Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Ascension on Facebook

Thinking to move this blog to Ascension's Facebook page and its many users. Hit the 'like' once you arrive and you're all set to connect with us on FB

Happy New Year 2012, Bishop Singh Visits Sunday

Dear Friends, January 2, 2012

Welcome all. Happy New Year to everyone. Besides being New Years Day, Sunday was the Holy Name Day of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Rev. Pat's sermon she suggested that as a Christian we might consider greeting each other with "God Is With You." She went on to talk about the new year and what we all might look forward to in the new year. Her closing thoughts were that we should go into the New Year "With Him, For Him and By Him." So my greeting to all of you this year is "God Be With You". Please don't forget that next Sunday is the first Sunday after the Epiphany and will be a great day of celebration. The Bishop will be joining us for both services. Following the service Angel is hosting his annual Ascension Christmas Party. If you have never attended this annual event you should be sure to attend this year to enjoy the wonderful food and delightful Santa decorations that Angel works so hard to prepare for us. Following the service and party we will be taking down the sanctuary decorations. Many hands make light work so your help would be greatly appreciated.


WE WILL CELEBRATE THE FIRST SUNDAY
AFTER THE EPIPHANY
THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD
ON SUNDAY AT 8 AM AND 10AM
You are personally important to help write our next chapters!

IF YOU HAVE NOT FOUND TIME TO COME TO CHURCH RECENTLY, THE DOORS ARE ALWAYS WIDE OPEN FOR YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES. PLEASE COME AND SEE..BRING SOMEONE TO SHARE THE PEACE.
Please make your personal commitment to be present on Sunday mornings - to share in the promise and fulfillment
of the ministries, old and new, that are to be ours.

BIBLE STUDY: The Ascension Bible Study group continues to meet each Thursday morning at 9 Am in the library. We read and study the Gospel lesson for the coming week. It is a time to reflect on God's message and to expand our knowledge and ministry in Christ. We welcome new participants to add fresh insight to our discussions. If we wish to grow in faith and knowledge, and share our love of God, we need to be able to share the stories of the Bible. Much food for thought and often refreshments to share. The study is of the Gospel Lesson for next Sunday, found below.
MEEK also welcomes $$ contributions large and small [envelopes in church] and weekly food donations [place items in back of church/Tower Room]; Checks, made out to Maplewood Edgerton Emergency Kupboard, may be sent to the Church Office.

CAN YOU ASSIST?? Every Wed. afternoon, starting again January 25th, volunteers are welcomed for our joint venture with Mary's Place and Nazareth College. With van available to us, drivers are needed for children - from and back to Mary's Place on Lexington Ave. Call Rev. Pat to explore. Would you like to take a turn preparing a meal for the group? CAN YOU HELP??

YOUTH NEWS AND INFO-please note these dates/opportunities and stay tuned every week:

* CHECK OUT the Youth Group Team. DON'T HESITATE TO JOIN IN! Call Rev. Pat. The Church Community
Youth Partnership (CCYP) can use your help.
* Worship & Children, 10 AM Sundays - This is important. You can make a difference! If you took Safe Church Training, please call Diane Santiago 254-8782 or email Diane57350@aol.com THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MINISTRY
* STAY TUNED!!!

ALL ABOARD!! - CARE CLOSET Our reach-out ministry to the neighborhood. Open for business on Saturdays, January 14th and 28th at 10 AM. Big thanks to all contributing supplies to this mission! I also suggest that you might consider checking specials and coupon offerings for these items each week. I have noticed that every week Wegmans has bins of shampoo, body wash, soap, deodorant, etc. at sale prices and next to the checkout counters. I have made a commitment to pick up $10.00 worth of these sale items each week. Care to join me?
NEEDED : Shampoo and Tooth Paste Thanks!
Would you like to help in person? Call Nancy Lennox ASAP 663-5805 or email nlennox1@me.com Give this a try - You won't be sorry! And those who come to us from our neighborhood will thank you!!
This is mission with real purpose, helping real people.

