Parish Notes from Christ Church of the Ascension

Merry Christmas!

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 22:00:01 GMT

Merry Christmas!

Today, this Eleventh Day of Christmas (for us who begin counting on December 25th), I’d like to share some wisdom from the pen of Michael Ramsey, the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury. As Bishop of Durham, he was part of the episcopal entourage and inner circle of bishops surrounding Queen Elizabeth II at her Westminster Abbey Coronation in 1953 and, later, Archbishop of York before his elevation to Canterbury in 1961. In the 1980’s, after his retirement from Canterbury, Ramsey was a regular presence at my seminary in Wisconsin where I first learned about him years later.

The following is an excerpt from one of Bishop Ramsey’s annual letters to his diocesan clergy on New Year’s Day. This is also good advice for all the people of God and us at Christ Church of the Ascension as we go into 2024 expectant of what lies ahead and grateful for all our many blessings, past, present and future. Here are The Baron Arthur Michael Ramsey’s five tips for the new year.

1. Thank God. Often and always. Thank him carefully and wonderingly for your continuing privileges and for every experience of his goodness. Thankfulness is a soil in which pride does not easily grow.

2. Take care about confession of your sins. As time passes the habit of being critical about people and things grows more than each of us realize. [He then gently commends the practice of sacramental confession.]

3. Be ready to accept humiliations. They can hurt terribly but they can help to keep you humble. [Whether trivial or big, accept them he says.] All these can be so many chances to be a little nearer to our Lord. There is nothing to fear, if you are near to the Lord and in his hands.

4. Do not worry about status. There is only one status that Our Lord bids us be concerned with, and that is our proximity to Him. “If a man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am there also shall my servant be” (John 12:26). That is our status; to be near our Lord wherever He may ask us to go with him.

5. Use your sense of humor. Laugh at things, laugh at the absurdities of life, laugh at yourself. Through the year people will thank God for you. And let the reason for their thankfulness be not just that you were a person whom they liked or loved but because you made God real to them.

***

Amen! and Happy New Year !!

Grace & peace,

Fr. Rod+

Rector's Note for 12/21/23

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 18:08:45 GMT

Rector's Note for 12/21/23

As we enter this season of giving in celebration of the Incarnation of our Lord, I want to thank you for your generosity to Christ Church of the Ascension during 2023 in your gifts of time, talent and treasure. I want to say a special thank you also to those who have pledged for 2024! As our 2024 Stewardship Campaign continues, if you haven’t yet completed your pledge card or pledged online, I encourage you to do so as an act of spiritual worship and tangible prayer for the future of the Church in thanksgiving for all of God’s many blessings these past 60 years.

Please join me in giving from the heart for the building up of this community of faith to inspire hope and love through worship and service in the Church and in the world. Make Christ Church of the Ascension part of your daily spiritual practice as you prayerfully discern what God is calling you to give in 2024 starting now.

PLEDGE HERE

Grace and peace,

Father Rod+

A Note for Thanksgiving

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 18:05:18 GMT

A Note for Thanksgiving

My series on the Collects of Thomas Cranmer will continue at a later date; but today I’d like to share with you one of my favorite stories by pastoral care pioneer Howard Clinebell. It speaks to us about the fact that the Church, our church, is not only a house of worship and prayer but a hospital for the broken, where Christ welcomes each person, where they are and for who they are. As Christ's hands and voice we then bring the healing arts of spiritual friendship and Christ-like love to all Christ brings our way. If we were all Christ-like all the time we would have no need for Christ and his Church; but everyday experiences tell us all that we have need of Christ each and every day of our lives—the healed and the healers alike. This charming and cautionary tale tells us what we are meant to be, and what we could become if we lose sight of our mission; but it is a reminder of our potential when we retain and, as necessary, reclaim our Christ-centered focus. Thus we give thanks!

Please touch or click the link below to read the story.

