By Steve Page.  On Ascension Day, the church remembers that Jesus “was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” right before the eyes of his followers. It’s a festive day, when we celebrate that we worship a risen Lord and Saviour who sits at the side of God the Father, as ruler of the whole universe.

For nearly 30 years, the Church of the Ascension in Arborfield has marked this significant day in the church calendar in a special way. This year’s festivities began with twenty parishioners from Arborfield and the surrounding area sharing a potluck variety of salads, breads and casseroles in the church hall.

We then moved outdoors, onto the church lawn, for a time of prayer and singing, and a balloon launch. The bustling activity in the church yard caught the attention of the neighbourhood, and our circle grew to 35 people, including many children who were all smiles. As the sun set slowly in the west, and a chill wind encouraged us to huddle close, we sang songs – accompanied by the guitar duo of People’s Warden Leonard Gray and the Rev’d Steve Page. We heard the Bible story of Christ’s Ascension read by June Ryba and Mary Gray, and then Rector’s Warden Ken Edwards and the Rev’d Julie Golding Page led us in prayers.

After the service, everyone received a colourful, helium-filled balloon or two. Then the moment we were all waiting for – especially the children – came at last: 3… 2… 1… Go! In unison, we launched our 100+ balloons. They rose gracefully, re-enacting in a small way Christ’s rising into the sky. Up they floated, a mass of colours - red, yellow, blue, white – clearing the nearby trees (mostly) and drifting off to the southwest.

As the last of the balloons disappeared into the sunset, we headed inside to warm up with some coffee, dessert, and conversation. It was truly an uplifting evening!