What’s Going on in the Parish

What’s going on in the larger Church

Editorials

Editorial

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land" 2 Chronicles 7:14

Dear Friends,

Following on from last time we are now well into Lent and our ANT project is still running. We have all been asked to look at the list of environmentally related questions recently distributed. I must admit that I have not met all the requirements and have been putting a few coins in a container, as no doubt we all have. However, the list is definitely food for thought and shows in just how many ways we can be good stewards of God's creation. It also shows how often we fall by the wayside and waste energy and resources without realising or even thinking about it.

The saving of energy and re-using instead of throwing away is what in former times was called being thrifty. The word thrift has today very much disappeared form our vocabulary as most of us in the west aspire to an ever higher standard of living and can afford to buy things new rather than re-using and repairing  the old ones. For me, the ANT project has very much brought thriftiness to the fore. Indeed, the old adages  "make do and mend" or "waste not, want not" can today be put to practical use in helping to protect the environment.

Some of us have also perhaps been practising the more traditional Lenten activity of fasting. Whatever we decide to give up, it should result in a time of reflection and introspection. For example, giving up one meal each week is not only a form of self discipline, but also makes us aware of how lucky we are to have three square meals a day, while for many people to go without a meal is part of daily life. Only then do we begin to realise what hunger is.

Lent is also a time when we should take prayer more seriously and spend more "quality time" with God. Again, this requires self discipline and setting apart a certain time of day for prayer and reflection. Lent is a spiritual journey which begins with ashes and darkness but ends with victory and hope. If we take it seriously then we can properly celebrate and really see the true meaning of God's redemption at Easter.

From the Rector

Dear beloved people of the Ascension:

This is my last letter to you as your Rector. In spite of the fact that I have been looking for some time to return to the United States and my family, if is very hard to leave you all here, in this wonderful parish and this wonderful city. There is so much to celebrate about our 11 years of ministry together. I won't rehash all the changes we have gone through, but will just remind those of you especially who have been here during the whole of those 11 years to contemplate the immense changes in our financial condition, our program offerings, our growth in spiritual and Christian formation, our broadening of our fellowship and in finding a partial solution to our need for our own space. 138 people have been baptized, 90 confirmed or received into the  church. 38 couples have been married and 36 people have been laid to rest .As we all come together on March 2, for my final service with you as your Rector, let us celebrate God's graciousness to us during this time together.

Yet the work of the Christian community is never finished. God continually calls us to live more fully in His love and grace. I have just seen the statistics compiled by our own George Battrick as President of the Bishop's Council of Advice about the life of the Convocation and each parish within it. We have one of the lowest per capita rates of financial giving in the Convocation, although we are not the most modest. Our average church attendance is the second lowest. And we are low in the percentage of our budget that goes for outreach. You will be starting the search for a new Rector in a very short time. The Interim, the Rev. Gray Temple is a wonderful man and priest who will challenge you and inspire you. The Parish is in a wonderful place to look at itself with faithful and healthy eyes. The Vestry is enormously talented and faithful. If you remain faithful in worship and in commitment you will come out of the search process even stronger then you are now as a parish. That is my hope and prayer for you all, as I take my leave of you. May God continue to Bless you and Keep you. And I expect to see many of you on the South Shore of Long Island, New York. Bring your bathing costumes!

Tom Pellaton +

Presiding Bishop's Lenten message: Keeping a holy Lent: prayer, fasting, almsgiving

The Church gradually took on the discipline of Lent in solidarity with those preparing for baptism at the Easter Vigil. That preparation work has traditionally been summarized as prayer and study, fasting, and almsgiving. Today we might remember the origins of Lent, take in our traditional understandings, and use these 40 days plus Sundays to prepare to renew our own baptismal vows. This ancient understanding of prayer, study, fasting, and almsgiving shapes the lives we lead. Each of us is baptized into a life of relationship with God (prayer), relationship with self on behalf of others (fasting), and relationship with all the rest of creation (almsgiving). Lent brings a regular opportunity to tune up our Christian life and relationships.

