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Church of the Ascension
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 Ascension Staff Randy Lord-Wilkinson began his ministry as Rector of Church of the Ascension in the fall of 2007 after serving parishes in Massachusetts and Washington State. He grew up in Charleston, West Virginia, and earned his Bachelor’s degree at West Virginia University in 1978. In 1982 he received his Master of Divinity from Harvard and was ordained priest in the Diocese of Massachusetts in 1984. Central to his theology of ministry is the Baptismal Covenant of the Book of Common Prayer, understood as an outline of Christian thought and practice for all baptized persons. To that end, Randy is passionate about the re-education of Christians in a way that will equip them for ministry in the contemporary world. For him this means being aware of the implications for faith of recent biblical scholarship and the prevailing scientific world view which the religious and non-religious share. He is also an experienced spiritual director and believes that study must be balanced by an experience of relationship with God. His experience with classical Christian spirituality, especially Centering Prayer and the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, is that prayer necessarily impels Christians into social justice ministry. While Randy believes that Jesus is “the Way” for him and most Westerners, he affirms the truths enshrined in the great religions and philosophies of the human race. When he isn’t enjoying the company of his two young daughters, Randy likes to practice (and teach) hatha yoga, and play a few bars on his ‘cello or a friend’s oboe. Randy’s long term aspirations are to complete his Kripalu yoga teacher certification and play in a community orchestra.
Assistant Rector
 The Reverend Beth O’Callaghan ocallaghanb@ascensionmd.org Beth joined the staff at Ascension as Assistant Rector on July 1, 2009. She was ordained a priest on January 16, 2010 and a deacon on June 13, 2009 at the Washington National Cathedral. Beth received a Master of Divinity degree from the Virginia Theological Seminary in May, 2009.
Prior to seminary, Beth had a lengthy career as an executive in not-for-profit organizations and associations in Washington, DC as well as Houston, Texas. A native of Pennsylvania, Beth received a Bachelor of Science degree in Therapeutic Recreation, emphasis in Gerontology, from the University of Maryland and a Master of Health Science degree in Health Finance and Management from The Johns Hopkins University. She served as the Activities Director at the National Lutheran Home in the early 1980’s prior to pursuing her graduate degree which landed her in Houston, Texas. There she served as the Executive Director for Taping for the Blind and as the Vice President for Programs at Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston. During her career she felt she was following the Gospel imperative to “care for the least of these” by giving sight to the blind, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry and providing shelter for the homeless.
After moving back to the Washington area in 2000, Beth sensed a call to ordained ministry. She was supported for postulancy by St. Thomas’ Parish, Dupont Circle, and was sponsored as a candidate for ordination by Church of the Redeemer, Bethesda. Beth and her longtime partner, Marla Aizenshtat, with their dog, Potter and fish, Snape, live in Silver Spring, MD. She enjoys spending time with friends, being on or around water, walking, golfing, and playing games, including Mah Jongg.
Scott was raised in the small town of Hominy, Oklahoma where it is perfectly normal to ride your tractor or lawn mower to the town's one grocery store. After his graduation from Hominy High School in 1999 Scott wanted to attend a school with a football program, so the obvious choice was the University of Oklahoma. While he was there OU won its first national championship in 15 years so he knew he made the right decision. After finally realizing he had to graduate sometime instead of going to football games, Scott received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 2004.
Scott will challenge anyone at trivial pursuit and enjoys his numerous victories in that game. He loves to attend and play any sporting activity and is very involved with his adult kickball team. Scott would one day like to belong to a gym, but for now he thinks the Nintendo Wii is a better way to work out. Scott’s favorite food is Maryland Wings from The Greene Turtle. If you haven’t tried them he will take you there personally to prove how wonderful they really are. Scott prefers comic books over regular books and above everything else he secretly wishes he was a super hero.
While being around church while growing up Scott felt a calling to youth ministry, but didn’t act on it until he graduated from college. After accepting his call, he took a job in Missouri. Subsequently he served churches in Louisiana and Burtonsville, Maryland before coming to Ascension. Scott looks forward to meeting everyone around the diocese in the months to come.
Chapel Musician - 5 o'clock Eucharist Sexton
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