A Parish at the Corner of Clanton Avenue
On the corner of Clanton Avenue in Montgomery's Garden District stands a tall stone church whose square tower rises above the surrounding neighborhood like a beacon. Across the street from Ascension Day School and within walking distance of the state capitol, Church of the Ascension has gathered Episcopalians for worship, fellowship, and service since 1908. The parish describes itself with the simple phrase "We believe in sharing love and grace with God and one another," and that conviction shows up across every corner of its life - from a traditional Sunday liturgy that draws on the Book of Common Prayer, to a music program built around a Schlicker organ and three English tower bells, to feeding ministries that reach into the surrounding blocks.
Ascension is one of 87 faith communities in the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama and one of roughly 1.5 million Episcopalians in the United States, and it is part of the wider Anglican Communion that links 85 million Christians in 165 countries through shared worship, common heritage, and an episcopal structure. Locally, it is also something more particular: a parish whose leaders have, generation after generation, made room for the choir, the day school, and the Garden District neighborhood to grow up together.
The Building Ralph Adams Cram Drew
The building that dominates the Ascension campus was not the work of a local architect. The first vestry of the parish, elected in May 1908, hired Ralph Adams Cram of Boston, one of the most accomplished church architects of his generation, to design the new church. Cram had built hundreds of churches, mostly in the northeast, and was persuaded by the Montgomery builder Algernon Blair to take on the commission in the Deep South.
Cram drew inspiration from St. Mary's, Iffley, a small Norman church in Oxfordshire, England, borrowing from it the simple volumes of space and the oversized square tower. He then defined the building with details from the later Gothic style: stone and slate construction, pointed arch windows, a beamed roof, and a soaring vertical space inside. The procession of spaces - narthex, nave, choir, and sanctuary - was meant to calm the soul and prepare the worshipper to hear and understand what God would have them do.
The cornerstone was laid on January 23, 1910, and the building was consecrated in completed form on April 11, 1943. The journey from groundbreaking to consecration was not a straight line. In 1926, Algernon Blair seeded a building fund that allowed the parish to add transepts, a tower, and a new chancel in 1927. Stained glass windows went in by 1940. In June 1984 a patrol officer spotted smoke, and the church suffered a serious fire that sent services first to Temple Beth Or and then to Flowers Hall at Huntingdon College. The building was restored and rededicated in 1985, and the parish has continued to maintain and adapt it ever since.
From Rain and Mud to a Gothic Tower on Clanton Avenue
The parish's own story begins with a complaint. In the early 1900s, members of Montgomery's St. John's Episcopal Church who lived south of downtown grew tired of fighting the mud to get to Sunday services. The vestry minutes of the day record grumbling from those who lived near where Interstate 85 now runs, south of the Genetta Ditch, about the difficulty of reaching church in rainy weather. Out of that frustration a new congregation was born.
On May 10, 1908, the Cloverdale Church of the Ascension was named. Twelve days later, on May 22, the first vestry was elected. By November the parish had secured land on Clanton Avenue and chosen Ralph Adams Cram as its architect. Incorporation papers were filed on March 30, 1909. Ground was broken on November 11, 1909, and the cornerstone went in the following January. The Reverend Frederick Devall was called as the first rector in January 1911, and the parish was formally accepted by the Diocese of Alabama in May of that year. An organ was ordered from the John Brown Organ Company in August, and the first Annual Bazaar was held on December 19, 1911.
The decades that followed carried Ascension through some of the twentieth century's heaviest weather. The Rev. Devall resigned in April 1917, the same month the United States entered World War I; the Rev. F. H. Coffin served briefly from 1917 to 1919 and was followed by a stretch with no services at all. The Rev. Peerce N. McDonald arrived in December 1919 and stayed for more than a quarter century, becoming known as the "Shepherd of Cloverdale." The Great Depression came and went. The transepts, tower, and chancel were added in 1927; the stained glass followed in 1940. By December 1941 the parish had 197 families, and Pearl Harbor drew the country into another war.
