Ministries and programs are the heart of Church of the Ascension. Every Sunday, we bring the world into our church; every day our mission — our Great Commission from Christ — is to take the church into the world.
Below is the full list of our programs and ministries with links to more information below. To contact any of these, reach out to the church office at office@ascensionlondon.com or 519-451-7780
| Care & Compassion | Building Community
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| Outreach | Teaching & Learning |
| Worship |
Care & Compassion
Twice a month, prayer lists are emailed to all church members. One list has parishioners, families and friends in need of prayer support for any number of reasons. (The reasons are kept in confidence.) The other list is the Parish Prayer List where parishioners are placed on a rotation schedule. This is a way of lifting up and remembering our parishioners.
This is a confidential service for urgent needs of anyone, whether a church member or not. A small group of trained church members make it a discipline of their lives to pray for names on this list. Prayers are updated as changes occur and praises offered for answered prayer. We thank God in all our prayers, being confident that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion in Christ.
Lay Eucharistic Ministers (LEMs)
This group takes the Eucharist, also known as Communion, to members of Ascension who are not able to come to church. Some LEMs and the people they visit have become friends over many years of these visits. Lay Eucharistic Ministers are screened, trained by the clergy, and approved by the bishop.
While praying for the recipient, volunteers knit or crochet squares that are later joined together into a prayer shawl. Each colour of yarn reflects a desired blessing. The shawl is then given free to the recipient.
Building Community
Anglican Church Women (ACW) (not yet restarted since pandemic)
The ACW meets regularly on the first and third Mondays of the month at 1:30 p.m. The women have a time of fellowship together and host special events such as card parties and fashion shows throughout the year.
The knitters and crocheters meet on Mondays at 10 a.m., except during the summer. The is open to both experienced people and learners. The experienced ones are happy to teach, and YouTube videos are always helpful. Lively conversation is also part of the session. It’s a positive, cheerful group.
The quilters meet Mondays at 9:30 a.m., except summers. Although their work brings in income for the church, the members speak first of friendships when they’re asked what they get out of the group. Quilters can be asked to make or repair quilts. They also work on quilts for organizations such as local shelters.
Outreach
This ministry provides a Community Breakfast for all as well as bagged lunches and hot meals to homeless Londoners, shelter residents, and disability pension recipients in partnership with several social service programs and agencies in the city.
The free Community Breakfast is a sit-down meal of hot and cold breakfast foods held on the third Tuesday of each month, from 8 to 10 a.m., at the church. All are welcome to come for breakfast.
The free bagged lunches are available for pickup at the church door on the first Tuesday of the month from 7:30 to 10 a.m. They are also distributed through Project Hope, My Sisters’ Place, and Centre of Hope.
This program is open to all seniors in the community to provide them with a safe place where they can come for fellowship and a social time. It offers a variety of music styles, including country and 1950s rock, and a lunch. It is held noon to 3 p.m. on the last Thursday of the month (excluding December and January and summer). The program is self-sufficient with voluntary donations from those who attend.
Collections for Community and Church Organizations
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- Christmas Share: St. Paul’s Social Services, based at the Anglican cathedral in the centre of our city, uses cash donations to buy gift cards, so that those without at Christmas may purchase what they would like most to give and receive. Donations are collected in November.
- St. Paul’s Social Services Food Bank: Ascension holds major collections for the St. Paul’s Social Services Food Bank at St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral in downtown London at certain times of the year, usually February and June. Collection dates will be announced in advance. Things you might consider donating during these collection periods are:
- Peanut butters, jam and other spreads
- Soups and stews
- Canned vegetables
- Cereals
- Canned fruit
- Brown rice
- Canned fish and meat
- Whole-grain pasta, plus sauce
- Macaroni-and-cheese kits (e.g., Kraft Dinner)
- Personal care products such as toothpaste and toothbrushes, deodorant, tampons and pads
- Eye glasses: Old eye glasses are collected and refurbished for use by people in developing countries. (Please do not donate eye glass cases. They cannot be shipped due to space and weight restrictions.)
- Pop can tabs: Tabs are collected and donated to organizations that sell them to scrap metal dealers and use the cash to purchase wheelchairs for children.
- Yarn: We collect odds bits of yarn to make prayer shawls — shawls knit with prayer — for people dealing with illness, injury, or trauma. It’s a way to find a use for partial balls of wool left over from other projects.
Teaching & Learning
Special educational series are held occasionally, especially during Lent or Advent. These series may involve Bible or book studies, courses regarding aspects of church life, and more.
As COVID-19 infection rates continue to rise and fall, keeping up attendance at a full Sunday School program has become a challenge for families. For this reason, Ascension has recently focussed on making Sunday worship services welcoming to children and youth. Several have enthusiastically become Servers and Crucifers assisting the clergy during the service. There are activity bags for younger children. Ascension members are delighted to have youngsters in their midst.
Theology Student Placements and Learning Support Groups
Ascension often hosts a theological student to assist them in their training to become an ordained clergyperson. A handful of parish members are chosen to become members of Learning Support Groups for the students while they are at Ascension, giving them feedback on their parish work.
Worship
Guild members perform duties in the Sanctuary on the Saturday before services, such as preparing the altar, linens, communion items, and memorial flowers, and changing the wall hangings according to the church seasons. They also help decorate church for special occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The team supports the weekly 10 a.m. worship service by providing audio and video work, including projecting the complete service on screen and setting up the YouTube live-stream and broadcasting at 88.1 FM. Besides its work with the weekly worship services, this team also provides A/V support for other events in the church and the All City Choir. They support outside groups with audio and visual services as needed.
Teams volunteer to provide beverages and snacks for Coffee Hour, a social time held after the 10:00 a.m. worship service. They are also responsible for setup and cleanup in the parish hall and kitchen for the coffee hour.
Counters are scheduled on a rotating basis to count the weekly donations immediately after the 10 a.m. Sunday service.
Lay Administrators of the Chalice
They assist the clergy at communion by serving the wine during communion.
Flowers are place in the sanctuary every Sunday. Donations for Memorial Altar Flowers are always appreciated.
Music at Ascension’s 10 a.m. Sunday church service is a blend of a contemporary style with a jazz-blues vibe along with some traditional hymns set in an updated style. Our music director, Alex Baerg, is a pianist, conductor and singer. Volunteer musicians play guitar, keyboard, and flute at various times. The choir provides choral accompaniment to Easter and Christmas worship services. Learn more on the Music page.
They read the passages from the Bible during the service.
Wearing white robes, these people carry the cross and candles during the opening and closing of the service and help the clergy throughout the service, especially at communion time.
These people assist those attending the 10 a.m. Sunday service, including directing traffic during Communion time and collecting the financial offerings from the congregation.
Diocese of Huron
Anglican Church of Canada
Anglican Communion
Primate's World Relief and Development Fund
Argyle Community Association
London, Ontario, Canada
Church of the Ascension 