|
 |
 |
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
[Back to index of July 2008 articles] Body of Christ
Washington Window Church of the Ascension, Sligo Parish Body of Christ aims to introduce readers to a different parish in the church family of the Diocese of Washington each month. This month, writer Diane Ney speaks with the Rev. Joan Beilstein, rector of Ascension, Sligo Parish to learn more about the life, history, plans and character of that congregation. WW: On your Web site you talk about Ascension’s diverse community. BEILSTEIN: Ascension is wonderfully diverse. Our congregation includes people who have been members for at least 50 years and newcomers who have just joined us. We are racially and ethnically diverse. For example, we have members who are African Americans, Caucasian, Liberian, Asian and Hispanic. In terms of age, we have seniors down to babies. And we are blessed to have about 70 youth under the age of 18, so we have a number of very active youth programs. We have families with young children, we have singles, and we have gay and lesbian persons. We certainly reflect the Silver Spring/Tacoma Park community around us, and, in my mind, we represent the kingdom of God at its best in terms of diversity! WW: How does this play out in terms of liturgy and music selection? BEISTEIN: In terms of our liturgy, we are a Rite II parish. On occasions during the Penitential seasons, we may use Rite I. Also, in addition to The Book of Common Prayer, we use at times Enriching our Worship and The New Zealand Prayer Book. Our 8 a.m. service is a said service that has a more contemplative feel to it. Our 10 a.m. service includes choir and music. We use a variety of music resources during the liturgical year: The 1982 Hymnal, LEVAS, Gather, Taize, and Wonder, Love and Praise. This community, for the most part, is very open to new liturgical experiences and is not afraid of change. WW: Your outreach programs seem to have that same diversity. BEILSTEIN: Ascension is a parish that is invested in social justice issues, and so we have a number of mission initiatives. For example, we support AIM, Action in Montgomery County, which has been working on affordable housing and securing county funds to renovate and restore historical African American community centers. We purchased portable stoves for the women of Darfur. We are a member of several interfaith anti-torture networks. We have companion relationships with parishes in Honduras, Liberia and South Africa. We contribute to the Shepherd’s Table and other local feeding programs. We host an ESL [English as a Second Language] tutoring program. One of our new outreach efforts was opening up the church for a Community Day. We collected over a thousand dollars worth of supermarket gift cards and clothing and gave them out. We also had a Mardi Gras and donated 10 percent of our proceeds to the John T. Walker School for Boys. Last year I ran in the Marine Corps Marathon and collected $2,500 in pledges for our outreach budget. These are some examples of our outreach, which we support with both hands-on efforts and financial gifts. WW: You mentioned your youth programs. Programs for adults? BEILSTEIN: Our adult Christian education programs are works in progress. In the past year, we have offered seasonal programs during Lent and Advent. Starting in September, we will be moving our 10 a.m. service to 10:30. This will allow time between services for both 8 o’clockers and the later service worshippers to participate in weekly educational offerings. We’re also striving to create adult formation programs that focus on spiritual formation, to assist people to enrich their relationship with God and live out meaningfully their faith in daily life. We have resurrected the Book Club and our Centering Prayer group. And it is our hope to offer EFM and some form of Small Group Ministry in the fall to complement our active women and men’s groups. It is also our hope to begin offering again an annual intergenerational parish retreat. BEILSTEIN: We’re trying to build community, to help people get to know each other better, and to empower people to discern and exercise their spiritual gifts. That is, in theological terms, for the people of Ascension to live out the three primary tasks of ministry: kerygma (proclaiming the Good News), diakonia (Christian service to those in need), and koinonia (communion with God and God’s people, where all are valued and included). Ascension is a very energetic and empowered congregation, eager to serve as vehicles of God’s love, compassion and justice in the world. We really care about each other. We are extraordinarily hospitable and welcoming. I hear that all the time from newcomers and visitors. Let me give you an example of our love and care for one another. We have a Prayer Shawls ministry. A number of parishioners utilize their gift of knitting and create prayer shawls for people who are sick, grieving, in pastoral need or undergoing some life transition. We give these to persons or families to remind them they are wrapped in our loving prayers and in God’s love. Committed to spiritual growth and wanting to widen the circle of friends – we are a congregation who strives to open our hearts to all and build up God’s kingdom on earth. [Back to index of July 2008 articles]
|
|
||||||||||