What happens when you take your car in for a tune-up? Most of us no longer do that work ourselves, because the computers in our vehicles are usually beyond our reach. They are not, however, beyond the ken of those with appropriate skill, training, and tools. The spiritual life of a Christian can also benefit from the assistance of technicians (trained practitioners) -- priests, spiritual directors, confessors, a Cursillo reunion, or 12-step group. The opportunity to review the functioning of spark plugs, change the oil, test the cylinder compression, and rotate, fill, and maybe even replace the tires keeps our cars running.

The same kind of attention to one's spiritual life can yield better gas mileage (focused energy for effective living) and effective transportation (how do I get from where I start to my destination?). Reviewing the rules of the road can make the trip much more pleasant for us and others (the early followers of Jesus actually called their practice "the road" or "the way"). We human vehicles need an effective connection to the source of life, guidance and directions (prayer and study), regular maintenance (fasting), and effective ways to connect with the world (almsgiving).

This Lent could be an opportunity to learn new ways of praying, or what the apostles teach, or what Jesus says about money. It could also be a time to take on a new prayer discipline -- maybe practicing seeing the image of God in every person on the street, or being grateful for the hidden blessings of the parts of creation that challenge us (gray days, viruses, mosquitoes -- I'm still working on mosquitoes!). We might practice compassion for the coworker who drives us crazy (and perhaps seek help in learning more effective ways to relate).

The ancient tradition of fasting is about self-discipline in what we eat and drink, and in today's world it is also about judicious consumption of the world's goods -- not just what we buy at the mall, but how we use water, how we leave the air around us, how we deal with "garbage," and the size of our carbon footprint. It is a recognition that how we use the blessings of creation has a vast relationship to how our neighbors can also enjoy those blessings.

Giving alms means caring for those in need. The word comes from the same root as eleison, as in Kyrie eleison (Lord, have mercy), and it really means compassion.  How do we approach and respond to the people around us and far away who are “crying in the wilderness”? The work of Lent is about cultivating a compassionate heart that will shape all our encounters in the coming year and years.

Sunday schools often take on a specific alms aim during Lent, like filling a penny jar for Heifer Project, or serving lunch at a homeless feeding center. Almsgiving has traditionally meant acting compassionately with one's treasure, but it is just as appropriate to think about how we use our time and talent mercifully.

As we approach Lent -- early in February this year -- let me invite you to join in tuning up your spiritual life. Take an hour to make an inventory -- what mechanics know as a squawk list. Which spark isn't as hot as it might be? Which tire is going flat? What kind of oil are you going to add this time? And what are you going to do with the old, dirty stuff? That's what the altar is for, in a spirit of repentance and return, and it's not unlike recycling the old so it can be used for good. A blessed trip this year!

What’s going on in the larger Church

Celebrating Ecumenism – AcKiD celebrates anniversary

Germany was still partly in ruins. The clean-up and rebuilding had begun but the signs of the recent war were still obvious, especially in the cities. Yet on March 10, 1948 the Council of Christian Churches in Germany (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen in Deutschland, AcKiD) was founded. Its first president was Pastor Martin Niemöller. Protestant Churches, several free churches and the Old-Catholic Church joined together to have ecumenical dialogue. They were looking for a new way of working together as Christians in post-war Germany. Since 1948 other churches joined - our church is represented by the Council of Anglican/Episcopal Churches in Germany (CAECG). The AcKiD initiates theological talks between the denominations to improve mutual understanding and to overcome tensions. Publications show its manifold work. Last but not least it is involved in preparing the annual Week for Christian Unity. Today it has 16 member churches including the Roman Catholic Church and several Orthodox churches. On January 18th it celebrated its 60th anniversary in Mainz, closing with the opening service for the Week for Christian Unity in the Cathedral. In the moving service all participants confirmed the support of the Charta Oecumenica, a document signed by all member churches at the Ökumenische Kirchentag in 2003. Since 1948 ecumenism has changed radically. The AcKiD contributed its part to it.

