 Junior Youth Ministry (50% inside the Ascension and 50% outside, serving our community for Christ)

Ascension Choir begins new season on Thurs. Sept. 23

All are welcome. Questions?

Vestry meeting coming up

On Sun. Sept. 26 vestry will take place after a joint 9:00 am service. There will not be a 10:30 service that day. This is a chance to come together and hear the latest news.

“Come to Church” Sunday!

October 3rd is a special day to invite a friend, neighbour, family member, colleague or stranger to join us for worship at either 9 or 10:30 am. A pizza lunch ($1.25 per slice and drinks for .50 cents - profit to Uganda projects) will follow the 10:30 service. So pray about who you should invite and ‘go for it!’

Calling All Musicians in Grade 7 and 8!

If you are interested in playing in a Youth Praise Band, please speak to Bev Foster or email

Read and reflect ahead of time

Sept. 5, 2010
Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17;
Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33

Sept. 12, 2010
Jeremiah 4:1-12, 22-28;
Psalm 14; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10

Ministry Schedule

The latest ministry schedule is available for pick-up or download by clicking here

From the Photo Album

The Ascension hosted a Kid's Tri-athalon Clinic,
as part of George's 50/50 Junior Youth Ministry. The kids had a blast!

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ADVISORY BOARD
(effective July 1, 2009)

ADMINISTRATION

Rector’s Warden (Administration Board Chair) -Ed Hobbs
Treasurer - Connie Newmarch
Property Chair - Bob Britton
Envelope Secretary - Alan Sweet
Members-at-Large - Louise Brown + Brian Barber

PROGRAM
People’s Warden (Program Board Chair) (Sept. Vestry)
Worship Coordinator Susan Brown
Community Development Mary Anne Pring
Outreach & Mission Coordinator Cathy Cooper
Adult Education Coordinator Stephen Wilcox
Sunday School Superintendent (Sept. Vestry)
Members-at-Large Bev Brown + (Sept. Vestry)

Other Elected Officers (Non-Board)

Synod Delegates - Jackie Wees Jim Brown
Alternate Synod Delegate - Bev Brown
Auditors - Sue Talmey + Bill Ormesher
Nominating Committee Jim Wakeford Joanne Weller Brent Stiller
Meri Jobe Ed Hobbs Carol Brown
People’s Warden (Sept. Vestry)

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What’s Behind the Big Screen?

Below, Brent Wees describes the important yet simple tasks that keep our worship services running smoothly. We invite (and even challenge) Ascension members to speak to Brent and volunteer to help with some of these responsibilities – many hands make light work. As a parish, we are committed to moving towards a ‘greener’ way of worshipping – returning to full paper bulletins for all services would be a step backwards and would also limit amazing multimedia opportunities.

PP- PowerPoint Preparations - Each week, PowerPoint slides are prepared/updated for the 9:00 and 10:30 a.m. services. These duties are broken out amongst 2 individuals currently and we could use more. If you are versed at PowerPoint and like working in the application, please don't hesitate to throw your name in. *Note if you are familiar with Microsoft Office you can learn PowerPoint very quickly. ST- Sound Team - members work with the bands or musicians during services or performances - they level sound quality/balance in the room from the back soundboard. This is probably the most technical aspect of our ministry but is very easy to learn and training is provided.

Commitment - 1 or 2 Morning Song (9:00 a.m.) services a month.

SS– Slide Show is our name for the person who "runs" the PowerPoint presentations during the services. Requirements - a working finger with the ability to press a button and, a moment to learn the simple task of setting up the computer. Must also be able to stay awake for the entire 9:00 or 10:30 service. Commitment - 2 services a month.

SU-Sound Equipment Setup - a Saturday morning ministry where two individuals meet at Ascension for set up of Sunday's Morning Song Service equipment (microphones, stands, cords.) The setup is very easy to learn – volunteers work in pairs, newer team members teamed with an experienced member.

Commitment is 2 hours a month.

