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The Ministry of Reconciliation


We sometimes think of reconciliation as a grand concept. Racial reconciliation is a buzzword in society now, and the prospect of addressing the legacy of slavery and racism in the US (and around the world, for that matter) seems incomprehensible. The US Congress annually engages in the long and confusing process of budget reconciliation, trying to find acceptable compromises on discrepant versions of a budget in the trillions of dollars. And our Prayer Book contains a service called “The Reconciliation of a Penitent” (BCP, 447) that includes confession (public or private) of grievous sins that pull on the penitent’s conscience.


Reconciliation doesn’t have to be a global cultural event, an act of Congress, or even a rite within the church; in fact, reconciliation can be simple (so long as we don’t overcomplicate it). Merriam-Webster gives a very simple and elegant definition of reconciliation: to restore to friendship or harmony. That’s it. When we talk about racial reconciliation, we are really talking about building bridges of friendship and understanding between people of different races. The Reconciliation of a Penitent is about restoring the friendship that exists between God and humans. And although budget reconciliation technically falls under Merriam-Webster’s second definition for reconciliation (to make consistent or congruous), I think we could all agree that Congress could use a little more friendship and harmony right now.


In Second Corinthians, Paul reminds the Corinthian believers that, “in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.” We have been called to share the news that God wants to live in friendship and harmony with all of humanity. We are called to reflect the love of Christ everywhere we go.


This past weekend, we had teams of people from CCA out in the community doing just that. A group started working on a house for Habitat for Humanity in South Phoenix at daybreak. Another group spent their afternoon one block from the state capitol at the Andre House, sorting clothing donations for the scores of people who make their homes in tents huddled around the Human Services Campus. We did not fix all the problems in the world that day, but we did answer God’s call by demonstrating our friendship to the people we served.


If you missed out last weekend, I have good news for you! You can stop by Rector’s Hall this Saturday between 10AM – Noon to help us make our parish and school “Service Saturday” a success. We will assemble Easter baskets for kids in South Phoenix, write cards and letters of encouragement to our servicemembers, pack blessing bags for folks living on the streets, and make sandwiches to be delivered straight to a shelter that afternoon.


We have been entrusted with the most wondrous message of all: God wants to live in friendship and harmony with us. That is a message that we need to spread far and wide. And with God’s help, we will.


The Rev. Dr. Perry M. Pauley

Associate Rector, Christ Church of the Ascension

Paradise Valley, Arizona

Merry Christmas!

By The Rev. Fr. Rod Hurst+ • January 4, 2024
Merry Christmas! Today, this Eleventh Day of Christmas (for us who begin counting on December 25th), I’d like to share some wisdom from the pen of Michael Ramsey, the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury. As Bishop of Durham, he was part of the episcopal entourage and inner circle of bishops surrounding Queen Elizabeth II at her Westminster Abbey Coronation in 1953 and, later, Archbishop of York before his elevation to Canterbury in 1961. In the 1980’s, after his retirement from Canterbury, Ramsey was a regular presence at my seminary in Wisconsin where I first learned about him years later. The following is an excerpt from one of Bishop Ramsey’s annual letters to his diocesan clergy on New Year’s Day. This is also good advice for all the people of God and us at Christ Church of the Ascension as we go into 2024 expectant of what lies ahead and grateful for all our many blessings, past, present and future. Here are The Baron Arthur Michael Ramsey’s five tips for the new year. 1. Thank God. Often and always. Thank him carefully and wonderingly for your continuing privileges and for every experience of his goodness. Thankfulness is a soil in which pride does not easily grow. 2. Take care about confession of your sins. As time passes the habit of being critical about people and things grows more than each of us realize. [He then gently commends the practice of sacramental confession.] 3. Be ready to accept humiliations. They can hurt terribly but they can help to keep you humble. [Whether trivial or big, accept them he says.] All these can be so many chances to be a little nearer to our Lord. There is nothing to fear, if you are near to the Lord and in his hands. 4. Do not worry about status. There is only one status that Our Lord bids us be concerned with, and that is our proximity to Him. “If a man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am there also shall my servant be” (John 12:26). That is our status; to be near our Lord wherever He may ask us to go with him. 5. Use your sense of humor. Laugh at things, laugh at the absurdities of life, laugh at yourself. Through the year people will thank God for you. And let the reason for their thankfulness be not just that you were a person whom they liked or loved but because you made God real to them. *** Amen! and Happy New Year !!  Grace & peace, Fr. Rod+

Rector's Note for 12/21/23

By The Rev. Fr. Rod Hurst • December 21, 2023
Rector's Note for 12/21/23 As we enter this season of giving in celebration of the Incarnation of our Lord, I want to thank you for your generosity to Christ Church of the Ascension during 2023 in your gifts of time, talent and treasure. I want to say a special thank you also to those who have pledged for 2024! As our 2024 Stewardship Campaign continues, if you haven’t yet completed your pledge card or pledged online, I encourage you to do so as an act of spiritual worship and tangible prayer for the future of the Church in thanksgiving for all of God’s many blessings these past 60 years. Please join me in giving from the heart for the building up of this community of faith to inspire hope and love through worship and service in the Church and in the world. Make Christ Church of the Ascension part of your daily spiritual practice as you prayerfully discern what God is calling you to give in 2024 starting now. PLEDGE HERE Grace and peace, Father Rod+

A Note for Thanksgiving

By The Rev. Fr. Rod Hurst • November 16, 2023
A Note for Thanksgiving My series on the Collects of Thomas Cranmer will continue at a later date; but today I’d like to share with you one of my favorite stories by pastoral care pioneer Howard Clinebell. It speaks to us about the fact that the Church, our church, is not only a house of worship and prayer but a hospital for the broken, where Christ welcomes each person, where they are and for who they are. As Christ's hands and voice we then bring the healing arts of spiritual friendship and Christ-like love to all Christ brings our way. If we were all Christ-like all the time we would have no need for Christ and his Church; but everyday experiences tell us all that we have need of Christ each and every day of our lives—the healed and the healers alike. This charming and cautionary tale tells us what we are meant to be, and what we could become if we lose sight of our mission; but it is a reminder of our potential when we retain and, as necessary, reclaim our Christ-centered focus. Thus we give thanks! Please touch or click the link below to read the story. Lifesaving Station Grace and peace, Fr. Rod+
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