AcKiB - Preparing for the Kirchentag 2010

                         Cloister at Himmelspforten

What’s Going on in the Parish

DID YOU KNOW THAT…..

our interim Priest, Gray Temple has written four books? If you are curious what they are check them out on Amazon!

we will be honoring our ecumenical relationships both with the Old Catholics and the Lutherans at the end of April and the beginning of May? Look for details of these services in this issue of the Ikon.

we are no longer doing joint services with Peace Methodist church during Holy Week, at their request? We will therefore be doing something very new for Maundy Thursday. See details in this issue.

that of this writing the Rector has had the pleasure and honor of saying good-by to the congregation in Augsburg, the Altar Guild, the Youth Group, the Women's  Group, the Choir, the Monday Night Group,  the Taizé group and the Convocation Clergy (at the clergy retreat in Rome), the Bible Study groups and the Vestry?  It has been very moving to be able to say good-by and Auf Wiedersehen in smaller groups. Thank you all for this opportunity.

the Youth will be traveling to Rome over the Ascension Day Holliday for a Youth Across Europe Retreat at St. Paul's within the walls? This promises to be a wonderful weekend of service, fellowship, worship and fun.

COFFEE HOUR MUSICALE
MARCH 30

As part of the requirements for a degree program she is involved with, Lise Cribbin will be giving a solo recital on Sunday, March 30, at 1.30pm. Lise has provided much beautiful music for the parish over the last several years. Please come and support her efforts after Church on the 30th.

GOLDEN GIRLS MEETING AGAIN.

The "Golden Girls" workshop, led by the Rev. Clair Ullmann, will meet Monday, March 3, from 10 to 4 p.m. in the church library. The theme is "Letting Go." Members are asked to bring a bag lunch. For more information contact the Church.

Joint Services with Emmauskirche and the Old-Catholics

Our last joint service is some time ago. This year we will have two in a row. On April 27 at 10 am we will celebrate Eucharist together with our Old Catholic brothers and sisters at St Willibrord, Blumenstrasse, near Sendlinger Tor Platz. In celebrating the Eucharist together we also celebrate our full communion with each other. There will be no other service that day. Please join us for this special occasion.

On Ascension Day, May 1, we plan to join our Lutheran brothers and sisters of the Emmauskirche at 10 am for a joint service. Afterwards – weather permitting - we will follow our tradition and retire to the Menterschwaige Biergarten for fellowship.

WE’RE HAVING A BOOK SALE!!

Mark this date on your calendar!! On Saturday, April 5, from 1000 to 1500, we’ll hold a sale of books in English, with a wide variety of fiction, non-fiction and children’s books to be offered. The fund-raising event will take place in our church Gemeindesaal, and there will also be coffee and cake in the “Booklovers’ Café.” We invite donations of current books in English, in good condition.(No other languages, please.) The sale is co-sponsored by “The Bookshelf, e.V.” lending library. For more information, contact the Church.

Rector Transition Update – Where are We in the Process?

Our transition from Father Tom to a new Rector is well underway. We have already completed the first few important tasks and will complete our most important early task – saying goodbye to Father Tom – in early March. Here is where we are in the steps of the transition:

a - Connect with the Bishop as coach and guide

a - Say good-bye to Father Tom

a - Identify an Interim Rector

a - Make sure our Committees and routines are working well

     - Welcome and integrate Interim Rector

               - Organize Search Committee     

               - Prepare Parish Profile

               - Find candidates

               - Screen and select candidates

               - Further screening of candidates

               - Call of new Rector

               - Welcome and integrate the new Rector

Bishop Pierre joined us in January to meet with the Vestry and with many parish members in an open meeting.  He taught us about the search process and connected with us as a coach and guide in the search process, as well as his formal role as Bishop. He heard from us about what we wish to have in an Interim Rector and quickly identified a candidate to consider.  And he challenged us to keep all aspects of the search moving. Hopefully, we can be finished and have a new Rector around the end of the year.

Our goodbyes to Father Tom are in progress as this is written, and finish about the time you get this issue of the IKON. Many small groups, some big groups, and countless individuals have taken the time to celebrate with Tom the 11 years of his ministry with us. Some tears, some hugs, some song and dance, and many memories have been shared.