How might you help Ascension’s AV Ministry to flourish?
Please see Brent Wees with any questions and your offers to help! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You're invited to volunteer at St.Vincent's Kitchen in Oshawa. For a few years, Church of the Ascension has provided a small team of volunteers to serve at St. Vincent's Kitchen, "a restaurant providing a community atmosphere, and a low cost meal in a dignified way to the needy and hungry of the Durham Region." Although our formal volunteer committment has ended, Ascension volunteers are still welcome to lend a hand. Please contact Ruth at 905-434-7543 to find out more and visit www.stvincentskitchen.com to learn more about this important mission. ________________________________________________

Coffee hour needs your help! We are in need of people to help out with the offee hour service. Please contact the Church office if that person is you.

Volunteers are Needed!!! There are many people working behind the scenes in our Church to help verything come together. You can help too. We need you!!! Please call the Church office for more information. 905-985-7278

Ascension Email Address Database: We will be setting up a data-base of Ascension Email Addresses, for those persons interested in receiving Ascension News Items and etc., via this limitless mode of ommunication. Please see the bulletin board at the Church to sign up or email Chris LaRocca @ ascension@powergate.ca Thanks!
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Just Walk Across The Room ... is the title of a recent book by Bill Hybels. The title says it all. Every coffee hour after our main service at Ascension we have the chance to “walk across the room” and meet someone we don’t know very well - could be a visitor or a member of longstanding - , and engaging in onversation. (Suggested conversation starters include “How long have you been coming to Ascension?”, “What keeps you coming back?” or “Were you involved in another congregation before coming here?”) This is one way Christian community starts…just a few steps across a room!
(Bruce McCallum, pastoral associate)

Do you know of someone who could use a hand? Please speak to Karen Stiller. An important part of the process is determining if our team can handle the job (we are trying to make people's lives better, not worse!) So, please don't make any promises on behalf of the team, but please do bring names and requests forward. Thanks!

SERVERS NEEDED Please speak with Brent if you are interested in being a 'server' at the 10:00 am unday morning service. The servers (or acolytes) bear torches in the procession, and help set the Holy Table for communion. All ages welcome. GIFTS THAT CAN CHANGE THE WORLD Outreach and Mission is pleased to provide an ongoing way for our Church family to give unique gifts on birthdays, anniversaries or other special events. You can contribute to our "Build a Classroom in Uganda " campaign, in honour of any special event or milestone, and we will create customized certificates for you to give to your special someone. Email karen Stiller at karen.stiller@sympatico.ca or speak to any member of the Outreach and Mission team for more information or to request your certificate. PRAYER TEAM MINISTRY A Prayer Team will be available during Communion at the 10:30 am service. This isn’t intended to replace pastoral or professional counselling, or the confessional office, but is simply a ime set apart for prayers relating to any concerns you might have. According to Diocesan practice this ministry falls under the direction of Brent, as rector, so all matters shared in prayer are held in utmost confidentiality between Brent & Team members who pray with you. If you desire prayer: After you have received communion, please wait near the door leading into the hall. The Prayer Team (a man and woman) will meet you there and bring you to the sacristy for prayer. A question will be posed: “What would you like to ask of the Lord today?”

OLD BIKES IMPACT AFRICA Lots of people have worn-out bikes gathering dust in their basements. A ministry in Uxbridge called Africycle (www.africycle.org) will take them off your hands, fix them & ship them to Malawi where they are given to widows, pastors & AIDS educators, or sold for a very low rice to others. Bikes can be dropped off at Webb House, 19 Bell St. (905) 852-5910 or Claremont Country Depot, 1732 Hoxton St. (905) 649-2112. Pick up from your home is available.

HALL & CHURCH USAGE/RENTAL All bookings for the Parish Hall and Sunday School rooms should be made through the office only. Please call Jackie (905) 985-7278 to reserve and to confirm exactly what room(s) will be used and for how long.

