The Faith Formation Leader Continues Extensive Efforts to Support Catholics Cut Off from Worship Services by Covid-19
With the ongoing social restrictions due to Covid-19, Ascension has reimagined their latest installment of the popular Rejoice! Advent series to include live programming on the Sunday evenings of Advent. The free virtual events are designed for the benefit of Catholics cut off from traditional parish services, and will be hosted by Rejoice! author Fr. Mark Toups. The events will air on the Ascension Facebook and the Ascension Presents YouTube platforms at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT beginning on Sunday, November 29, 2020.
“We want to invite people to celebrate the gift of Advent in community,” explains Fr. Mark Toups, creator of the Rejoice! series and host of the Rejoice! LIVE events. “We want people to come together with those that they love, and then to join in this larger virtual community of people from around the country who are chasing God together. Rejoice! LIVE is a chance for all of us to share a conversation about how we can find God with us in this Advent, despite the challenges of this unusual year.”
Each 20-minute Rejoice! LIVE event will include the traditional lighting of the Advent wreath, a reflection on the Sunday readings from Fr. Mark, and a guided prayer. After the live programming, the Rejoice! 10-minute weekly video for that week will play, featuring Advent reflections from Fr. Mark, Fr. Josh Johnson, and Sr. Miriam James Heidland.
Accompanying Isolated Catholics During the Pandemic
Rejoice! LIVE is the latest in Ascension’s impressive suite of virtual offerings for Catholics experiencing isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic. The multimedia network—which prior to March 2020 had only dabbled in live digital programming—has streamed an astounding 450 virtual events since the lockdowns began, including daily and Sunday Masses, dozens of virtual prayer gatherings, concerts for families, webinars for parish leaders, and a popular 8-week virtual Bible study with Jeff Cavins attended by several thousand viewers. In addition, the publisher reformatted all of their Bible studies and many of their sacramental prep programs to have digital versions available for the 2020-2021 academic year. The response has been enthusiastic among both individual and institutional customers.
The Rejoice! Advent Program
The virtual programming of Rejoice! LIVE will supplement the already robust components of Rejoice! Advent Meditations with the Holy Family:
- Inspiring video presentations from Fr. Mark Toups, Fr. Josh Johnson, and Sr. Miriam James Heidland (posted weekly in Advent)
- A daily prayer journal (packs of 1, 10, 100)
- Original artwork to facilitate prayer and meditation (and available for home decorating)
- Advent prayer cards (new this year)
Rejoice! is the creation of Fr. Mark Toups, who developed the original concept and has written the accompanying journals for each installment of Rejoice! Fr. Josh Johnson and Sr. Miriam James Heidland co-present the weekly videos with Fr. Mark.
Previous titles in the Rejoice! series include Rejoice! Advent Meditations with Mary and Rejoice! Advent Meditations with Joseph. The collections may be used in any order and are not tied to a specific year in the Catholic cycle of liturgical readings.
About Ascension
Ascension is a multimedia network and the leader in Catholic faith formation and digital content. Over the past 20 years, Ascension has helped nurture the faith of over 10 million people in over 8,000 parishes through more than 50 unique faith formation programs and the Ascension Presents media and YouTube platforms.
Media Contact
For interviews with Rejoice! author Fr. Mark Toups, or for other media inquiries, please contact Laura Orrico, President of Laura Orrico Public Relations, LLC at LauraOrrico@gmail.com | 872-216-3781
Links
Rejoice! Advent Program
Ascension’s Website
Ascension’s Media Hub
Ascension’s Newsroom
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