Chapel of the Ascension Centennial

Cedric Earl Mills, the first Bishop of the Virgin Islands, was born December 17, 1903 in Hartford, Connecticut. Committed to civil rights and a leader in both diocesan and community affairs, Mills was instrumental in the establishment and construction of several missions, churches and schools during his lifetime. Mills attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1926 and married Rebecca Esther Taylor in June of the same year. The...Continue reading

In four months the union of Ascension and Holy Trinity would be announced to create one desegregated Episcopal church in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

On Sunday June 19th, 1966, the racially different congregations of the Chapel of the Ascension and the Church of the Holy Trinity worshipped together as a new, integrated, and vibrant parish for the first time. The new Associate Rector Hill of Holy Trinity, former vicar of Ascension, delivered the first 10:30 Service sermon for the new parish. Both congregations were told of the merger on Thursday June 16, 1966.... Ascension's building on Gay Street, is now home to Rice's Temple African Union Methodist Protestant Church.

Happy 96th Birthday Clifford Debaptiste.

Chapel of the Ascension Presents: Miss Cherry Blossom This was held at the Community Center, April 20 and 21, 1939.

May confirmations of 1959 at the Chapel of the Ascension.

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Celebrate the upcoming Centennial of the Chapel of the Ascension in 2022, with your memories. We are looking for stories and photographs about the Ascension parish to highlight its role in West Chester and the Episcopal Church. The Chapel of the Ascension held its’ first Service 98 years ago on February 9, 1922. ... Later, on June 19 (Juneteenth), 1966, the Chapel of the Ascension and the Church of the Holy Trinity became one, to represent all Episcopalians in West Chester regardless of color.