Holy Week Happenings

Palm Sunday, April 13
8:30a & 10:45a (English), 10:45a (en español)

“Hosanna in the highest,” will be our cry as we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into the gates of the holy city. We will celebrate the beginning of this holy week with the reminder that our expectations and God’s expectations are not always exactly the same. Where the people want a powerful king, Jesus comes as a suffering servant riding a donkey. Through the events of day, we will be reminded of the coming of the promised Messiah – the chosen one of God. Between services and after the 10:45 services, all members are invited to share in the creation of the alfombras (sand carpets) for Holy Week.

Maundy Thursday Dinner, April 17

We will gather at 5:30 p.m. in West Hall to experience the foods of the Passover and learn about the meaning of each of the foods and then celebrate with a potluck dinner before worship at 6:30 p.m. Reservation only. There are still spots available. To reserve your spot, you can call the church office, 262-547-8518, or email Tamie Greenwood. Bring a dish to pass of your choice.

Maundy Thursday Worship, April 17
6:30p (English), 6:30p (en español)

We will gather in the upper room with Jesus and the disciples to celebrate the Last Supper. This year, we will hear words of confession and forgiveness and be reminded of the powerful image of the Savior washing the feet of the disciples. As is tradition, we will honor the memory of Jesus’ humiliation at the hands of those in power before he is led to the cross to be crucified by the stripping of the altar.

Good Friday, April 18
12p and 6:30p (English), and 6:30p (en español)

The ancient title for this day is “the Triumph of the Cross.” A reminder for us that the church gathers not to mourn this day but to celebrate Christ’s life-giving passion and to find strength and hope in the cross as a symbol of new life. We will share in the unfolding drama as Jesus is led to the cross. We will hear the stories of the day and give witness to the closing of the tomb.

Easter Sunday: The Day of Resurrection Joy
8:30a & 10:45a (English), 10:45a (en español)

First we hear only hoped for whispers on the wind. Resurrection? Are you sure? Yes! We gather to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus, the Christ. We will hear the story of that first Easter day and be surrounded by the joyful sounds of songs that have been sung for generations and songs that new generations are singing. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Please note that there will be kringles and coffee between service, no breakfast.

The Gift of Resurrection

In March, I preached in Spanish on the Gospel of Luke (13:6-9). These verses tell the story of the fig tree that bears no fruit. The landowner had planted a fig tree in his vineyard, and when the supposed harvest time arrived, he arrived at the land and realized the plants hadn’t produced any fruit. The landowner had confidence and hope that the plants would produce good fruit, but when he arrived at the land, he realized the plants on their branches didn’t have the fruit he expected.

This story made me think about these questions: What kind of fruit did the landowner expect? What caused the plants not to produce fruit? Could a pest have arrived and contaminated the plants? Were the roots weak? Could an intruder have arrived and stolen the fruit? What happened?

The wonderful thing about this story is the appearance of a gardener who pleaded for the plants and promised to take care of them. The gardener will not leave the plant’s salvation to chance. The gardener will do everything possible to remove the bad soil. The gardener will ensure that the plant receives the necessary water and fertilizer to strengthen its roots. The gardener’s intervention is what made the plants’ salvation possible.

During Holy Week, we hear, experience, and reflect on the work, agony, death, and gift of resurrection we received from this merciful, compassionate gardener who intervened, intervenes, and will continue to intervene for all of us. John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.” This gardener not only came to save us but has also provided us with the tools we need to bear fruit in our lives. In John 6:35, our gardener tells us, “Whoever drinks of the water I give him will never thirst. The water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

The gardener completed his mission and has given us the gift of eternal life. In Matthew 17:23, Jesus says, “The Son of Man will be handed over to the powers of this world, and they will kill him, but on the third day he will rise again.” On Sunday morning, a group of women went to the tomb and found it empty. The fulfillment of the promise of the resurrection had arrived. “He is not there, He has risen, hallelujah!

Sisters and brothers, the gardener has brought us and given us a new way of seeing life. Even if some powers of this world harm us, intimidate us, persecute us, humiliate us, make us sick, increase our anxiety, that is not the end. Now we live in the sure hope of the resurrection. Death no longer has power over us, not because of what I do, but because of what the gardener has done for us!

Happy season of resurrection!

