“At Ascension Church miracles can happen! Yes, an example is the 8 a.m. Saturday Men’s Group. It is well-attended, no matter that Friday night was a late evening, no matter that the alarm rings at 7:30 a.m., no matter that we emerge from our homes in yesterday’s clothing, unshaven and hardly presentable. Zumi doughnuts and coffee may be in company with us and we are ready to greet the weekend, ‘Hello’ and we can tend to the chores later, thank you very much. What lies ahead is pure gold, of a spiritual nature, of course, and made all the better because our indomitable Rector will be waiting for us in his office (99% of the time) ready to guide us through very intriguing discussions of any bend which we members can choose to introduce. Not only is that material interesting but it also reveals something about ourselves. If no one has been moved to bring something to read, we happily default to the coming Sunday’s Gospel selection. Gathered together with different needs and interests, we look for words or passages that mean something to us and are worth query. Happily, one doesn’t have to have studied scripture in Episcopal Seminary, all observations are relevant and well-received. We come to know each other more fully reminding us, once again, of that part of our Christian mission; that is, being of community and sharing. Oh, and there’s one more thing, we have a heck of a lot of fun. With some reluctance we observe the clock sneaking up on us. 9 a.m. Brad shares with us a parting prayer and just what we look forward to, a beautiful, promising day made all the better. This next point is crucial: Anyone is invited to this spiritual table at 8am on Saturday. One doesn’t have to be a member of AMC nor, for that matter, a church-going person because all are welcome, all have all been touched by the Spirit and all are brothers, Christ’s message to us.”

— Sam Otis, Men’s Group Member