Every Day Is Easter

Our Lenten Journey will soon be over. We will gather in the upper room on Maundy Thursday with Jesus and his disciples and hear Jesus say those powerful words that we are reminded of every Sunday morning, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” We will travel to the foot of the cross on Good Friday 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.” And once that final, culminating event of the Resurrection is complete. Then what? What are we supposed to do then?

The month of April reminds us that Easter is more than just one day. Easter is an “every Sunday” celebration during which we come together to receive the blessing 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? Let us follow 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.

So where are we to go once we leave the empty tomb? Let us 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 vocations or 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 daily, ordinary labor and responsibilities that had been 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 vocations or stations in life that God has given to us as gifts. Most of us are not 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 vocations 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 dear friends, we 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

Prepare the Way of the Lord

During fifty-one weeks of the year, when the church is decorated, it is the altars and the walls we adorn to enhance our worship experience. But during Holy Week, sometimes the ground receives most of our attention. At Ascension, like churches of all denominations around the world, on Palm Sunday we recreate the actions of the early disciples of Jesus by covering the ground with palm branches. On the original Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a humble donkey, but the Passover celebrants recognized him as the potential Messiah. They threw their robes and branches on the ground to prepare a path worthy of a king.

Jesus walked a far different path later that week when he was paraded through the streets on the way to his crucifixion. I imagine it was the ugliest of walks, filled with fear, humiliation, and pain. In Central America, we spend Holy Week covering the streets with colorful alfombras that are part of the Good Friday processions that take place in every town. In recent years at Ascension, on Palm Sunday afternoon we begin to create our alfombras. The walk of our worshipers over the alfombras on Good Friday is a reminder of the beauty of God’s love being darkened for those three days.

This year, without a sanctuary for Holy Week worship, the pathway for our alfombras is less obvious. In spite of the fact that we won’t have our usual Spanish Sanctuary for our alfombras, we will look for creative ways we can maintain the theology of the alfombras, and our culture.

Advent may be the season of preparing our hearts for Jesus, but Holy Week is the season of preparing our feet to walk the walk of Jesus. Preparing the way of the Lord is such an important idea, that the verse is mentioned twice in the Bible. “A voice is crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, Make straight His Path.” ~Isaiah 40:3 & Matthew 3:3. For those other fifty-one weeks of the year, the weeks when we are not decorating the floors of the narthex and sanctuary, how will you prepare the path for Jesus?

 Edwin Aparicio, Pastoral Intern

The Wonder of Worship

Join us for Holy Week, in-person or live-stream

This year, we’re excited to offer live-streaming on our You Tube channel for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday (6:30 p.m.) and Easter Sunday (8:30 and 10:45 a.m.) worship.

Holy Week Begins April 10

Holy Week will be all the more powerful this year due to the opportunity for us to sing together to worship our God. We will move through the events of Holy Week remembering the last days and moments Jesus spent with his disciples.

Sunday, April 10 — Palm Sunday

A day of celebration marking the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem where palm branches and an explosion of colors allow us the opportunity to experience the joy of the crowds in Jesus’ arrival. Shouts of “Hosanna!” will fill the sanctuary. Worship times are our normal 8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. in English and 10:45 a.m. in Spanish.

Thursday, April 14 — Maundy Thursday

Making our way to the upper room, we will gather with the disciples around a simple meal of bread and wine as Jesus gives us the gift of holy communion to give us strength for the days ahead. We will give thanks for a meaningful word of forgiveness from our Savior and then watch as the altar is stripped as we remember Jesus’ betrayal and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. We worship at 6:30 p.m. this night.

Friday, April 15 — Good Friday

“Why is this day called good?” Because without Good Friday we would not have the joy of celebrating an Easter resurrection. We will gather at the foot of the cross to hear the seven last words and rest in our weariness after these long days of Lent. Worship at 12 p.m. is the traditional time of worship to remember Jesus’ sacrifice. The noon service will be quiet and reflective. Our 6:30 p.m. service will offer the gift of choirs to bring powerful offerings of music to give us pause as we hear each of the seven last words of Jesus from the cross. Our Spanish congregation will worship at 6:30 beginning with the procession of alfombras in the Memorial Gardens.

Sunday, April 17 — Easter Sunday

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! The story of God’s love knows no end. We hear whispers of resurrection and then see the empty tomb for ourselves. It has been two years since we have gathered to sing songs together in praise of our God on Easter Day. Worship is at 8:30 and 10:45 a.m. in English and 10:45 a.m. in Spanish. So much to celebrate!

Ascension Grief Support

Are you struggling with grief from the loss of a loved one?  Mary Lou Charapata and Brenda Lytle will facilitate grief support sessions on April 27, May 2, May 11, May 18, and May 25, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the Youth Room. Questions or to make a reservation? Please contact Brenda Lytle or 262-547-8518.

