Father Lucas Grubbs, Rector

Father Lucas was raised in Lewiston, Idaho and attended the University of Idaho where he earned his B.A. in Spanish. In 2005 he earned an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School and in 2007 an S.T.M. in Liturgical Studies from Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music. Fr. Lucas has served Christ Church, New Haven as Curate; St. Michael’s Cathedral, Boise as Canon Pastor; and now serves as the 10th rector of Church of the Ascension. In his work, Fr. Lucas focuses highly on the spiritual well-being of the congregation through pastoral care, strong liturgy and preaching, and Christian formation through adult education. He is passionate about being available to the congregation in the good and difficult times and sees the parish church as a family that is ever growing, changing, and learning to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. Lucas loves the outdoors, especially backpacking, hiking, and skiing. He also enjoys cooking great food, collecting and listening to music, and brewing beer. Contact Father Lucas at rector@ascensiondenver.org. 

Daniel Romero, Music Director

Daniel Romero, a Denver native, began music study at age twelve and attended high school at the Denver School of the Arts. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance from Metropolitan State College of Denver. He continued private music study with award winning organist Christian Lane. Daniel has served several Denver area churches, including eight years at Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Downtown Denver. From 2009 to 2012 he served as music director and organist at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Barnstable, MA where he oversaw adult choir, children's choir, and instrumentalists. Daniel served as assistant director and accompanist of the Cherry Creek Children's Chorus in Denver, and later in a similar position for the South Coast Children's Chorus in Marion, MA. Daniel holds the Colleague Certificate (CAGO) from the American Guild of Organists. Daniel's other interests include playing the theater pipe organ, organ building, running, travel, and history. Contact Daniel at daniel@ascensiondenver.org.

Sue Richardson, Youth Director

Sue Richardson oversees our children's Christian formation every Sunday. Originally from New York, Sue has lived in Colorado since 1979.  Her parish home is St. Martin in the Fields, Aurora. There she has served on the Vestry three times, overseen Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and Children's Chapel.  She brings with her a wealth of experience and a deep love of children, nurturing them in God's love.  For the past 26 years she has worked as a vocational evaluator with Bayaud Enterprises, helping people with disabilities and disadvantages to find a vocational path.  Sue remarks, "I believe that God does not call the equipped...He equips the called.  I encourage folks to volunteer in Sunday School or other ministries without worrying about their abilities." Contact Sue at youth@ascensiondenver.org. 

Celeste de Leon, Parish Administrator

Celeste has been at Church of the Ascension for a little over four years. She graduated from John F. Kennedy High School and attended Metro State College. She is a Denver native and currently lives in Park Hill. She has three children, ages 15, 11, and 2. She has a loving husband who supports everything she does. She enjoys, rollerblading, running, yoga, and generally being a mom. Contact Celeste at admin@ascensiondenver.org.

The REv'd. Tim Dunbar, Parish Deacon

Tim Dunbar is the Deacon at Church of the Ascension. Tim grew up in Littleton and has lived in Denver for the past fifteen years. Tim works closely with Father Lucas in all matters of parish life, serves in the liturgy, preaches and teaches, and works with the Outreach Committee.

Tim currently works full-time as the Director of Finance and Administration for the Colorado Health Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan research institute dedicated to providing evidence-based data and information to inform policy, advance health, promote collaboration and support better access to care for all Coloradans. Tim’s extracurricular interests include:

Writing – he’s published one short story in a UK literary journal

Bicycle commuting – he rides his bike to work almost every day

Attending concerts – he’s seen Bob Dylan ten times!

Exploring local breweries – his favorite is the Bull & Bush

Reading – his favorites authors are Fyodor Dostoevsky, Flannery O’Connor and Don DeLillo

Bruno, Parish Dog

Bruno is the parish's favorite Greyhound. You can find him curled up in the Rector's office, close to the coffee pot, where he's remembering his glory days on the racetrack...