Ascension Accents

The Second Sunday of Advent

The Sunday of Peace

December 4, 2020

Dear Siblings in Christ,

Welcome again to Ascension Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Northern California and welcome to our In-Person Worship Service as well as our Online Worship using the ZOOM platform.

For those who prefer to attend the In-Person Service, please be here by 9:30 am to do the various check in instructions. Eucharist begins at 10:00 am, December 4, 2022. For those in ZOOM, you may log in as early as 9:30 am, using the following: 

Meeting ID: 839 2335 9672

Passcode: 940664

For the four Sundays of Advent, we will begin our service with the Lighting of the Advent Candles. Each Sunday, members of the parish will be appointed as Voices and will read the appropriate lines as found in the Order of Service below.

This is the first of the two Advent Sundays in which John the Baptist is the dominant figure. John’s ministry as the Forerunner of the Messiah is introduced in today’s Gospel reading by his preaching: a stern call to repentance. John warns that neither reliance on the religious practices of the Pharisees and Sadducees nor descent from Abraham is of any use unless one turns around and repents.

The first reading is one of the visions of Isaiah. From the almost moribund family of Jesse (King David’s father) a new shoot will appear, a new David. This Messiah will establish God’s universal reign as a time of peace extending even to the natural world.

Paul’s message in the second reading also reflects on the character of the Messiah’s ministry as one for all peoples: Jews and Gentiles.

Advent calls all people, not just those who are religious, into relationship with God and with each other. But a key element in this new relationship is repentance, entering into the new way of living brought through the dying and rising of Jesus. 

“Our Order of Worship” continues to follow the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and the 1982 Hymnal along with other music resources (GIA and Taize). In addition to occasional services of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, the Holy Eucharist functions as our main worship, we hope to provide you a meaningful time of communing with the Holy. Our service includes readings from the Holy Bible, a Sermon, Intercessions, prayers and the Communion of Bread and Wine. We hope also to provide you with a blended church music – honoring our traditional hymns as well as contemporary praise songs.

All baptized Christians are welcome to receive the Blessed Bread and Wine which we believe to be the Real Presence of The Risen Jesus Christ.

* THANKS TO:

• Jimmie Johnson as LEM
• Terry Kenney as Lector 1
• Betsy Rico as Lector 2
• John Snell as VOW
• Mark Sally as Techolyte
• Terry Kenney as Greeter & Usher
• Peter Krewko as Crucifer
• Jonathan Rico as Acolyte
• Group 2 Altar Guild (Ellie and Rudy Francisco, Shirley Rabold)

*WE PRAY FOR:

• Birthday Celebrants (Vivienne McQuilling, Layla Frantilla)
• Those who are in the military and others who serve our country (Nathan Rico, Marcus Theus, Mark Theus, Dominique Souame, Nicholas Barth)
• People impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The sick and the homebound (Alex, Gloria, Genevieve, Dorothea, Jess, Ann-Mari, Cathy, Faye, Jimmie, Kelsey, Nancy, Jenny, Jerry, Edna, Stephanie, Tony, Nicole, Chris, Renee, Alfonso, Nicholas, Patrick, Jean, John, Rudy, Ellie, Rhodora, Grace, Carlito, Joseph, Darrell, Elizabeth, Ruby, Jerome, Vickie, Marcelino) 
• The departed (Puring Francisco)

God bless you.

Fr. Bayani