Learning Spanish

We have been having a good response from our simple Spanish learning lessons that are in the announcements. We believe it is part of our mission to have some basic words to communicate with our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters and to know basic worship words.

We will continue to add to the words and phrases and learn some simple songs each week. If you have questions about pronunciation or the meaning of a word or phrase, ask one of our Spanish speakers. You can then practice your emerging Spanish with them. You will see that not all the translations are word for word but more phrase by phrase or thought by thought.

To see a list of recent/ongoing translations, visit our website. https://tinyurl.com/ALCspanish

This is a great way to show support for our Spanish speaking members and to grow a little yourself with a minimum of work.

Winter Farmer’s Market Recap

Thank you to all who helped make the Farmers Market a great success. Food, Faith and Farming Network and our visitors loved the whole event. Several have asked for the contact information for the brunch sausage. It is Kettle Range Meat Company. They are located in Milwaukee on State Street and in Elm Grove.  Contact them online for more information. Below are some brunch recipes using ingredients from the venders.

Slow Cooker Apple Steel-Cut Oatmeal

  • 2 ½-3 c. Log Cabin Orchard apples, peeled, cut into 1/2” pieces
  • 1 ½ c. milk
  • 1 ½ c. water
  • 1 c. uncooked Oly’s Steel Cuts Oats
  • 2 Tbsp. maple syrup or honey
  • 1 ½ Tbsp. butter
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed
  • ¼ tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS
Coat inside of 3 ½ qt. slow cooker with cooking spray. Add all ingredients. Stir, cover, and cook on low 7 hours.

Oven-Scrambled Egg and Cheese

  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 12 Three Brothers Farm eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 pound grated cheese

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350F. Add the melted butter to a 9×13 baking dish, turning the dish to coat the bottom. Set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the salt, pepper, mustard, and eggs until frothy. Whisk in the milk then stir in the cheese. Mix well.

Pour the egg mixture into the baking dish.

Place the dish in the oven and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until the eggs are set.

Maple Cider Vinaigrette

  • 1/3 c. apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 c. Log Cabin Orchard maple syrup
  • 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 tsp. salt and pepper
  • 1/3 c. olive oil

DIRECTIONS
Dress of a salad of Vibrant Gardens spinach, Log Cabin Orchard apples, Happy Destiny dried cherries, pepitas

God’s Temple

This year for Lent, I am thinking of reducing rather than giving anything up. I plan on reducing my carbs, fewer snacks, smaller portions at meals. As part of my faith journey, I actually started these changes in February. If I am being truthful, I’m not actually doing any of these things for Lent. My reasons are not about piety, but rather vanity. I got on the scale and realized that I’ve gained 15 pounds in the past three years. I guess when you switch from a job of doing physically demanding work for 12 hours a day to sitting in front of a computer screen for 12 hours a day, you gain weight if you don’t change what you eat. I’m looking forward to spring weather more than ever so I can get back to landscaping between classes to work off some of those extra pounds.

For those that give things up for Lent, I think that duality is often common. We hear stories about people giving up chocolate, candy, beer, red meat and other less than healthy foods. Other people give up television or other screen time. These are all things that while sacrificial are also beneficial to our physical and spiritual health. We don’t hear stories about people giving up things like vegetables, although my daughter Marta would willingly give up the entire squash family for Lent. We don’t give up things that make us healthy. We tend to only “sacrifice” by making healthy choices. That isn’t a bad thing.

What if this year for Lent, we didn’t focus on giving anything up. What if instead we focus on taking care of ourselves and our physical and spiritual health. Make a goal to find time for prayer or meditation. Take the time to take a walk. Take time to connect with someone that you have been missing. Do an act of kindness for someone else. By taking care of ourselves, we are both honoring God’s words to us and strengthening ourselves to do God’s work. Let the Holy Spirit guide you during this season of lent. 

Edwin Aparicio, Pastoral Intern

What Are You Giving Up for Lent?

Each year about this time Christians around the world prepare to enter the holy season of Lent. And as far back as I can remember one common practice for many faithful followers has been to “give up something” – a sacrificial practice meant to honor the 40 days Jesus endured in the desert to pray and fast in preparation for his journey to the cross. However, I don’t hear as much talk about giving up things for Lent any more.

Throughout my life I have progressed from giving up simple things like chocolate, red meat, or TV to more significant things like anger, impatience, or selfishness. And as we approach this Lenten season, the idea of letting go of something that interferes with my relationship with God has me thinking more deeply about what to give up this year. It also has me wondering what you might be planning to give up this Lent. Well, if you haven’t come up with anything yet, and even if you have, I wonder if you would allow me to suggest something.

What if we all gave up division for Lent?

We live in a world where division and dissension are the norm. The cultural climate we find ourselves in today is one that’s highly polarized. It’s one that’s quick to divide people along lines of “us vs. them” over anything and everything. We find ourselves in the midst of conflicts, being pulled toward a particular side, and engaging in a dance to stake out the “rightness” of our positions and seek validation for our point of view.

