The Church of the Ascension

08/12/2026

Listen to the sermon preached by the Rev. Ed Chinery on the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, August 9, 2026.
https://ascensionnyc.org/2026/08/sermon-pentecost-11-2026/

The image shown here is a tondo (round picture) with Christ commanding Peter to walk on the waves. It was a draft for a circular composition, likely by Angelo de’ Rossi (1671–1715), and is today part of the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark.

08/06/2026

Listen to the sermon preached by the Rev. Ed Chinery on the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, August 2, 2026.
https://ascensionnyc.org/2026/08/sermon-pentecost-10-2026/

The image shown here is of a painting, “Jacob Wrestles with the Angel,” by contemporary Roman Catholic artist Peter Winfried (Canisius) Koenig in the UK.

07/31/2026

Listen to the sermon preached by the Rev. Liz Maxwell on the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, July 26, 2026.
https://ascensionnyc.org/2026/07/sermon-pentecost-9-2026/

The image shown here is a painted window, “The Parable of the Mustard Seed,” at the YMCA training center for leadership in Kassel, Germany.

07/22/2026

Listen to the sermon preached by the Rev. Liz Maxwell on the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, July 19, 2026.
https://ascensionnyc.org/2026/07/sermon-pentecost-8-2026/

The image here shows an engraved plate, ca. 1567, depicting Jacob's dream. One of a set of plates (along with a separate item engraved with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I) depicting scenes from the Hebrew Bible, the set was likely a gift to or from the queen herself. It is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

07/16/2026

Listen to the sermon preached by Elizabeth Adams on the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, July 12, 2026.
https://ascensionnyc.org/2026/07/sermon-pentecost-7-2026/

Elizabeth Adams is a postulant for the priesthood in the Diocese of New York sponsored by Ascension and we were delighted to hear her preaching this past Sunday. On July 19, she will lead a forum discussion about her vocational plans. Please keep her in your prayers as she departs for Yale Divinity School at the beginning of August.

07/07/2026

Thank you, St. Peter's Chelsea, for documenting our trip to Delaney Hall and bearing witness. Honored to join with you!

In this week when our country is preparing to celebrate the Fourth ...

07/06/2026

The Church of the Ascension is excited to welcome Dr. Alexander Little as our next Director of Music!
https://ascensionnyc.org/2026/07/new-director-of-music/

The Church of the Ascension is excited to welcome Dr. Alexander Little as our next Director of Music, to succeed Dr. Dennis Keene.

Dr. Little comes to us from Rochester, NY, where he was Director of Music at St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Church and, prior to that, assistant organist at Christ Church Episcopal.

He completed his doctorate at the Eastman School of Music, studying with Prof. David Higgs, where he was also awarded the Artist’s Certificate, and where he also held Graduate Award and Teaching Assistant positions.

Dr. Little was born in the UK, where he trained as a chorister at Norwich Cathedral. He completed his undergraduate and Master’s (Musicology) degrees at Merton College, Oxford, where he was organ scholar and assistant organist. While at Oxford, he provided organ music for the college chapel, assisted the Director of Music, and accompanied the choir on numerous radio broadcasts, CD recordings, and national and international tours.

He will begin at Ascension on September 1, with his first Sunday service on the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, September 6.

Welcome, Alex!

07/05/2026

Listen to the sermon preached by Mother Liz on the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, July 5, 2026.
https://ascensionnyc.org/2026/07/sermon-pentecost-6-2026/

07/01/2026

Listen to the sermon preached by Br. Brandon Barnes, OSF, on the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, June 28, 2026.
https://ascensionnyc.org/2026/06/sermon-pentecost-5-2026/

We were thrilled to welcome Br. Brandon Barnes (he/him), OSF, as our guest preacher for Pride Sunday. Br. Brandon is a member of St. Mark’s in the Bowery, a postulant in the Order of Saint Francis, and a member of the trans community. A recent NYU graduate, Brandon joined The Episcopal Church by way of Canterbury Downtown, an Episcopal college ministry, in 2022.

06/25/2026

Listen to the sermon preached by the Rev. Ed Chinery on the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, June 21, 2026.
https://ascensionnyc.org/2026/06/sermon-pentecost-4-2026/

The image shown here is of the painting “The Banishment of Hagar” by Claude Lorrain (1600-1682). It is part of the Alte Pinakothek art museum’s collection in Munich, Germany.