GUIDE TO Parish Life: About parish life; Worship; Sunday coffee hour; Sunday bookstall; Calendar of activities; Parish history; Photo gallery
Parish Communities: Benedictine cell; Devotional societies; Diabetes support group; Koine cinema group; Monday community group; Sunday morning discussion group; Theology book club; Thursday community group; Twenties & thirties group
Outreach: Overview; Our neighborhood; Our city; Our world
Special Arrangements: Baptisms; Weddings; Funerals; Columbarium
Stewardship: Pledging; Planned giving; Endowment fund

What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him?If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But some one will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe -- and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, and the scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness"; and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.

Outreach

Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee? Then he will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me. (Mt 25: 44-45)

WE SEEK TO SERVE our neighborhood, our city, and our world. There are many opportunities to serve God and others by becoming an active member of the Ascension and St. Agnes Outreach Ministry Team. The team meets the third Sunday of each month following coffee hour.

Vestry Contacts:

Chuck Bass: 202-265-0356
John Williford: willifordglew@verizon.net 202-641-7556

News

The AStA 0utreach team is planning a second week-long international mission trip to Nicaragua in January 2009. If you are interested in participating, please contact John Williford.

The first visit in January 2008 was fruitful for all who participated. One participant said it was an "extraordinarily gratifying, humbling, moving, demanding week. " For reports on the first international mission trip to Nicaragua, go to postings on the group's blog at:

http://astanicaragua.blogspot.com/.

Playing game in San Juan de Oriente

Our Neighborhood: A Wider Circle

Wider Circle Team A Wider Circle is developing a wellness center for Claridge Towers and Horizon House (our neighbors). They are in the process of finalizing their needs but areas where our help could be required include: Game Nights, Visiting Program, Healthy Eating, and Exercise Programs, to name a few. More information will be provided once the program is up and running. (Early Fall)

Our Neighborhood: N Street Village

The parish participates in the mission of N Street Village, which offers programs for homeless women and low-income families. The Village was established in 1973 by our neighbor, Luther Place Memorial Church, to help meet the needs of the inner city's poor and destitute. Located three blocks from Ascension and St. Agnes Church, the Village offers a Wellness Center, a day and night shelter for homeless women, and residential programs for women fighting alcohol and drug addition and for elderly women suffering from mental illness.

Wellness Center. The Wellness Center is designed to complement conventional health care by nurturing the spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being those it serves.

Night Shelter. Parishioners provide and serve dinner to women in the Village night shelter. One Sunday each month, following Mass a group of volunteers prepare a meal in the church kitchen. The following day, Parish volunteers serve the meal in the night shelter.

Our City: Blood Drives

The parish partners with the Greater Chesapeake & Potomac region of the American Red Cross to host blood drives in the undercroft one Saturday a month. You can help by recruiting donors, setting up, checking donors in, serving breakfast to volunteers, or--if your are able--by donating blood

Our World: San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua

In January 2009, members of the parish will spend a week with host families in San Juan de Oriente, a small community in Nicaragua, where the parish works with the local Catholic parish and others seeking to help break the cycle of poverty through educational assistance. This will be the second visit to San Juan. The first visit was in January 2008.

According to UNICEF only 43% of Nicaraguan children stay in school until the fifth grade. Because education plays an important role in helping to develop the spiritual, physical, and emotional well being of the the community and its members, we support education in the village of San Juan de Oriente through a partnership with La Vida Education, which operates an Educational Community Center in the village. You can help in any of a variety of ways: collect and donate books, art supplies and toys; raise funds for the center’s expansion; and participate in our next work trip to the village. To read about our first visit to San Juan de Oriente, read the Blog postings at http://astanicaragua.blogspot.com/.

Other Outreach Activities

Individual parishioners contribute in many ways. Some donate items to Goodwill in exchange for shopping vouchers for the women at N Street Village; others cook for and visit elderly residents suffering from mental illness. Some make regular contributions to Christ House, a small hospital near the corner of Columbia Road and Ontario Road, NW, which provides a full range of free services for the inner city poor and homeless.

If you would like to volunteer, please get in touch with the vestry contacts listed at the top of this page or call the parish office (202.347.8161).