Marilyn Chislaghi
Marilyn grew up in Edmonton, Canada. She married Rob Clifton and two days after their wedding they flew off to the University of Cambridge in the UK where she acquired a Masters degree from the Faculty of Divinity.
Their son Ben was born in Cambridge in 1993 and their daughter, Clare, was born a few years later. When Clare was 6 months old, in January 1997, they moved to Pittsburgh in a blizzard so that Rob could take up a position at the University of Pittsburgh. They immediately began attending Church of Ascension. They were sold when invited to a home for dinner their very first Sunday! It became evident to them how quickly Ascension had become their church family when Rob was diagnosed with colon cancer 4 years after their arrival in Pittsburgh, passing away a year later. They received tremendous care and support from the Ascension church family.
Marilyn decided to continue living in Pittsburgh and God graciously helped her and the kids ‘pick up the pieces’ in ensuing years. She joined Ascension staff in 2005 and served as Parish Administrator for over a decade. She now serves as Ascension’s Director of Ministry and is passionate to help grow a healthy church. She serves in ways similar to an administrative pastor, liaising with church committees, organizing events, managing large projects, and facilitating communication within staff and to the parish. She helps develop new ministries and supervises the mission and outreach ministries of the church as well as a few other areas of ministry. She helped coordinate the More than Stones capital campaign and currently serves with a small team managing the parish hall construction. She also serves in various capacities outside of Ascension, most recently liaising with city officials on proposed neighborhood changes, is on the board of the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders (SAMS), and recently served on the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh’s Bishop Search Committee.
On the personal front, Marilyn had her first conversation with Charlie Chislaghi on October 31 of 2006 (Halloween!), but apparently she didn’t scare him away and they were married 10 months later. With his favorite color being fluorescent orange, Charlie has brought a lot of color and even more joy into Marilyn’s life!
Marilyn Chislaghi, Director of Ministry