PLEASE NOTE THESE DATES:

Jan 8, '12 - Bishop's visitation; Angel's Three Kings' Party after 10 AM service; take down
Christmas decorations in church (Volunteers are needed to help take down the decorations. Please consider helping after the service)

Jan 15, '12 - Annual Parish Meeting

PLAN AHEAD!! More delicious dinners await us from Pat Frasca and her dedicated chefs and staff!
Future dinner dates are:

MARCH 3 2012 SPAGHETTI

APRIL 28 2012 CHICKEN AND BISCUIT

COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS WELCOME!! Coffee Hour after the 10 AM Sunday service is a wonderful opportunity to greet friends, old and new, and catch up on news. There are opportunities to host Coffee Hour in the weeks ahead. Won't you help this ministry? If not sure how to host, you may call Nancy Lennox at 663-5805 or Stu or Gene Denison at 663-0988. To sign up - see list in the back of the church or call 458-5423. Thanks!

In addition, there are many who would love a call and an invitation to church. We can invite friends to accompany us to church - and take them out for brunch afterward!

To beautify our worship and lift everyone's spirits, in weeks ahead there are plenty of opportunities for altar flowers. Will you take up this ministry to the glory of God and to our spirits? To explore this, please contact Laurie Phillips for details, 865-2802 or email LBP@rochester.rr.com

The Rochester Interfaith Jail Ministry asks your ongoing help - by donating through United Way or directly by check to R.I.J.M., 2 Riverside St., Rochester, NY 14613. This will bring books of healing and group sessions to those needing to start lives anew. Remember the Good Samaritan... Please answer this call. To volunteer, call 254-6790. The invitation to help is ongoing, so you are not late to the party! Many Thanks! Please include this ministry in your daily devotions.

Speaking of making All Things New, Pat has a great new welcome video posted on our website. Please have a look - and thank her! http://www.ascensionroch.org/

please note - Rev. Pat wants to hear from us - phone number 732-428-2000 ;
e-mail: patcashman2010@gmail.com ;
mailing address: The Rev. Patricia Cashman, 185 Bennington Hills Court, West Henrietta, NY 14586

Kindly keep in your daily prayers all those in need of healing, those who serve in our military forces and those who travel.

Please also keep in your daily prayers the ministries coming to life and all those who lead them, particularly Rev. Pat
To assist in our spiritual life, Forward Day by Day booklets are $.85 each in the Tower Room.


Are you important?...YES, AND MORE SO EVERY DAY!!! .If we want to grow and share God's prosperity of faith, we must love God, love our friends and then speak openly to them. A congregation grows starting with each faithful person. God will help us share the Bread of Life.....God will help us live into our Baptismal Covenant of sharing His word and our lives and resources.
We never know when God will bring someone to speak to us, to enrich our own life and the life of that person.
Be on the lookout and ready to listen - and to share your faith story.

Did you know that love can look, walk and talk like a food basket? If you are making New Year's Resolutions, you might consider making a resolution to pick up an extra item or two during your weekly grocery shopping trips to contribute to MEEK. Some of the items that are included in all food bags are tuna fish, cereal, canned soups, canned vegetables, canned fruits, juice, canned meat (Spam, Corned Beef), canned stew. You might consider checking the weekly specials or coupon offers and use those as a guide. We continue to search for new volunteers. If you are interested in serving as a packer or interviewer, please Call Jan Wills 621-3900 or Sally Green 865-1125 or Nancy and Jerry Welcher 392-8702.

Lord, St. Paul baptized with more than the waters of repentance, but with the spirit of Love, Forgiveness and Grace. Give us grace in this coming year to minister to the sick, to the poor and to the prisoner to show forth that grace in ourselves and through that grace, Your glory.

WISH LIST Can you help or do you know someone who might help? Call Rev. Pat or Don Taylor 746-2455.

* Grand piano or high quality upright or studio piano for the church.
* Household items/furnishings in good condition to assist in our ministry.
* Gas string trimmer for lawn edging [due to break-in of our shed 11/8]
* Electric hedge trimmer
* assorted lawn and garden tools

When we see new people on Sunday or at an event, let's make them welcome.
An invitation to Coffee Hour is a great icebreaker. So is sitting with a new person
and guiding her/him in the service, if this is a first or second time with us.
We never know when we may entertain angels unaware.

Do you have a pocket card to hand to a friend who asks where you go to church? These cards are on the table in the back of the church. Please take a few and be ready to share. And some of Jan Wills' new cards. We have some pocket crosses, also, in the drawer for anyone who answers the call to "Come and See". This is all part of the Growing Season of God.