Lifesaving Station

Grace and peace,
Fr. Rod+

A Collect for the Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 18:01:39 GMT

Collect for The Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost

Almighty and everlasting God,
increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity;
and, that we may obtain what you promise,
make us love what you command;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

This collect follows Jesus' ministry as we begin to approach the end of the Season after Pentecost. I hear him recalling his hearers to the commandment of love! We are reminded to seek the promised threefold-gift, the three theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. And it is by love of "the commandment to love" that we obtain this gift. In modern Bible translations “charity” is translated “love.” The meaning of charity in Old English is Christian love. However, in contemporary English we think of charity in terms of helping those in need. When thinking about this distinction in meaning, I believe it directs us toward the practical aspect of Christ-like love. That is, love is not only something we feel but something we do!

The unconditional love of God found in the great commandment from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy and Leviticus, reiterated by Jesus in the Gospels), and in Jesus’ new commandment in the New Testament is love in action! Loving God with all our being, loving our neighbor, loving ourselves, and loving one another as Christ loves us—propels us into mission and ministry on behalf of God in Christ. Christ is the very essence of the faith, hope and love that we all share.

Plan one thing, one action item, YOU can accomplish this week to demonstrate the love of Christ in action!

Grace and peace,

Father Rod+

Collect for the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 23:56:09 GMT

Collect for the Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The “glory” this collect speaks of is none other than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the Church is the medium through which the world is introduced to Christ and sees Christ in action. Reading this today, as a member of the Church, you are called by Christ to be his hands and feet and voice to all those you encounter along the path of life.

It is in this way that all of us have a daily opportunity to make the glory of Christ known in thought, word and deed! Speak frequently of the reason for your hope and faith in Christ. This is the true confession of his Name, and the foundation of our personal faith and corporate faith in Christ Jesus our Lord—the author and finisher of our faith and the head of the Church.

Grace and peace,

Father Rod+

The Rev. Fr. Rod Hurst

Rector, Christ Church of the Ascension

Collect for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 21:02:46 GMT

Collect for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

We now find ourselves late into the Season after Pentecost; but still the theme of prayer that preceded the Pentecost event takes prominence in this collect. Prayer is framed by the God who hears acutely and gives without reservation.

This season deep into Ordinary Time is also when we begin to focus on stewardship in a special way. We are called to be good stewards of our gifts all year round. However, during these next few weeks and months we begin to tune our hearts to the needs and goals of our parish community, especially as we look forward to our 60th anniversary of ministry in Paradise Valley and Maricopa County. As we appreciate our past and contemplate our future, let us evaluate why and how God is calling us to even more committed prayer and service.

This coming Sunday, October 15th, we will celebrate our parish ministries with the annual Ministry Faire, and then Stewardship Sunday on October 22nd. Following these events, 2024 stewardship letters and pledge cards should arrive in our mailboxes around October 23rd. Anticipating what God has planned for us in the years ahead, see the abundance of God’s provision, outlined in this collect, as a model for our giving for the remainder of this year and next.

Grace and peace,

Father Rod+

Collect for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 23:23:50 GMT

Collect for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen .

In general terms, our world conditions us to understand power in terms much differently than described above. However, the power of God is demonstrated in showing compassion, a grace that encapsulates the ideas of mercy and pity as used in this collect. We become recipients and benefactors of this gift, and thus receive strength to seek God and serve others.

Reading this collect immediately brought to mind a passage from the Lamentations of Jeremiah as follows: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to and end; they are new every morning! Lamentations is clear that this merciful grace is not transient but available to us each and everyday of our lives.

The promises of God are none other than all the gifts and graces we receive in Christ. We are then compelled to give them away as freely are we have received them. That is the true heavenly treasure of which we become participants not only partakers. The giving of spiritual graces to others gradually manifests itself into giving in all the ways we have available to us.