During the time of the transition, we will have an Interim Rector who will serve us as priest and spiritual leader. The Bishop proposed Father Gray Temple of Atlanta, Georgia in the US as Interim. After a phone interview with the wardens, he made a whirlwind trip to Munich to meet with the Vestry. We learned about his many years as Rector of a parish in Atlanta, his priorities for growing lay leadership and lay ministry, his energy for joining our community as a member and learning from us, and his outreach ministries in Africa and other places.  The Vestry called him to join us as Interim and he accepted. Assuming we can complete all arrangements for Visas, etc. in time, he will join us the second Sunday in March. Look for an article from Father Gray in this issue of the IKON. And be ready to give him a warm welcome to Munich.

Our worship and our many ministries continue.  But without the many daily things Father Tom does, we need to be sure our routine is operating smoothly. The Outreach Committee has done a lot of work to organize itself for the year.  You already see their work with the ANT Lenten discipline about environmental awareness.  A Fund Raising Committee is being organized to establish a smoother annual cycle of fund raising activities. If you are excited to be part of this effort, contact the Church. The Worship Committee has planned the next months of worship, including Holy Week and Easter. So it seems most of our key ministries are ready to move forward into the transition time.

Our next big effort is to prepare the search. Hopefully, we will have a Search Committee chair person identified and many of the committee members selected by the time you read this. Many people have stepped forward and offered to serve on the committee. The first big step in the search itself is the preparation of a Parish Profile that tells about who we are and what we are seeking in a new Rector. Watch for more about a Parish Retreat on April 12, the kickoff for preparing the Profile.

And the Philosophical Closing…

The transition has been very smooth, so far. The atmosphere of uncertainty about the future we experienced around Christmas has been replaced by a joyful and tearful celebration of Tom’s ministry with us. Quickly identifying an Interim Rector reinforced the progress and our confidence, through early steps in our Journey together.  All journeys of any significance have unexpected twists and turns, and opportunities to learn from things we did not plan. So, I am very happy with the progress, especially with the way our Community is pulling smoothly together. The process is underway and the plan seems to be working. And I am also looking forward to the learning and growth we will experience from the unexpected bumps and turns God may bring us in our journey, as we seek His will in identifying our next Rector.

Parish Retreat – Who are We as a Parish?

Mark you calendars… 

Parish Retreat

All Day

April 12

Watch for more details about times and location. This retreat, led by Bishop Pierre, will collect information about who we are as a Parish and where we want to go.  The information collected and the discussion will form the beginning of our Parish Profile, the key document for communicating with prospective candidates for Rector.

A Letter from our Interim Rector

Dear (Future) Friends in Christ –

I’m grateful to be asked to serve you as Interim Rector during your search for another to further the great work you and Father Tom have done together. (Tom+ is an old and much admired friend.) A recent (brief!) visit with your Vestry heightened my interest in you – Ascension felt “like home” to a surprising extent. Your robust programs and the energies all of you bring to them felt not only good – they felt familiar. 

Let me stress that at the very beginning: the ministries you have already embraced are going to carry you through the coming year. As interim Rector, I’m looking forward to directing heavy  ministerial traffic. Parishes that have discovered the Ministry of the Baptized enjoy fruitful interim periods.  My own former congregation was and remains distinguished for its lay participation.  To find that excitement on your Vestry made Ascension feel very familiar indeed.  It’s like getting into a new car and discovering a familiar gearshift.  Uncannily, the layout of your nave and sanctuary is virtually identical to the one my former congregation and I designed in Atlanta.

Mothers Clair and Dorothee are also friends from previous events.  Collaborating with the two of them is a great part of the draw to Ascension.

I don’t know how much you need or want to know of me in advance. In a healthy parish like yours, Our Lord is more central than a rector – and of more interest. You can get a sense of my work at my webpage: www.graytemple.org (You may recognize a name or two on the “Testimonials” page.)

What the page does not convey is the importance (and charm) of my wife Jean. Your Vestry has graciously arranged for her to join me every four to six weeks, as she must remain with her psychotherapy practice in Atlanta. The Vestry made this arrangement for my sake; after her first visit you may conclude it’s for your own delight as well.