Pastor Edwin 

Changed by the Resurrection

Our journey through Lent will soon be coming to an end. On Maundy Thursday we will gather in the upper room with Jesus and his disciples and be reminded of the incredible gift we celebrate in worship every Sunday morning as we hear, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” On Good Friday we will travel to the foot of the cross and hear Jesus utter a lonely cry of abandonment, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” We will hear the words of finality that Jesus spoke with his last breath as he paid the ultimate price for our sin, “It is finished!” And we will travel again to the empty tomb to hear about the group of women that traveled there early on the first day of the week only to find it empty. We will hear once more the words of the angels at the empty tomb, “He is not here, but has risen.”

But once that final, culminating event of the Resurrection is complete. Then what? What are we supposed to do then? Well, I think it’s important for us to remember that Easter is more than just a day. Easter is an every day celebration of the cross and resurrection of Jesus – the forgiveness of sins and the certainty of eternal life with God. Easter is also an every day celebration in which we live each day trusting in God through Christ, knowing that Jesus is “the resurrection and the life” for us.

So what do we do as we go forth from the empty tomb? Perhaps it would be best for us to start by following the example of the first witnesses of the empty tomb. After the two angels reminded the women that Jesus had risen, St. Luke tells us that “then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.” They went forth from the tomb changed by the resurrection of Jesus. They went forth from the tomb to bring an “every day” witness of God’s power over sin, death, and Satan himself.

And where then are we to go once we leave the empty tomb? Well, perhaps it would be best for us to follow the example of Jesus’ first disciples. After Jesus walked through locked doors to appear to the eleven disciples and to show himself to Thomas, seven of the eleven disciples went back to their fishing business. They went back to their everyday stations in life and took the witness of the resurrection with them. They lived in the joy of the resurrection of Jesus while carrying out the ordinary, daily responsibilities given to them.

Like the women at the empty tomb and the eleven disciples, we too are every day witnesses and participants in the resurrection of Jesus. We believe. We have the hope of eternal life. We have the joy of the resurrection living inside of us. Also, like the women at the empty tomb and the disciples, we have stations in life that God has given to us as gifts. Most of us aren’t fishermen, but all of us have one or more of these callings: mother, father, partner, wife, husband, daughter, son, sister, brother, grandparent, employee, retiree, caregiver, friend, and neighbor. Each of these callings comes with a set of duties and responsibilities.

And as followers of Jesus, redeemed by God’s grace we are called to wrap the daily duties and responsibilities of our lives in the joy, love, peace, and forgiveness of Christ. And when we do this, more than likely, others will take notice, and God will bless our faithful work by giving us more opportunities to “tell all these things to all the rest.”

So, what are we to do then?  My friends, we are to respond to God’s grace, love and mercy by going forth from Easter Sunday and the celebration of the empty tomb as every day witnesses, freed to live and love and serve as God’s forgiven children in Christ Jesus. And as we go forth empowered by God’s Spirit, living and active within us, may we live in the joy of the resurrection so that everyone, everywhere will see just how great God is! Happy Easter! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Pastor Tony

Ready for Easter

I am ready for Easter!
I am ready for every word of resurrection joy.
I am ready for every celebratory trumpet sound.
I am ready for a stone to be rolled away.
I am ready for a sunrise that is blinding in its glory.
I am ready for the fragrance of Easter lilies to fill the space of worship.
I am ready for the promise of new life in the green shoot from the earth.
I am ready for Easter!

Don’t get me wrong! Lent has been a wild journey in the wilderness. If I am being honest, the journey has gone far better than I expected. I have walked through dry valleys with some of you. With others, I have celebrated moments of renewal. I have sought my own still waters to find rest. It did not hurt that Lent encompassed Spring Break for all three of our children at the same time. I was unaware of my hunger to have our college age son home for a time. I even celebrated extra cooking and baking and laundry just to hear his voice in the house again. The Church Council and other ministry leaders gathered to begin the journey towards our 2035 vision for ministry. New members are filling out membership forms as they have come to find Ascension to be a place of welcome, a place to call their spiritual home. Alfombras are being traced as we prepare for Palm Sunday when the vibrant colored sawdust will once again tell the story of the last week of the life of Jesus. Musicians are practicing – so much practicing – so that choirs and instrumentalists will offer their very best to the glory of God.