Grace & peace,

Fr. Rod+

Collect for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 23:45:00 GMT

Collect for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

God, because without you we are not able to please you,
O mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit
may in all things direct and rule our hearts;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Beloved in Christ,

This collect reminds us to consider how it is that we please or are pleasing to God. The subject here is not what we do to please God; but what, or rather, who makes it possible for us to please God. In fact, it is very presence of God in our lives that makes it possible for us to please God.

God is our source and our goal, who gives us purpose and spiritual energy in all of life’s endeavors. However, the God who could otherwise seem far away is brought close through the presence Holy Spirit, known in the New Testament by various other names such as the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, and the Spirit of Christ.

Then Christ is as close to us as our own breath through the Spirit of Christ who dwells within us—God in Christ through the power of the Spirit. This is how God leads and guides us, and we are never alone! Whether as individuals or in the community of faith we are continually in the presence of God through the Holy Spirit, the gift of Christ at Pentecost realized in baptism—also the work of God.

God working in and through us, God-in-Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, enables us to love and serve the Lord, and to love and serve the world around us.

Grace and peace,
Father Rod+

The Rev. Rodney S. Hurst

Rector, Christ Church of the Ascension

CCA Vestry Update

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 16:25:19 GMT

CCA Vestry Update

Beloved in Christ,

At the regular September Vestry meeting on Tuesday, 9/5, I appointed Ron Rossini as new Senior Warden. Thank you Ron for your willingness to serve! I look forward to our ministry together, alongside all of our very dedicated Vestry members.

A huge THANK YOU also to Melissa Bull for her AMAZING service to Christ Church of the Ascension as Senior Warden before, during and after the interim and transition period. You are greatly appreciated!

Grace and peace,

Father Rod+

The Rev. Fr. Rodney S. Hurst

Rector, Christ Church of the Ascension

Collect for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 20:42:50 GMT

Collect for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things:

Graft into our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness;

and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Beloved in Christ,

As we move ever closer to fall, we begin to notice the gradual changing of the seasons. Living in New Mexico for the past fourteen years, I recall the comforting aroma of roasted green chiles beginning around this time of year. The best gifts in life are often like that, familiar yet surprising, something with the potential to refresh and renew us.

We see in the introductory lines of our collect from this past Sunday that God is the source all that is good. As Christians we may consider that common knowledge but may sometimes forget its importance for our daily lives.

The gifts of God’s goodness and love inspire and energize our faith, and compel us to give out of the abundance of what we have been entrusted with. This is the fruit of good works that mirrors the generosity of God. Christ gave his life for the life of the world, and we participate in his good gift when we give of ourselves. With a grateful heart, begin to prayerfully consider what God is calling you to give this season.

Grace and peace,

Fr. Rod+

The Rev. Fr. Rodney S. Hurst

Rector, Christ Church of the Ascension

Collect for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 20:20:50 GMT

Collect for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered
together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your
power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirt, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Beloved in Christ,

As we begin new ministry together I want to thank you for your warm welcome this past Sunday. Your outpouring of love and joy was a sign of the visible and ever abiding presence the Spirit of the living Christ within us and among us as in our worship and fellowship together!

For the next several weeks and months in my newsletter article, I will offer the Collect of the Day from the Sunday prior. The Collects of Thomas Cranmer are a centerpiece of our Eucharistic liturgy but easily overlooked or passed over quickly. Yet each one is a spiritual and literary masterpiece meant to take us across the seasons of the Church Year, providing insight and a sense of purpose for our congregational life.

Consider each collect a form of sacred reading, lectio divina . Read it more than once, each time sharpening your focus to determine the theme and better understand the meaning. I suggest “unity” as a keyword for your mediation on this text. Think of the various ways that unity may become for us not only a state of being but a spiritual practice. The collect tells us that unity itself is a work of the Holy Spirit and how we display God’s works to the world around us!

Grace and peace,
Fr. Rod+

The Rev. Fr. Rodney S. Hurst

Rector, Christ Church of the Ascension