Hello and Goodbye at Church of the Ascension

Reverend John Merz appointed Priest-in-Charge at Ascension Church Reverend Robert A. Picken appointed Canon for Pastoral Care and Liturgy at Cathedral of the Incarnation.

The Bishop of Long Island, the Right Reverend Larry Provenzano, has appointed the Reverend John Merz as Priest-in-Charge of The Church of the Ascension and also as Diocesan Missioner of Greenpoint and Williamsburg.

Fr. Merz will begin his ministry there on August 1 and will celebrate his first Eucharist at Ascension on August 29.

Reverend Robert A. Picken, who has served as Priest-in-Charge of the Church of the Ascension for the past four years, was named Canon for Pastoral Care and Liturgy by Reverend Theodore W. Bean, Jr., Dean of the Cathedral of the Incarnation with the full endorsement of Bishop Provenzano.

Father Picken will serve on a half-time basis at the Cathedral and on a half-time basis facilitating the work of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission of which he currently serves as Chair. His duties at the Cathedral will include assisting the Dean with the liturgy and preaching and also coordinating pastoral care to the sick and shut-in. Canon Picken will reside at the Kensington Road residence owned by the Trustees of the Diocese. After moving to Garden City, he will begin his duties on August 15.

Fr. Merz’s previous ministry was as Episcopal Chaplain at New York University and other local campuses, with a congregation of undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, he served as an associate priest at Church of the Ascension on lower Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and as an assisting Priest at Saint Mary the Virgin in Times Square. Prior to that he was an assistant Priest at the Church of the Transfiguration in Manhattan.

He and his soon-to-be wife Tara Anderson will be introduced to the congregation on Sunday, August 8, at a coffee hour following the 10 a.m. service.

The Church of the Ascension
127 Kent Street (Between Manhattan Avenue and Franklin Street)
(718) 389-3831
AscensionBrooklyn@gmail.com