Let’s expect and be good sports about an irreducible element of anxiety in the transition to a new Rector. Some changes will emerge as necessary, desirable, or overdue as we work together.  But in the interim, changes will not be arbitrary – we will determine them together. What I’m telling you is that I am not approaching you with a one-size-fits-all template for parishes in transition.  Good interim ministry is simply good ministry - and good ministry is mostly collaborative as we determine together what the Holy Spirit is up to among us from moment to moment.

I think this is going to be a great year for Ascension and for Jean and me.  I’m chomping at the bit to get started.

In Christ,

Gray Temple (the Reverend Canon)

For how to get along with your fellow man: Call Romans 12:1-8

When your faith needs stirring: Call Hebrews 11

When you worry: Call Matthew 6:25-34

Vestry Notes (Issue No. 3)

Dear parish members, fellow Christians, friends:

This issue is intended to be distributed on 2 March, the day of Father Tom's last Sunday service as Rector of our parish. It is not an easy task to write an appropriate column on this occasion. So let us just accept that this column won't be, cannot be appropriate – let us keep it short:

Let us each express our feelings – thankfulness, joy and at the same time sadness, anxiety, even excitement – the way that suits everyone of us (personally) best – verbally or non-verbally. Let us enjoy our last day with Father Tom, and let it be an extraordinary one for Father Tom. Let us all be thankful for the wonderful years we were allowed to share with him and benefit from his ministry, and let us be thankful for the great opportunity Father Tom has been provided to return near his family and to take on responsibility for a new interesting parish. Let us keep caring and taking responsibility for one another in our parish. Let us trust that the Lord will lead us through this period of transition and thereafter as He has led us before and as He leads everyone who trusts in Him. Let us welcome our Interim, Father Gray and look forward to a fruitful, interesting, challenging and broadening time.

Our Annual General Meeting will take place in this time of transition, on April 20, 2008 in the parish hall after church. Several vestry members will have to be newly elected. Anyone interested in “running” for becoming a vestry member, please contact the Church. We need you!

That's it for this occasion. Have a joyous Easter time, and – be blessed!

Wanted: Your story of the Canterbury Cross

At the last Convention in Munich the following resolution was passed. Munich has already had the Canterbury Cross preceding two conventions and I am sure some of you have amazing stories to tell.

CC2007–Res. 5: Story of the Canterbury Cross

Resolved, That the Convocation endorse the proposal from the Emmanuel delegation to ask individuals  to write their stories about the Canterbury Cross 1997, to

be compiled into a compendium for posterity, as described in the distributed document. (See endnote)

Proposed by the Emmanuel Church delegation

Endnote: Explanation of CC2007–Res. 5: Story of the Canterbury Cross

Telling the story of the Canterbury Cross
in the Convocation of American Churches in Europe

A Convocation-wide project proposed by the Expanded Delegation of Emmanuel Church, Geneva, to the Convention of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe (Munich, Germany, 25–28 October 2007).

1. In 1997, to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the mission of Saint Augustine to England, the Bishop in charge (then the Rt Rev. Jeffery Rowthorn), very probably after consulting the Presiding Bishop (then the Most Rev. Edmond Browning), embarked all the Churches of the Convocation, as well as missions, onto an activity/tradition/that has continued to this day, namely the Canterbury Cross.

2. That year, the Canterbury Cross that we see today at each Convention of the Convocation was conceived, made in Canterbury, England, transported from Canterbury to each of the Convocation Churches, starting with Saint Augustine of Canterbury, Wiesbaden, Germany, and ending at the Cathedral in Paris. There, during the special Eucharist service that closed the Convention 1997, all those present renewed their baptismal vows, and the Cross was formally dedicated and commissioned on its still on-going (hopefully ever-going) journey from each Church hosting the Annual Convention to the next.

3. Along its way, one can imagine, the Cross has “lived” many stories by individuals and groups in many places and circumstances, with no doubt more to come in future years; stories that, if told and preserved, would be of much interest and value to past and present parishioners, maybe to their children and their children’s children, and certainly for the record. “Transformed by Stories” – telling our story as God’s story and God’s story as our story – has inspired an approach to telling the stories of the Canterbury Cross.

