Church of the Ascension

WELCOME TO THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION and to a great source of information and background about the parish’s life and work.   Established in 1857, we have been a part of this Near North neighborhood and the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago from the beginning.   For over a hundred years, we have been a leader in the Anglo-Catholic movement within the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion.  That means that you will find here a liturgy that is rich and complex but focused on the profound and simple truth that when we pray, God responds and when we celebrate the Sacraments, Christ’s grace transforms our life.  

In addition to corporate worship, the Anglo-Catholic tradition takes the spiritual life seriously and this parish has always sought to encourage and strengthen people’s life of prayer.  In addition to our regular Sunday schedule, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered every week day and holy day, and Morning and Evening Prayer are said every day on Zoom; in addition, many people have regular habits of prayer that reflect and grow from this tradition.  The Creed is sung or said at Mass on Sundays and Festivals, and it is at the heart of the parish’s understanding of the Christian Faith; so too is the serious effort that required to let questions and doubt deepen our faith and widen our understanding of the world.  In addition to the theology that supports a serious liturgical tradition and shapes a disciplined Spiritual life, there are two other aspects of our life together that flow form our Anglo-Catholic tradition:  an appreciation of beauty and human creativity and an engagement with the world in its joys and in its needs.  Music and the setting that architecture provides are essential parts of the parish’s worship and there is a monthly corporate effort to meet human need in the Food Pantry—and countless ways that individuals are engaged in acts of service and witness.

If you want to know more about the parish, please feel free to contact one of the clergy or the parish office.  We’d like to keep you informed of parish activities—if you provide our contact information, you will be included in parish communications. 
 
We are glad you’re here—and if this website raises new questions or leaves some unanswered, come join us on a Sunday and see what this parish is like.