In 1959, Ascension and the Rev. Tom Thrasher welcomed students from nearby Alabama State University to share communion, a small but significant moment in the long arc of the Civil Rights Movement in Montgomery. The parish continued to grow through the 1960s and 1970s, and in 1969 it mounted Benjamin Britten's one-act opera "Noye's Fludde" (Noah's Flood), drawing adults and children into the music together. On June 26, 1984, the church fire sent worshippers into the care of Temple Beth Or and Huntingdon College. The restoration that followed produced the rededication of 1985.
The 1990s brought both expansion and fracture. A four-story wing was added to the Parish House, and Joshua House was built. In October 1990 the Rev. John-Michael Van Dyke arrived and over time led a movement to separate from the national Episcopal Church. On April 10, 2005, that split came to a head: Van Dyke and his followers departed, and the remaining parishioners "held fast with courage and hope, rebuilding a church and community, poised for future expansion." The Rev. John Coleman served from 2007 to 2013, and the Rev. Andrew Thayer was called as the eighth rector in October 2014, departing in July 2017. The Rev. Candice B. Frazer was called as Ascension's ninth rector in October 2018 and continues to serve today, with the Rev. David Hall serving alongside her as Interim Associate Rector.
Sunday Mornings: Rite I at 8, Rite II at 10:30
Worship is the heart of life at Church of the Ascension. The parish gathers twice on Sunday morning in the nave, once for an early spoken liturgy and once for a fuller sung Eucharist with choir. At 8:00 a.m., the congregation prays from the Rite I liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer - the language and cadence that many longtime Episcopalians grew up with. Coffee hour follows at 8:45 a.m. in the parish house. At 9:15 a.m. adults gather for the Clergy Forum, and at 9:30 a.m. children and youth head to Sunday School. At 10:30 a.m. the larger Rite II congregation assembles for the principal Eucharist of the week, with choir, hymns, and a sermon.
The 10:30 service is also the parish's livestreamed service, broadcast each week on Facebook and YouTube so that members who are traveling, ill, or otherwise unable to be present can still pray along. Members of the Altar Party - acolytes, crucifers, torchbearers, lectors, lay ministers, and the verger - lead the procession, read the lessons, assist the priest at the altar, and carry the Gospel book. Ushers greet worshippers at the door, hand out bulletins, ring the church bells at the opening and closing of the service, collect the offering, and help direct communion.
Like most Episcopal parishes, Ascension follows the two-fold shape of the historic liturgy. In the Liturgy of the Word, Scripture is broken open, the Nicene Creed is recited, prayers are offered, and the congregation seeks reconciliation through confession. In the Liturgy of the Table that follows, bread and wine are received in remembrance of Christ. "At communion, everyone has a place at the table," the parish emphasizes, and that welcome extends to all who come through the doors. The 10:30 bulletin is posted each week so visitors can follow along with the readings and the order of service.
Music as a Form of Soul
Ascension is known in Montgomery for its music. The parish describes its worship as "traditional but not overly formal," and adds that "our music program is glorious - you may well think it is the angels themselves who are singing." Music is not a decorative element here. It is treated as a way the soul is formed, a means by which the congregation enters into the worship of heaven.
The instrument that anchors the choir is the Ascension Organ, a Schlicker instrument built in 1984 (the antiphonal division was added in 1998 by Guzowski and Steppe). It has three manuals and pedal, ranks of principals and flutes on the Great, a richly voiced Swell division with a Voix Celeste, an independent Antiphonal, a full pedal division including a 32-foot Contrabasse, and a Cymbalstern installed in 2001. The console was reworked in 2006, with a SolidState Organ Systems MultiLevel Capture System and sequencer. Beyond the organ, the church holds four grand pianos, a harpsichord, an electronic keyboard, a portable Bose sound system, handbells, timpani, a wide supply of hand and percussion instruments, and a substantial library of organ and choral music.