All this leading us to the waving palm branches to welcome a Savior to the holy city of Jerusalem. An upper room will be prepared for a dinner with friends where disciples and teacher will gather to rest, relax, tell stories, and be reminded that that greatest among us must be a servant to all. A garden will serve as a cathedral of prayer until a betrayal and an arrest. A mock trial will claim truth and the powers of this world will be manipulated in order to pass a sentence of death for the Savior of the world. A cross will stand empty until nails are hammered through flesh. Seven last words will call us to weep, reflect, and remember. A newly carved tomb will become the final resting place for the one we called, Immanuel, God with us. And we will leave the graveyard with little hope left among us.

That is, until some women go to visit the tomb. They will go to the tomb to leave spices that will mask the scent of death – myrrh and aloes. Yet they will leave it behind for the shock of the stone rolled away and the tomb found empty. A shock to be sure. A trick? A crime of theft? Or the unimaginable possibility that what their teacher said would happen, actually took place. Resurrection.
Still in disbelief, May will weep outside the empty tomb. One last insult for her teacher and friend. A body stolen from its grave. Until – she hears a voice. One, she does not recognize at first. Then – she hears her name. “Mary.” Instantly she knows. Only one person in all the world speaks her name with such love and affection.

And the rest of the story will be told again and again to all who would listen because we never tire of hearing the story of resurrection joy on that first Easter day. It will begin with the words Mary never thought she would ever say again. “I have seen the Lord!”
People of God, I am ready for Easter! What joy awaits us. Come join the story and the song in the days ahead.

See you in church.

Pastor Chris

Ash Wednesday Worship and More

Lenten cross

Begin your Lenten journey with us on Wednesday, March 5, at 6:30 p.m. with imposition of ashes and worship. Soup suppers and worship begin the following week, March 12. Look for the sign-up poster in the narthex/lobby on Sunday mornings to bring soup, help set-up and clean-up.

Thursday Morning Worship: For those who are looking for something new and a little different in this season of Lent, we are offering a half hour worship service every week on Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. beginning on March 6th and concluding on April 10th. For those who might like a quieter, more reflective time of worship, Thursday mornings could provide that opportunity. There will be instrumental music, congregational singing, Scripture readings, a brief message, a time for prayer, and communion each week.

Lenten Book Study: Join Pastor Chris at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday mornings in Lent starting March 6 to discuss the book The Walk by Adam Hamilton. Examine five essential spiritual practices rooted in Jesus’ own walk with God. How do we walk with Christ—daily follow him, grow in him, and faithfully serve him? You can pick up a book from PC for $13 or download it to your device. We will discuss the Introduction and Chapter 1 on March 6.

Welcome to the Resistance

When Pastor Edwin was ordained, I offered these words: “My friend – to hope and to believe is to resist all that is wrong with the world. Resistance is the path of the Christian. Resistance to oppression, injustice, silence, apathy, loss, even to the power of death. Welcome, Edwin. Welcome to the resistance. What does the prophet Isaiah say to us: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!”

Welcome to the season of Lent. Truthfully, welcome to the resistance my friends. To participate in the season of Lent in worship on Sundays, soup suppers and worship on Wednesdays, a book study on Thursday mornings, worship on Thursday mornings, or any practice that turns your face towards our God and away from the world and our own selfish desires is an act of resistance. To be a follower of Jesus is to resist the things of this world that exploit, abuse, neglect, mistreat, disregard, ignore, or dismiss another human being made in God’s image. What does Jesus ask of us?

Love God

  • Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. (Matthew 22:34-38; Mark 12:28-30; Luke 10:25-27)
  • Do things because you want to serve God; not because you want to impress other people. (Matthew 6:1-18)
  • Humble yourselves. (Matthew 18:4; Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14)
  • Follow Jesus. Don’t wonder about other people.  (John 21:20-22)
  • Pray – and keep praying.  (Matthew 6:5-14; Luke 11:1-13; Luke 18:1-8)
  • Don’t worry. God knows what you need.  (Matthew 6:25-34; Matthew 11:28-30; Luke 12:22-32)
  • Trust God – not earthly treasures.  (Matthew 6:19-21; Matthew 6:24; Luke 12:33-34)

