(cont.) I attribute this diversity to fact that Church of the Ascension seems to be not about handing people "church," but rather about providing tools and providing a community that can both help nurture awareness of and one's sense of connection to God, to self, and to other people, both inside and outside of the church. Because people bring their personal and cultural histories along with them, they will of course be approaching church from different directions. This wide array is fertile ground for conversations ranging from the light/fun/simple to the heavy/thorny/complex, if you desire to have those conversations; and if you begin attending, you may just find yourself reevaluating some of your current perspectives. But there is no institutional mandate that everyone come out in the same ideological place in the end. What you believe is a matter left between you and God. The invitation of the new leadership is rather that you come as you are at this moment and learn to listen for and respond to God's action in your life. That message is very clear to me. I hear it practically every time I walk through the door. I'm sorry I moved out of town before the new bell arrived. It seems to me that it would be lovely tool to aid listening for God in the "silent" spaces. While I like my new church in Virginia very much, Ascension will always remain dear; and because it and a few other similarly focused churches exist, I continue to call myself a Christian without apology.

Apologies, for the length of this, but my experience of this place is interesting and complex, so it takes (me at any rate) a fair number of words to convey my impression of it. I am sorry to hear that some of the reviewers here see the place so differently. It saddens me. And I cannot of course deny the reality of their experiences; I can only offer my own, as counterpoint. To paraphrase something I heard Bishop Gene Robinson say in a recent interview: unfortunately very often people come to church looking for God and, instead, we give them the church. That has been my experience at least 8, perhaps even 9 times out of 10. Although every church I have ever visited or even regularly attended has believed that it welcomes everyone, it tends to be the case that you are really only welcome, you can truly only belong, if you subscribe to a laundry list of culturally established beliefs about the "truth" that range from the conservative to the liberal and firmly distinguish "us" from "them." Of all of the churches I have attended, Church of the Ascension Gaithersburg is the least like that. You are likely to find there, on the spectrum from wacko conservative to wacko liberal, pretty much every flavor of "belief." On the spectrum of "uninvolved" to "involved," you will again find ever level of engagement, based on personal proclivities, schedules, etc. On a spectrum of unwelcoming to welcoming, you will again find individuals of every stripe. (cont.)

PART II: As for “giving,” you note many fine causes. However, please note that starting in 2013, NO OUTREACH will be funded in the church budget. Also about the finances – we have had a deficit for a few years now, despite eliminating the full-time Sunday School Head Teacher, eliminating the half-time Youth Organizer, cutting to half-time and in 2013 eliminating completely our second Pastor, and lots of other spending cuts. Yes, 2012 apparently ended in the black, but that does not compare numbers fairly, year-over-year.
DEAR MARIDA: I respect your views, but “Mary” IS clearly talking about “our” Ascension. I do not know if the church takes attendance or if our numbers are actually down 2/3 – but they sure are down a LOT. I am sorry you felt a lack of welcome in the past – our numbers surged about 10 years ago (we even got awarded delegates and had a HUGE Sunday School), so it must have been pretty welcoming. You refer to “difficult times,” indeed the larger church has had to grapple with the “gay” issue, but at our church it has always been a non-issue. As far as “checking out” the church, if someone asked me and I was truly honest with myself, I’d have to say no, I would not recommend the church to others.

All: I wonder if we might engage each other in a rational, objective discussion, rather than employ snarkiness?
DEAR MS. BEESTING: That must be your real last name since you ridicule Mary for (possibly) using a fake name. We should respect a writer’s desire to maintain anonymity. As for “Mary” feeling left out (a very common trait that Episcopal Churches have to deal with), that is disappointing as I have always found Ascension to be pretty welcoming. However, she states that she was “long-time” member and felt “unwelcome.” As for the services, I attend at 9:00 so the change to 11:00 did not affect me, but to ask (former) 11:00 attendees to change their schedules by two hours just to get a semblance of a traditional service is asking a lot. It seems to me, offering something “new” should not supplant what was there first. That is why the “Come-As-You-Are” is at 5:00, the Kids Service is at 10:00, and the Spanish Service is held in a different building. As for the new 11:00, I keep reading about “setting a bigger table,” that is fine, but it you try to be all things to all people, eventually you end up being nothing to everyone. “Episcopal” has to stand for something.

Thanks, Marida! Mary, or whatever your real name is :-) time heals all things.
It also moves on -you're missing so much by not joining Ascension. Paul Kelley our choir director/composer/conductor just celebrated his 20th year at Ascension with a very traditional, Anglican evensong. Sorry you missed it-our new priest did record it and it's available on the web. Not many choirs in a church our size get to sing while conducted by the composer--and it is special for all. As for being left out--you can't be in if you don't show up. From your letter, I think you'll like the 9am service-a classic, traditional hymnal-based service. The 11am is more flexible--for those worshipers who crave something different-not newer, necessarily-just different. Then there's always the Spanish-language service, the 745 service--or maybe you have grandchildren you'd like to bring to the service for families of young children.
Maybe you like to give: We're contributing to families with Christmas wishes (and other wishes as well) through the Salvation Army in our area; St James Episcopal Church in the mean streets of Philadelphia; Mobile Med; Gaithersburg Help; Linkages to Learning; GSharp; local shelters; soup kitchen at St Martins--the list goes on and on. How about coming to the Annual Christmas Arts/Crafts Bazaar--Sat Dec 1? and btw-it's not crystal-and the bell represents the transfiguration-an ancient practice brought back to life! Hope you can make the Bazaar--

I have just read Mary Jones's review of Ascension, and she appears to be talking about a different place than the church I know. I am a member, and although I don't attend services as regularly as I should, it is certainly not because there is a problem with the church or the services. The people are great, and the minister gives inspiring and insightful sermons that send me away thinking deeply and more committed to becoming a better person.
Fifteen years ago, when I first checked out Ascension, I did indeed experience a lack of welcome. At Coffee Hour, everyone who knew each other would ignore newbies. That is not the case now.
The Episcopal Church as a whole is going through a difficult time right now, with traditionalists feeling like too much has changed and progressives feeling like not enough has changed. We are finding it tough to talk through these fundamental differences. I think Mary Jones's review is indicative of this dialog, but not indicative of anything wrong with Ascension. Go check it out for yourself.

I was a long time member of this church. It used to be a great place to worship. In the past 3 years congregation numbers have gone down 2/3rd's. The sermon's are disjointed and nonsensical as I remember one where the Priest talked about the meaning of colors. Now I understand they have a crystal bowl that they bang on. The (new-ish) priest has changed as much as he could furthering the decline in members.

Back when I first joined this church Easter was a memorable service with drums and trumpets. Last year there was none of this. Instead of calling a local college for musical volunteers the church didn't have the money and the grand Easter service didn't take place.

I joined a few of the groups there. I was not "welcome" in any of them as even after all the time I had been there I was still somewhat of an outsider. A lot of the people were very judgmental making me feel an outcast. Even if I didn't show up for a month to the group activity no one cared enough to email and see where I was.

At this time I would not recommend this church. I would wait for some new staff to come in and for some new people to join some of the group activities (as those in these groups have been there for 20 years).