The Ascension Choir leads worship at the 10:30 service and sings for all major liturgical services, All Saints' Sunday, and a variety of concerts throughout the year. The choir is made up of both volunteers and paid professionals. It has completed residencies at Salisbury and Wells Cathedrals in England and has sung services at the Washington National Cathedral and at St. Philip's Cathedral in Atlanta. Membership is preceded by an interview with the Music Director.
The parish also maintains a Children's Choir, in which young singers "develop strong spiritual lives, improve personal and musical skills, and increase their knowledge of the Episcopal liturgy that will be with them throughout their lifetimes." The children provide leadership in worship several times a year, on a flexible rehearsal schedule that takes the realities of busy families into account.
Encore! is a men's ensemble drawn from across the Montgomery community - "from diverse religious and musical traditions" - who sing choral literature as it was performed before the late seventeenth century. Encore! leads the monthly sung Compline service. The Blair Tower bells were cast by the John Taylor Company of Loughborough, England in 1965 and include a 1,400-pound G bell, a 1,000-pound A bell, and a 730-pound tenor B bell; they are rung by rope pulls that drop into the chancel crossing.
At the center of all this is Becky Taylor, Director of Music Ministries, Organist, and Choirmaster. A lifelong Episcopalian, she came to Ascension in 1985 to work with the children's choirs, became Parish Organist in 1986, and began conducting the Ascension Choir in 1994. She took "semi-retirement" in 2020 but continues to lead the music program. She holds a Master of Music in Organ Performance and Choral Conducting from the University of Alabama, where she studied with Warren Hutton and Sandra Willetts, and an undergraduate degree in Music Education from Florida State University. She has been a member of the Association of Anglican Musicians since 2001 and previously served as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Montgomery Chorale. She is married to baritone Bill Taylor, who sings in the Ascension Choir, and she has a son, Patrick Padgett, who is also a musician.
Children, Youth, and the Family & Faith Formation Ministers
Ascension takes seriously the formation of its youngest members. "For many of us, Children's Sunday School involved a Bible, a worksheet, cookies, and lemonade," the parish writes. "During the school year, come experience something more at The Ascension." Sunday School invites children to drive a remote-control car through the days of Creation, watch a movie about Moses, build the Body of Christ with a potato head, and bake bread to break together with the parish. The bread baking is not incidental; it points toward the Eucharist that children are being prepared to receive and to understand.
Ascension's nursery is staffed by caregivers who also work for Ascension Day School and is open year-round on Sundays from 7:45 to 11:45 a.m. During the program year, the nursery is also available on Wednesdays from 5:15 to 7:00 p.m. for families attending evening activities. Infants and toddlers meet in the nursery suite on the right side of the building. Parents are asked to leave their phones on vibrate and to share their numbers so the nursery can reach them if needed.
The parish's family and faith formation ministry is in the hands of Nick and Laura Mielke, who serve jointly as Family & Faith Formation Ministers. Laura grew up in Montgomery, was baptized, confirmed, and formed at St. John's Episcopal Church, and worked for sixteen years as a speech pathologist in the Montgomery Public School System before joining the Ascension staff. She has served on program staff at Bethany's Kids at Camp McDowell, and one of her core convictions is that "children thrive when they form secure attachments, feel safe, and are loved for being exactly who God created them to be." Nick was born in Illinois, raised in Selma, and has lived in Montgomery longer than any other place. Before joining the Ascension staff, he spent nearly twenty years in full-time vocational youth ministry and then served as Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity and as Regional Director at Lifesouth Community Blood Center. He is especially drawn to working with middle and high school youth, believing that "a healthy church foundation in those middle and high school years can be one of the most powerful ways to prepare them to head out into the world." The Mielkes have four daughters - Harper and Lily (15), Wren (11), and Laura Kelly (7) - and two dogs, and the family enjoys camping, hiking, concerts, art, music, and the occasional thrift store or flea market.
