Prayer is our foundation.
Jesus is our guide.
Love is our true name.
the servants’ church
We were originally founded as two Episcopal parishes: Ascension Church, West Park (1842) and Holy Trinity Church, Highland (1873). We fully merged into one parish in 2011. We now worship at Ascension Church and have our Mission Center at Holy Trinity Church.
The story goes that in the mid-nineteenth century, the west side of the Hudson was where the servants of the wealthy folks lived. Every Sunday they would cross the river to attend St. James’ Church, Hyde Park. One summer the boat capsized, killing three people. The wealthy folks took up a collection and built Ascension Church so that their servants wouldn’t have to risk their lives to reach church on Sunday mornings.
This story may be apocryphal, but we have been the servants’ church ever since. As servants of Jesus Christ, we seek to heal this broken world. As the world gets darker, more violent, and more chaotic and as we grow ever more divided as a society and world, we seek to embody the reconciling love of God in our community. Worship and Christian formation are the heart of what we do at AHT. Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, we are nourished body and soul. We strengthen the bonds of love first with God and then with one another in fellowship.
These bonds form us to be God’s hands and heart in the world through our Mission Center that feeds more than 300 people every month.
We hope you’ll get to know us!
our priest
our organist
our vestry
Br. Aidan Owen, OHC has been our Priest in Charge since January 2023. Br. Aidan is a brother at Holy Cross Monastery, an Episcopal Benedictine monastery next door to Ascension Church. Aidan was raised at the Episcopal Church of St. Thomas the Apostle in Dallas, TX, where he learned that the strongest Christian community can be formed by exiles seeking a home of love. He left Dallas at fourteen for boarding school, which he still considers—along with joining a monastery—to be the great adventure of his life. He received his BA from Yale University in 2008 and his M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in 2013. He entered Holy Cross Monastery in 2014 and made his life profession there in 2019.
Br. Aidan enjoys hiking, reading, baking, quilting, knitting, and much more. He believes that Christian community can save the world, because it certainly has saved him. Br. Aidan also serves as the Dean of the Ulster Deanery and Clericus.
Br. Aidan is available for pastoral care and can be reached with questions or to schedule an appointment at aidan@hcmnet.org or (845) 389-4214.
Mr. Richard Mogavero
The Vestry is the governing body of the Church. Our Vestry currently consists of:
Paul Canino, Senior Warden
Mark McAniff, Junion Warden
Richard Mogavero
Janet Valk, Clerk
Peter Wright
Debra Avery, Treasurer
