Christ Church of the Ascension is a Christ-centered, bible-based Anglican community. We are committed to making faithful disciples and lifelong stewards through preaching and teaching the Gospel and administering the sacraments. The Gospel and the sacraments form our foundatiuon for reaching out and serving others with genuine Christian love and radical hospitality.

History

Christ Church of the Ascension has its beginnings in the late 1950’s, when the need for a new church in Northeast Phoenix was first perceived. No action was taken until October 1963 when sixteen couples met with the Bishop of Arizona, the Right Reverend Joseph Harte. Two weeks later at their second meeting, fifty people attended and the Bishop recommended proceeding with a new Mission. The group convinced the Reverend Canon George Ray to accept the call as the Vicar. In deciding a name for the new Mission, one group recommended "Christ Church" while another suggested "Church of the Ascension." After much discussion and a tie vote, a compromise was struck and Christ Church of the Ascension was born.

The new Mission was well on its way when buildings were found to hold Church business. An old abandoned movie and television studio at 5100 N. 40th Street, called Cudia City, became the temporary location of the Mission. A building at 3741 E. Highland Avenue was purchase for the Rectory and Church office. The television studio building needed much work to be converted into a church. During December, Saturdays were workdays for the Vicar and the Congregation. An Altar was fashioned from plywood and a crude Communion rail and kneelers were installed. To convert the exterior, a large Cross was constructed from an abandoned power pole and attached to the front of the Church.

As with the physical building, the Congregation all contributed to the furnishings for the Mission. An Oriental rug was donated to be placed in front of the Altar. Candlesticks and a Cross were borrowed and a piano was obtained to adorn the Mission. Black choir robes were purchased from Goodwill Industries. To outfit the Nave, used red carpet was laid in the aisle, fifty folding chairs were purchased and additional benches were added to seat 100 people. To provide protection from the cold concrete floor, the Congregation was asked to bring their own kneeling pillows.

Several groups were formed to take care of the specific functions of the new Mission. The Altar Guild was organized on November 10th. Other committees were formed including the Hospitality Committee, the Guild of the Christ Child and the Episcopal Youth Congregation.

On Christmas Eve, 1963, the first service was held. Two hundred seventy-three people attended the Holy Communion. On Christmas Day, one hundred three people attended services.

The new Mission had established its roots and was becoming a thriving Parish. The first year 44 people were baptized, 78 confirmed and 7 were received. Unfortunately, the Congregation also experienced its first death. This occasion forced the consideration of issues previously not addressed: where to obtain a Pall for the casket and whether the casket could physically pass through the door. Both issues were resolved successfully, thanks to a loan of a Pall from St. Stephens Church.

As the new Mission continued to grow, other issues cropped up to test the resourcefulness of the Congregation. There was no available room for a Church School class, so a redwood picnic table was borrowed and placed under a Palo Verde tree outside. During the late fall and winter of 1964, unseasonable amounts of rain revealed that the roof of the Church leaked. Night or day someone rushed to the old building and placed pots, pans and buckets in various places to catch the dripping rain. Early in 1965, the Bishop’s Committee decided that another location should be found.

Finding a facility that meets the needs of a growing Congregation can be a daunting task. Arrangements were made with the Phoenix Day School on East Stanford Drive to hold Church services in their auditorium with Church School in some of their classrooms. However, this necessitated setting up and taking down the Church equipment each Sunday which was not satisfactory. Through the kindness and influence of the President of the First Federal Savings and Loan, the Church was able to meet in the basement of their new building at 20th Street and Camelback Road. Classroom space was rented from the Apache Day Care Center located nearby.

The new location proved to be more satisfactory. The little Mission had become a Parish and the Congregation was growing. More folding chairs were purchased and a new platform was built. A red velvet curtain was made for the Reredos. A new Altar rail and kneelers were provided for the Sanctuary. An unused Altar was donated by Trinity Cathedral and two cardboard closets were purchased to store the vestments and supplies. The leaders of the Congregation began to consider finding land for a permanent location. Canon Ray contacted Senator and Mrs. Barry Goldwater about some of their land on Lincoln Drive.

As inevitable as the changing of the seasons, so are changes in life. Canon Ray had to resign for reasons of health and personal problems. The resulting upheaval caused some to leave and left the others in unrest. Knowing the Parish had to be held together or fall apart, the recently retired Reverend Canon Herbert Craig was asked to come to Phoenix from Maine. He was asked to help the Parish re-evaluate its mission and to minister to its people. In the late fall of 1965, Canon Craig answered the call and settled with his wife in the Rectory.

The Craig’s were received and loved by everyone. The Canon’s brilliant mind and the loving, out-going personalities of both changed the lives of many.

The Parish began to flourish once more and it wasn’t long before the idea of a permanent Church began to appear. Senator and Mrs. Goldwater were contacted again. They generously sold half of an 8.5-acre parcel on East Lincoln Drive to the Congregation and presented the other half as a gift. The Vestry continued the progress by starting the search for a permanent minister. In March 1966, the Reverend Dan Gerrard from St. Alban’s, Wickenburg answered the call. Upon his arrival, he and his family moved into the Rectory and began forming the foundation of the Church as it is today.

Father Gerrard held his first annual meeting at the Biltmore Hotel. Two committees were formed to plan the development of the permanent Church: the Building Committee and the Building Fund Committee. These two committees were so confident and forward-looking that they secured the services of the well-know architect, Mr. Bennie Gonzalez, to design the whole plant of the future Christ Church of the Ascension. Eight months later the first building of this new plant was erected on its "own ground". The Parish Hall and temporary Sanctuary were dedicated on November 19, 1967 by the Right Reverend Joseph Harte. The building was named for the Reverend Canon Herbert S. Craig, who was rector locum tenens for a little more than a year.