PARISH HALL DOORS When visiting the parish hall or church, please be sure that the doors are LOCKED before you leave. A number of times recently, the hall doors have been found unlocked. Thanks for your cooperation in this matter.

PARISH HALL / SUNDAY SCHOOL ROOMS All bookings for the Parish Hall and Sunday School ooms should be made through the office only. Please call Jackie in the office (905) 985-7278 to reserve.

NOTE TO ALL PARENTS For the sake of those trying to have conversation during coffee-hour, please do not allow your children to play the piano in the hall or the church. People like to pray or meet in the church, and members of chancel guild welcome opportunity to clean and set up the chancel after the service. Also, just a reminder that the church is not a great place for unsupervised children during the coffee hour. There are breakables and ways that young children could get hurt. Thank you parents, for your attention to these things. The most recent issue of The Anglican Planet is available in the narthex.

A Reminder about Ministry at the Ascension All board members and persons involved in parish ministry - particularly Sunday School teachers, Nursery Volunteers, Youth leaders, and anyone involved in ministry or volunteer work with children, youth, the aged and vulnerable - are required, by diocesan policy, to attend a Sexual Misconduct Policy workshop. Does this apply to you? Please let Brent or one of the wardens know so we can arrange a workshop time. Workshops usually last about 1 hour and we could arrange for one immediately after a 10:00 am Sunday service. Thanks for your participation in this!

ROOM 217 Church of the Ascension's own Bev Foster, creator of a recently released CD series called Room 217, was named the Leading Woman of the Year in the area of Arts, Culture & Sports on March 4th in Calgary. The award, presented by the Leading Women conference, recognizes distinctive achievement in expression, development, preservation or patronage of the arts and athletics. Organizers f the conference said it was Room 217 that particularly caught their attention. Room 217 is a collection of three CDs, with more in the planning, designed to minister to the dying and those who care for them. (www.room217.ca)

Planning Your Christian Funeral Service: Death is a topic many of us avoid. It is not a comfortable subject and we often don’t want to think, let alone talk about it. Yet making your funeral preparations ahead of time can be one of the greatest expressions of love to your family and friends. Consider the gift you give when you relieve loved ones from a potential burden of decision-making when you have recorded and made known your wishes. The Church of the Ascension would be pleased to send you a free package of material to help in your planning. Included is a small booklet entitled Preparing the ay…My Personal Funeral Instructions; a flyer, When a Loved One Dies describing Christian funerals at the Ascension; and a brochure of selected Readings and Psalms Suitable for Funeral Liturgies. Simply call the parish office and a package will be mailed to you. If you wish, a copy of My Personal Funeral Instructions can be kept in a confidential file at the church.

...Feel like telling the Preacher what you really think ? If you are interested in participating in a daytime discussion group that would meet with Brent to discuss biblical passages as they relate to upcoming sermons, please contact him at the office, or by email - Brent.Stiller at powergate.ca Two different groups have already done this, and the conversation was anything but boring! Thanks to those who have participated, thus far.
An Important Announcement about Worship Space … The ten minutes preceding the Sunday service, from 9:50 am onward, is used by many to quietly prepare their hearts and minds for worship. Therefore, we ask that every effort is made to enter the church quietly and maintain quiet while waiting for the service to begin. Please join us for visiting and catching up with friends every Sunday at the coffee hour following the 10:30 am service. Thank you.

CHANCEL FLOWERS If you are placing flowers in the Chancel on a particular Sunday - you must call the office before 3:00 pm Wednesday if you would like a memoriam included in the bulletin - (905) 985-7278.
IMPORTANT NOTICE Flowers are now being ordered through The Port Perry Floral Shop (located in the Sobey's on Queen Street) Please read the notice posted on the Sacristy door (located in the Parish Hall, by the library) for instructions pertaining to the sign-up and ordering of flowers being placed in the chancel or call Jackie in the office - (905) 985-7278. Thank you.

Prayer Requests - If you wish to have someone prayed for during worship, please add their name to the prayer list (on the table in the aisle) before the worship service begins.