We thank Carol Manuel for her talents at the organ this past week. This coming Sunday we welcome John back from his Christmas holiday. If you enjoy singing and would like to become a member of the choir in the coming New Year, please join us at rehearsal on Wed. evenings at 7:30. It is not only a great musical experience, but a wonderful experience of fellowship. On Sunday, Carol played "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime" as the prelude. Also called "The Huron Carol", this is a favorite of mine so I thought you might enjoy it. It is said to be the oldest Canadian Carol written in 1643 by Jean de Brebeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. Brébeuf wrote the lyrics in the native language of the Huron/Wendat people and the melody is based on a traditional French folk song. The English version of the hymn uses imagery familiar in the early 20th century, in place of the traditional Nativity story. This version is derived from Brebeuf's original song and Huron religious concepts. In the English version, Jesus is born in a "lodge of broken bark", and wrapped in a "robe of rabbit skin". He is surrounded by hunters instead of shepherds, and the Magi are portrayed as "chiefs from afar" that bring him "fox and beaver pelts" instead of the more familiar gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The hymn also uses a traditional Algonquian name, Gitchi Manitou, for God. The original lyrics are now sometimes modified to use imagery accessible to Christians who are not familiar with Native-Canadian cultures. This presentation is done by the Canadian Tenors. http://youtu.be/DgPeEvUl06Y The lyrics are as follows:

Twas in the moon of wintertime,
When all the birds had fled,

That mighty Gitchi Manitou
Sent angel choirs instead;
Before their light the stars grew dim,

And wondering hunters heard the hymn:

Refrain
Jesus your King is born,
Jesus is born,
In excelsis gloria.

Within a lodge of broken bark
The tender babe was found,
A ragged robe of rabbit skin
Enwrapped His beauty round;
But as the hunter braves drew nigh,

The angel song rang loud and high:

Refrain

O children of the forest free,
O sons of Manitou,

The holy Child of earth and Heavn
Is born today for you.
Come kneel before the radiant Boy,
Who brings you beauty, peace and joy.

If you have a new or better email address for yourself, or know someone who might like to receive this weekly e-letter, please send in that information. If you would like other kinds of information, or have any suggestions
for this e-letter, please give a shout. Thanks!

PLEASE JOIN US ON SUNDAY TO WELCOME THE BISHOP AND ENJOY ANGEL'S PARTY
Jan Wills
585-621-3900
585-729-5013 [cell] jwills509@frontiernet.net

My sister-in-law is from Thailand. She is also an excellent cook and prepares outstanding Oriental fare. For our Christmas celebration she made Lettuce Wraps. They do take a bit of time to prepare, but are well worth it. They are technically an appetizer, but I can make a meal out of them.
LETTUCE WRAPS
Ingredients
6 OZ. boneless chicken breast, finely chopped
1 T. vegetable oil
1/2 cu. water chestnuts, drained and finely diced
1/2 cu. Shitake Mushrooms, finely diced
1 cu. white mushrooms, finely diced
1/4 cu. green onion (green part only), finely diced
1 tsp. minced garlic
3 T. Terijaki Sauce
2 T. dark brown sugar
1 tsp. rice wine vinegar
1 drop liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp Hoisin Sauce
1/2 tsp. oyster sauce
1 head lettuce

DIPPING SAUCE
1/4 CU. Terijaki Sauce
1 T. sweet rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. hot mustard
1 tsp. Chinese Chili Garlic Sauce

Directions
Preheat fry pan. Add vegetable oil then chicken and quickly saute until browned.
Add mushrooms, chestnuts, green onion, garlic and stir fry 1 min.
Add all remaining ingredients and saute 1 min.

Ahead of time, separate lettuce leaves, wash and place in zip lock bags and chill.
This makes the leaves crispy and fresh for wrapping.

Place a spoonful of chicken mixture in a lettuce leaf and top with a bit of Dipping Sauce.
Wrap the lettuce around the mixture and enjoy.

The sauce can be made hotter by adding more mustard. It can be made milder
by adding a bit more rice wine vinegar.

The sauces and rice wine vinegar called for in the recipe can be purchased in the International section of Wegmans.
They preserve well so don't hesitate to purchase them to save to use later.