Events moved quickly for the mission, now called The Church of The Ascension: within months, a Church School and a choir were organized; a carved, oak baptismal font and silver Communion vessels were donated, and the parishioners took full financial responsibility for the mission.

Three years later - on October 13, 1888 - the cornerstone of the church was laid. Work proceeded rapidly, with the first services held in the new church on Easter day, April 21, 1889. The whole of the debt was paid two years later.

The Church of The Ascension remained a mission of the diocese until, in 1911, the growing number of parishioners gave rise to a movement to petition the diocese for status as an incorporated parish. At the Diocesan Convention of 1912 The Church of The Ascension was admitted to parochial status, and The Reverend Dennis Herbert O'Dowd, who had been assigned as priest-in-charge in 1910, became the first rector.

The parish continued to thrive as Rockville Centre and its surrounding communities continued to experience rapid growth. In the late 1920's, The Church of The Ascension established a parochial mission: Saint Andrew's Church, Oceanside. This mission of the Rockville Centre parish became a parish itself in 1955.

Click the image for a larger image.

The Fannie Ethel Roberts Memorial  Window

As time went on and numbers increased, it became apparent that the capacity of the original church building was becoming increasingly inadequate. A plot of land was purchased on Hempstead Avenue, intended for a larger church, a parish hall and an adjoining rectory.

1929 was memorable for at least two reasons: from the point of view of Rockville Centre, it was then that The Reverend Seward Goss Sherwood was elected rector of Ascension. Father Sherwood arrived fully intending to proceed with, and to complete, the ambitious building program. On a more national level, 1929 also ushered in the Great Depression, which caused a halt in much building across the country. The rector and vestry revised the original plans, and decided to enlarge the existing church and parish hall, doubling the size of each. The work, begun in 1941, took a year to complete, and in 1945, the church was again debt-free. The present church, with a few cosmetic improvements, has remained virtually the same for the past many years.

Rectors
The Rev'd D. Herbert O'Dowd 1910 - 1918		The Rev'd Frederic H. Handsfield 1918 - 1928		The Rev'd Seward G. Sherwood 1929 - 1949
The Rev'd Canon Charles W. Carnan, Jr. 1949 - 1954		The Rev'd Homer F. Bufton 1954 - 1971		The Rev'd Donald C. Latham 1972 - 1994
The Rev'd James P. Dalton-Thompson 1995 - 2005		The Rev'd Thomas J.P. Pellaton 2008 - 2010

Our Present
While American society, Rockville Centre, and the Episcopal Church have all undergone evolution and transitions, The Church of The Ascension has remained constant in its mission: to be a witness to the love and the Good News of Jesus Christ. We are committed to providing worship where "the beauty of holiness" - and the holiness of beauty prevail. We seek to become a community marked by our reaching out to our Rockville Centre neighbors and to others in need. Our ongoing commitment to feeding the hungry; at the Mary Brennan Inn and the Donald Axinn Inn, our participation in the Rotacare health project at the Interfaith Nutrition Network, our collection of food for the Long Island Council of Churches food pantry, and engaging our children in outreach projects, such as the Christmas gifts for the BOCES Teen-aged Parenting Program, and, for the year 2004, our year-long commitment to Heifer Project International, which raised over $5,000 are but a few of the examples of the fulfillment of our mission.

Our Future
Our future encompasses not only tomorrow, but also next year, on into the next millennium! Our future is inextricably linked with our past and our present: rooted in the power of the Gospel, nurtured in Word and Sacraments, bound together in the love of a parish family. The way which we live out our mission will change; our committment and faithfulness to that mission, however will not.

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