And too often when we hear something that we don’t like or agree with then our first instinct is to get angry, offended, argue, or in some cases to just leave rather than engage in mutual dialogue centered in listening. We allow ourselves to get dragged into arguments about who is more right, which side is more valid, and even whose belief is more biblically accurate. This creates division and animosity, and it can lead to the tragedy of people who all belong to the family of God seeing those who think differently as an enemy.

These last few years have left me feeling deeply distressed about the many divisions in our world and even more confused about my role. I’ve wondered if this is how people felt during other times of social and political turmoil. I find myself hoping and praying that we could all just let go of those things that divide us.

But rather than taking a strong public stance on the various issues over which we’re divided, I’ve tried to listen, understand, and encourage others to do the same. Every day I encounter conflicting views regarding the pandemic, government policies, politics, justice, and morality. My discomfort arises from feeling uncertain if I am following God’s will or my own. I ask myself if I lack the courage to do more. I ponder how and why good people and followers of Jesus stand firmly on both sides of the issues. I wonder if this paradox is the result of disinformation that leads to false conclusions. Are we unable to accept the truth or even know what the truth really is? Or maybe too much information is suffocating us, and we simply cannot think clearly.

In this era of division, fear, and even hatred, I find myself constantly wondering what does Jesus want us to do? Because I see good people on both sides – people trying to do what they are convinced is the right thing. And it seems that choosing the right side isn’t always clear or easy.

So, as we step into Lent on our journey toward Easter, I’m asking if you will dream with me about a world where every person is able to embrace every other person as a beloved child of God and brother or sister in Christ. Then, and equally as important, I’m asking if you will join me in the sacred struggle of giving up division, and not just for Lent, but for life – because this is what God desires for all God’s children.

One of the simplest ways that we can accomplish this is by remembering that while there is much that divides us, the cross and the empty tomb are what unites all of us and therefore what we have in common is far greater than anything that separates us. And if they are the unity that centers us, inspires us, guides us, and moves us, then it really doesn’t matter how different we are from others in our faith practices, political views, lifestyles, or anything else because in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, there’s enough grace for all of us.

Pastor Tony

40 Days, 40 People

Never fear!
I would never give up coffee for Lent. I tried that one year and my wife and I still do not speak about it.

The Season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. A day to gather to give thanks to God in worship for the promise and power of God’s love and mercy while reflecting on the fragility of life and the need to honor every moment in this life without taking anything for granted. After tending seven families since the end of December as they said goodbye to someone they loved, I am more convinced than ever of our need to cherish the people God places into our lives.

Perhaps we are unable to keep up the energy to cherish those we love at every given moment. I wonder what our lives would like if we would work towards cherishing the ones we love throughout these 40 days of Lent. An opportunity to seek out those we cherish and remind them that they are loved. How unexpected it is in our world today to call, text, email, or write a letter to someone just to share with them their worth in our eyes. What a gift those words would be to the person receiving them?

How quickly we are coming out of the pandemic wanting to return to normal routines while forgetting how much we have lost or given up over these past two years. Maybe, before we let go of the emotions we have carried since March 2020, we might take a little time to tell the people we love that they are important to us. The words we so often speak at funerals in memory of someone who has died would be much better said to someone who is alive to hear them, appreciate them, and enjoy the moment of being told they are loved.

Dear friends, give it a try – 40 days, 40 people. An intentional moment of reaching out to tell someone they are important to you. And then feel the power of God’s love in your own life as you are reminded of the gifts God gives to us each and every day in the people who love us and make our lives that much richer. To the glory of God.

40 Days – 40 People.

See you in church!
Pastor Chris

Ash Wednesday, Lenten worship & Soup Suppers

Ash Wednesday is Wednesday, March 2. The season of Lent begins, and Pastor Chris is so excited! Last year, we were still not meeting in-person when Lent began so no mid-week worship and worse yet, no soup and time for conversation and catching-up. Well, all that is happening this year!

Our Ash Wednesday worship will be at both 12 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. (Note the time change!)

Sundays in Lent will be at our regular worship times of 8:30 and 10:45 a.m.

Our mid-week soup suppers begin at 6 p.m. followed by worship from 6:45-7:15 p.m.

We are once again looking for groups or individuals who would like to make soup or donate bread as well as help set-up. The dates for mid-week soup suppers are: Wednesdays, March 9, March 16, March 23, March 30

If your group would like to sign-up for a night, we are looking for about 12 soups and six dozen rolls/loaves of bread. I will be reaching out to ask some of our ministry groups and there will be sign-ups available beginning on Sunday, Feb. 27. Council has given the green light to return to serving food in the church and Pastor Chris could not be more pleased to invite you to return to one of our most well-attended events throughout the year. Please contact Pastor Chris. Want to sign-up early to get your spot? Email PC at pc@ascensionelca.org.