Children in middle and high school also have a place in the Sunday worship at Ascension through the acolyte program. Acolytes range in age from twelve to eighteen and serve on the Altar Party as crucifers, servers, and torchbearers. Acolyte masters train them thoroughly before they begin serving. They wear white or red vestments, lead the procession while carrying the processional cross, tend the altar candles, carry the Gospel book during the Gospel reading, and assist in the collection of alms and the presentation of the bread and wine.
Morning Prayer and Sunday-Night Compline
The pattern of prayer at Ascension extends well beyond Sunday morning. Each weekday, the parish gathers for Morning Prayer. While the Eucharist is the principal Sunday service, daily Morning Prayer is a daily opportunity, in the words of the parish, "to fit rhythms of prayer and reflection on Scripture into our otherwise hectic, busy lives." It is described as a simpler service that nonetheless sits at the heart of the Anglican life of worship and prayer. Those who take part regularly speak of being "refreshed as they start their day," echoing Psalm 122: "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." For those who cannot come to the church in person, Morning Prayer is also livestreamed on Facebook each morning.
On the third Sunday evening of every month at 7:30 p.m., the parish hosts a sung service of Compline. The English word comes from the Latin completorium, meaning "completion," because Compline marks the completion of the working day and offers a way to enter the new week with gratitude. Encore!, the men's ensemble, leads the service from the choir loft and transept. Compline at Ascension is open to anyone in the wider community who wants to pray at the close of the weekend.
Education for Ministry and Other Formation
Ascension hosts a chapter of Education for Ministry (EfM), a four-year course of theological study sponsored by the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee. EfM is designed for lay people who want a deeper understanding of the Bible, the history of Christianity, and the theological foundations of the Episcopal Church, and it is also encouraged for those in discernment for the priesthood or diaconate.
The curriculum is rooted in theological reflection, which begins with each participant's own spiritual autobiography and grows into group study and discussion. Year One is the Old Testament, Year Two the New Testament, Year Three the history of Christianity leading up to the birth of Christ, and Year Four theology and philosophy. Classes meet on Wednesday evenings from September through May, roughly following the traditional school calendar, and group size runs from eight to twelve students. The local mentors are Andy Akin (andrewmacakin@gmail.com) and Eric Kidwell (ericakidwell31@gmail.com).
Beyond EfM, the parish offers a number of formation programs. Lent is observed with seasonal preaching, study, and devotional opportunities. The Spiritual Discipline program and the Cultivating Compassion program invite parishioners into sustained practice and conversation about the Christian life. The parish also runs New Beginnings tutoring in cooperation with local schools, hosts Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts on Monday evenings, and gathers men for a Men's Prayer Breakfast and women for a Women's Bible Study.
Brotherhood, Daughters, and the Episcopal Church Women
Ascension is home to three long-standing parish fellowships. The Brotherhood of St. Andrew is a national Episcopal men's organization with a chapter at Ascension. The Daughters of the King is an order for women whose members take vows of prayer, service, and evangelism. Both organizations are rooted in prayer and in quiet service to the parish.
The Episcopal Church Women (ECW) includes all the women of the congregation in its membership. The ECW at Ascension "organizes and promotes parish life" by hosting and staffing many of the annual parish events, including the Blessing of the Animals, the Christmas tree trim, Ascension Day, and a reception honoring new confirmands. The ECW's annual fundraiser is a popular Chicken Curry Luncheon held each fall.
Serving the Garden District and Beyond
Outreach at Ascension is organized around two complementary streams. "Serving Our Neighbors" gathers ministries that look outward into the Garden District and beyond. "Serving One Another" gathers ministries that look inward to the life of the parish.
The Bread of Life feeding ministry is one of the longest-running of these efforts, providing food assistance to those in need in the wider Montgomery community. Bread of Life is part of the wider family of feeding ministries the parish describes as "vital and active." Prayers and Squares, the parish's prayer quilt ministry, gathers in the Quilt Room on the second Tuesday morning of each month to piece together comforters; layers of fabric are tied together, leaving strings so that those who pray over each quilt can add personal prayers by tying knots. No sewing skill is required - only willing hands. Recipients of prayer quilts have given moving testimony of God's presence through these simple gifts.