Love Others

  • Love your neighbor the same way you love yourself.  (Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:28-34; Luke 10:25-37)
  • Love each other the same way Jesus loved his disciples. (John 13:34; John 15:12)
  • Love each other – it is by your love for each other that the world will know that you are Jesus’ disciples.  (John 13:35)
  • Love your enemies.  (Matthew 5: 44; Luke 6:27)
  • Treat others the same way you like to be treated yourself.  (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31)
  • Be humble. (Matthew 23:11-12; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14)
  • Pray for those who persecute you.  (Matthew 5:44)
  • Do good to those who hate you.  (Luke 6:27)
  • Bless those that curse you.  (Luke 6:28)
  • Serve each other.  (Matthew 20:25-28; Mark 10:43-45)
  • Don’t judge others.  (Matthew 7:1-2; Luke 6:37)
  • Don’t condemn others. (Luke 6:37)
  • Do more for others than they ask of you.  (Matthew 5:39:42)
  • Forgive others.  (Matthew 6:14-15; Luke 6:37; Luke 17:3-4)
  • Be merciful.  (Luke 6:36)
  • If someone has done something that upsets or offends you, go and talk to them about it. If they won’t listen to you, take someone else with you and try again.  (Matthew 18:16. See also Luke 17:3)
  • If you know that you have done something to upset or offend someone – go and talk to them and sort it out.  (Matthew 5:23-24)
  • Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no’.  (Matthew 5:34-37)
  • Give to anyone who begs from you.  (Luke 6:30)
  • Teach new disciples to obey everything that Jesus commanded his disciples.  (Matthew 28:20)

To follow Jesus is to follow love itself. To follow Jesus is to resist the very power of sin and death that so often pretends to be a voice of care and concern in the world today. 

May our prayers become protests. (Against everything that tells us that love is not the answer.)
Our worship become witness. (That we might tell the story of God’s love through our words and our actions.)
Our faith become fuel for change. (So that more and more people may come to know or be reminded of Jesus.) 

Welcome to the resistance. Welcome to the season of Lent. See you in church.

Pastor Chris

The Subversive Season

In my first article of this year 2025, I highlighted the moments of joy and fellowship we had during the month of December. Last month, I shared with you all about my experience on my recent trip to El Salvador. And as the days and weeks drew closer to writing this month’s article, I’ve been thinking about what I should write about. Because we are in the season of Lent, I finally came to the conclusion to write about the season of uncertainty that many families are facing right now and will face in the days to come.

Last month I was at an event held by our synod called Together in Mission. My wife and I were in charge of preparing a table that shared the story of  the partnership between the Greater of Milwaukee Synod and the Salvadoran Lutheran Church. On the table, we decided to put a replica of the Subversive Cross on our display table. This cross was used by the Salvadoran Lutheran Church in a special service of reconciliation during the Civil War. The church asked the congregation to write on the cross the injustice they were going through. Many of them wrote words like hunger, discrimination against women, lust for power, murder, violence, persecution of the church, among others.

If I had the opportunity to write on the Subversive Cross right now, I would write the word persecution again. Yes, an unprecedented physical, psychological, inhuman persecution. A reality that many communities are going through right now and with whom we as Christian leaders are called to walk and pray with them on this new uncertain journey that for some has already caused increased anxiety, fear, and in some cases mourning due to the harassment they have received.

Many of you have probably heard the story of a Latina student from a school in Gainesville, Texas who died by suicide as a result of the constant harassment she received from other students. The 11-year-old girl was harassed and told that immigration would be called to deport her family. After a few days in the hospital, the girl sadly passed away. After hearing this story, I asked myself the question: Are these actions part of the kingdom of God? Is this the kingdom that Jesus brought to the world? Is this the kingdom that he taught us? I don’t think so. Jesus did not come to the world to establish a kingdom of oppression, harassment, persecution, hatred, exclusion and mockery. On the contrary, the kingdom of God that Jesus describes is a way of being and living characterized by love, compassion, justice and peace. In John 13:34-35, Jesus tells us, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Matthew 25:35 says, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,” it gives all of us the characteristics that the kingdom of God on earth should have.

Brothers and sisters, as we walk through this season of Lent, a time of spiritual preparation as we wait to relive and reflect on how God’s love was poured out through Jesus Christ on the cross to free all of humanity, and as we walk through this uncertain time, let’s take some time to reflect on the recent events that are impacting many communities. Seeing and hearing what is happening around many communities, I ask myself the question and invite you to meditate and reflect with me. Is this the kingdom that Jesus brought to us?

Jesus sent his disciples out two by two to proclaim the good news and said to them, “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” Lucas 10.9

 Pastor Edwin

A Season for God’s Presence

“For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance;” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4)

In March, as the days begin to grow longer and the flowers quietly prepare to bloom, hope can spring up inside of us that perhaps we too will come to fruition. For several months now we have been journeying through the dark and dreary days of winter, through a divisive election, illnesses, surgeries, job transitions, mental health challenges, relationship struggles, deaths, and so much more. All the while our journey through life continues.