4. Therefore the Delegation of Emmanuel Church proposes that, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Canterbury Cross, the Convocation consider undertaking the Project of having the stories alluded to in para. 3 above, written by all the individuals who have been involved with the Cross to date (bishops, rectors, the many other parishioners), with the aim of producing a compendium of the stories in time for it to be dedicated at the 2008 Convention (Nice, France, 23–26 October 2008) where, we are told, the current Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, will be present. Thereafter, each individual dealing with the Cross  at each Church holding it for  the year leading up to hosting that year’s  Convention, would write his/her story(ies), and his/her Church would add the Story(ies) to the Compendium, and ensure that the Compendium so augmented accompanies the Cross to the Church hosting the next Convention.

5. The  Delegation  of Emmanuel Church further  proposes  that  The Convention consider the offer by Samuel and Helena Mbele-Mbong to serve, on behalf of Emmanuel Church, as Coordinators of the proposed project.

The Expanded Delegation from Emmanuel:
The Rev. John Beach, The Rev. Bill Strehlow, Mr. Richard Cole, Mrs. Helena Mbele-Mbong,
Mrs. Kristi Strzyzewski, Mr. Phil Trumper, Mr. Bill Vought
                                                                                                                                               Geneva, 23 October 2007

If you as a member of the Church of the Ascension would like to contribute to this project, please send your stories about the Canterbury Cross to the Curate who will forward them to the people in charge of putting them together.

A Note from our Assisting Priest

Dear friends,

Greetings from our mountain! I have just returned from our clergy retreat in Italy. It was led by the Canon to the Presiding Bishop, the Rev. Chuck Robertson, and it was outstanding. We hope to see him with the Presiding Bishop at the convention in October at All Saints, Waterloo.

While on retreat, our bishop, +Pierre, announced that I would be the interim for Christ-the-King when the present interim leaves on Easter Monday. I will begin the following Sunday, March 30. This commitment continues through April and the beginning of May.  In May, Rainer and I have been invited by our son and his family to join them on holiday in Maui. It will be clear later if I return to Frankfurt or to you after this time away.

Rest assured, Golden Girls will certainly continue and I will return for that day in May.  As always I will be online and in prayer, so in effect we will be together if you reach out as I will.

Father Gray is coming and I am leaving; it doesn’t quite make sense. I have spent more time with you this fall than ever before and now it will be different again. God is indeed mysterious and all powerful. Where is God in this? Only time will tell.

In the words of our great Austrian/American governor, “I will be back!”

God bless you all. Please pray for me as I continue to hold you up.

Your sister in Christ and prayer partner,

Clair+

When you leave home for work or travel: call psalm 121

When you want courage for a task: Call Joshua 1:9

When you are depressed: Call Psalm 27

CONVACATION…..
A  (FUN)D RAISING IDEA FOR THE EPISCOPAL CHURCHES IN EUROPE

WHAT:   Members of the various convocation churches lend their homes/apartments to other convocation members, who would enjoy a short vacation in Nice, or Paris, or Munich, or Frankfurt, etc.etc. The guests pay a suggested fee and this goes to a worthy cause. (see below.)

WHY:  We have all been asked for “ANT”…Action, Not Talk. and to contribute in some way to the church’s Millennium Goals.  By offering vacation (or other) housing to each other, we can make a fairly painless contribution.  Funds raised could be used for other church related purposes, of course.

WHEN:  Example: Family A, living in Paris, plans to be away for a week in April. Would a member of the convocation enjoy staying in their home?? They contact the Convacation committee with their details. Another convocation member finds the listing through the Convacation email address (later, website) and the two parties are put in touch with each other.

HOW:  This idea will be publicized through our churches’ newsletters. The Convacation committee, based in Munich, coordinates bookings.

DETAILS.

A. Security/Privacy:  Each lender/borrower is to receive an OK from his/her priest

B..Suggested overnight fee is €20-25 per person. It is negotiable.

LAST WORD.. Let’s see if this flies!!
 

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