Ascension Day School, located right across from the church, has been a part of parish life for decades and currently enrolls around 140 students. The day school is described in the parish's Capital Campaign materials as "The Way" for the children who pass through its halls. Music and liturgy in the nave, the parish says, represent "The Truth." The neighborhood - the Garden District - represents "The Life" with which the parish continues to grow in relationship as it builds the kingdom of God on its corner of Clanton Avenue.
Giving back takes many practical forms: a passing of the plate each Sunday at the Offertory; online giving through tithe.ly (or by texting "Give" to 833-901-2138); bank drafts on Fridays or the fifteenth of each month; gifts of stock; IRA roll-over giving; and legacy gifts. The parish's 2026 Stewardship season is organized around a series of short videos and an online pledge card. The Vineyard Bookstore on the campus carries books, devotionals, and gifts.
Who Leads Ascension
The Rev. Candice B. Frazer is Ascension's ninth rector. A native of Selma, Alabama, she completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Alabama and her seminary work at Sewanee. Her ministry focuses on teaching compassion and building relationships, and her work in the church extends across local, diocesan, and national levels. Her community involvement focuses on improving social conditions in marginalized populations. She is married to Steve and is the owner of four "furry, slobbery children."
The Rev. David Hall serves as Interim Associate Rector. Born in Seattle and shaped by twelve moves in eight states, he served six years in the Air Force before attending seminary at Sewanee. Over the past thirty-four years he has served as priest in eight parishes, two schools, and one university. He retired in August from St. Luke's in Birmingham. He is married to Phyllis, who is the Vice Chair of the Shook and Fletcher Companies, and they are the proud grandparents of Lydia. Among other claims to fame, he led the invocation at the only football game in which the University of Memphis defeated the Tennessee Volunteers.
Becky Taylor leads the music ministry (see above). Jason Pate is the Director of Communications; he joined the staff in 2022 and previously held marketing management roles in corporate and small business settings. He holds an MBA from Troy University Montgomery and a bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Alabama. He and his wife Kelly grew up in Montgomery and have three boys, including a four-year-old who is in his last year at Ascension Day School. Nick and Laura Mielke serve as Family & Faith Formation Ministers (see above). Tracy Hinton keeps the books as Finance Administrator, with help from Will McQueen, who supervises the building and grounds, and Octavio Gomez-Jimenez, who serves as sexton and tends the gardens. Fay Worrilow is the Administrative Assistant, a lifelong Episcopalian who came to Montgomery in 1984 with her husband Larry when he was stationed at Gunter AFB.
The parish is governed by a Vestry led by Senior Warden Richard Norris and Junior Warden Smitty Smith, with Matt Bledsoe serving as Clerk of the Vestry and Robert Gould as Treasurer. The Vestry's stated commitment is captured in three words: INVITE, ENGAGE, EMPOWER - an invitation to deepen relationships with one another and with God, to engage one another in ministry and formation, and to raise up new leadership to keep the mission of the parish vital.
Coming for a Visit
Ascension sits at 315 Clanton Avenue in Montgomery's Garden District. Office hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The main phone number is 334-263-5529; the office email is staff@coascension.org. Visitors are greeted at the door by ushers, who hand out bulletins with everything needed to follow along during the service. Those interested in learning more about the Episcopal Church more broadly are pointed to episcopalchurch.org, while those curious about Ascension itself are invited simply to come to a service, to call the church office, or to speak with a member of the clergy after the liturgy. Nursery care is available for the youngest visitors from 7:45 to 11:45 a.m. on Sundays. Those wishing to transfer their membership from another Episcopal parish are asked to call the church office and leave a message for the membership secretary.
Whether one comes for the soaring Gothic nave, the choir, the prayer of the daily office, the formation of children, or simply a quiet corner on a Sunday morning, Church of the Ascension makes room for it. The parish's own summary of its life is the simplest of all: "We believe in sharing love and grace with God and one another, on our corner of Clanton Avenue in Montgomery's Garden District and far beyond."