We recently welcomed a new slate of leaders to our church council, and we are praying for them as they begin the important work of dreaming about and implementing the many ways we can live out our faith together, as well as how we as a collective community of faithful individuals will navigate God’s calling for us in the world.

In just a few days we will step into the season of Lent – a time that encourages self-reflection and repentance. I love the passage from Ecclesiastes about everything having its due time because it reminds me to keep things in perspective. I’m well aware there are things in life that I can control, and yet much, much more than I cannot.

Lent and Good Friday are important reminders for us that our best life materializes when we turn ourselves toward God and place our trust in God’s presence and promises, rather than simply relying on our own limited human understanding and abilities.

And as a community of believers who have been called together at this time and in this place by the movement of God’s Spirit, it only seems fitting for us to take time throughout this season of Lent to pause, breathe, and immerse ourselves in God’s presence. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Sit in the warm sun and be comforted, and as you do, remember Jesus’ time in the desert. Pray for strength for yourself and this congregation. Get out in nature where you can see the vibrancy of new life. Pray for the countless growth opportunities waiting for you and our congregation. Take a walk near a body of water and listen to its movement. Pray that your spirit would be moved with excitement and renewal. Help someone accomplish something that has no apparent payoff for you. Pray and reflect on how much God has done for you.

My friends, may we all be reminded that for everything there is a season, and if we are willing to trust that God is always with us and always for us, then we can be confident that we will be just fine because we are exactly where we are meant to be in this moment. Have a blessed Lent!

Pastor Tony

Farmers Market

March 9 is the date of this year’s Winter Farmers’ Market in cooperation with the Food, Faith and Farming Network. We will have a great variety of vendors selling eggs, preserves, salsa, mushrooms, honey, meat, soaps and body care, apples, cider, syrups, oats, granola, wool products, rustic breads and pastries, sweet breads, gluten-free and vegan bread. Bring your own bags or purchase an Ascension bag to use. Volunteers are needed to help make the market a success. Please sign-up online to help.

Join us for brunch and fellowship! Locally-sourced meal including: egg bakes (including gluten-free), oatmeal bars, sausages, herb-roasted potatoes, caramel apple crisp, mixed melon salad, and beverages. Tickets are $10 for an adult, $8 for a senior, $5 for kids ages 4 – 10 (under 4 is free) $30 maximum per family.

Month of Love

It is the month of love. Or at least that is what the Hallmark Card Company would like us to believe. The Bible uses the word “love” A LOT. I mean A LOT. The word “love” often gets overused and underappreciated for the moments and meaning we often want to convey to someone else. 

Bible verses like 1st Corinthians 16:14 is a helpful verse for me. Paul writes: “Let all that you do be done in love.” 1st Corinthians 13:4-7, also authored by Paul, is worth mentioning as well. Again, Paul writes: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” And finally, Colossians 3:12-14: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” What I appreciate about these Bible verses is that the word “love” is not simply a word, but it is an action offered with specific examples about how we live out that love in the world. Patience, kindness, compassion, humility, gentleness, selflessness are all attributes – actions – that define and exemplify love as we live out our faith each day.

There is no shortage of need or opportunity to share the love of God in both our words and through our actions. I wonder what opportunities God is preparing for you in the next month. Lutheran Pastor and Author Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes: “We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.” You might know that phrase a little differently. In my world Bonhoffer’s words sound more like this: “There are no interruptions, there are only invitations.” I am grateful to Bonhoffer for the reminder. For each of us, the days are full. I have heard even the “retired” among us can have days that are full. When we find ourselves busy, even overwhelmed by the events on our schedule, it is easy for us to believe that our time is too precious to be interrupted by the text message, the phone call, the request of a family member or friend let alone a stranger. Yet, God may be interrupting your day to invite you to consider how you might show the very same love God has shown you to someone else. A few minutes of conversation might bring peace to someone’s anxiety. A reply to a text message may be a word of hope someone needs to read to take one more step on their journey. A willingness to rearrange your “scheduled” life for an hour may be the greatest gift to someone who believes no one cares about them at all. 

The time you take to tend someone else might be only a moment for you, but that moment might make all the difference for another. We might believe the moment to be an interruption, God might call it an invitation. Whether interruption or invitation, we should call it love. Now, how might you share that love with the world around you?

See you in church.

Pastor Chris