Church of the Ascension

This church has a challenging, demanding liturgy that is not made user-​friendly. I like it. There’s something raw and coarse about it; it’s the way churches should be. At the same time, the community at this church is more open and accessible than some. In many ways, this church is an opposite of the more common type of church in which the services are dumbed-​down to be more accessible to newcomers, but the communities are more closed to outsiders.
In many ways this church is typical of a church but there are a number of things that are just a tad better here than elsewhere. Episcopal churches tend to have awful singing (i.e. the hymns are good, but Episcopals can’t sing), but in this church the singing is average, which means it is unusually good for an Episcopal church. I like it.
The service, spiritual-​content, and politics? All decent. The Pastor is a cool guy. As an added bonus, there are actually a small handful of people in the 18 – 35 age range, the group that seems all too absent from most churches.
I found the congregation to be fairly welcoming and willing to talk to newcomers. Not only was I actually approached by the pastor and several others at the coffee hour, but people actually took the time to talk to me, and introduce me to people. It made a very good impression.
Perhaps the best thing about this church is that there is less wrong with it than there is with most churches. The people here are a little bit less superficial, the service is a little less boring and a little more relevant to your life. It’s nothing outstanding really, but considering how incredibly horrible most churches are, I am left with no other choice but to give this church four stars!