Songs of Summer

“Summertime…and the living is easy…”

The first line of the song “Summertime” by Ella Fitzgerald. I am hopeful you are finding the living easy as summer rounds third base. This is my favorite time of the summer. The beginning of August is not so close to the start of school but far enough away from all the summer “expectations” we thought we had to figure out back in late May.

I am also keenly aware that not everyone is living easy as we enter into August. As the pandemic continues to wind down (praying to God the winding down continues), I am finding more and more people who are challenged with the fatigue of the pandemic and the journey of re-entry into full-time life. Relationships might feel more acutely stressful, work may feel more like a balancing act, and navigating life at home might feel more like a continuous roller coaster than a merry-go-round. Again, my prayer is that your living is easy, but if it is not – God’s got you.

From the Apostle Paul in the book of 1 Corinthians: No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and God will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing God will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. Those are words I can hold onto in these summer days if the living is easy or if I am finding the days a little longer than I expected.

Sometimes we simply need to be reminded of the promise that God’s got us in the good times and the not so good times also. The way that I am most often reminded of that promise is when I find myself leading worship – sharing the words of promise we find in the liturgy and Scriptures. And of course, in the words of the songs we sing.

As the deer panteth for the water,
So my soul longs after you.
You alone are my hearts desire
and I long to worship you.

And if that is too new for you…well here is another favorite…

I love to tell the story.
‘Twill be my theme in glory.
To tell the old, old story.
Of Jesus and his love.

Both songs remind me of God’s promise to carry; to tend; to love us through some of the most difficult days.  It is a reminder I need when I am in the thick of the stuff of ministry and a reminder I need, just as much, when I am away from the ministry God calls me to share with you.

So my friends, I hope the living is easy in these late summer days. I hope you find time to be away from the normal routines and the “stuff” that keeps you busy and away from days of rest. I also hope that you will find time to reconnect with God in worship. We are waiting to welcome you back. Baptisms are happening. New visitors are checking out Ascension for the first time. So maybe come to worship to reconnect with your Savior and be reminded of God’s love and then set aside some time to reconnect with yourself and those you love.  My gosh, even the pipes and insides of the organ are off for renewal in Illinois. You can see the pictures on the following pages. Apparently, all of creation needs rest and renewal – even the organ pipes. Until I see you in worship, be well, find joy, live easy.

Peace be with you,

Pastor Chris

Update: Organ Restoration

Restoration on our pipe organ is in full swing. Pipes have been transported to the Berghaus shop for cleaning and restoration. The instrument will be returned and reinstalled in late August.

To date, we have $45,235, or 71%, of the funds needed to support this project, and are grateful to the generous donors who have made this possible. We are still in need of $18,765. If you feel so moved to help reach this goal, or if you have questions, please contact Pastor Chris or Vicki Taylor, Director of Music Ministries.

Tutoring To Resume

When are English classes starting? Are we going to have classes for citizenship? Those are some of the questions we are hearing from former and new students in our tutoring program. Now all we need are tutors to help us get things going. As a tutor, you will work as a team with another tutor and 2-3 students. As a tutoring team you can work out your schedule with your partner tutor. We will provide materials, training and guidance for how to work with the students. Our students are from young children or adults learning their first words in English to adults working on citizenship or other advanced ways to put their English to use in adapting to living in the US. Our students are Burmese refugees who speak the Karen language and Latinos who primarily speak Spanish. It is not necessary for tutors to know their students’ language.

When we had to close our program because of the pandemic, we had 40 students and 30 tutors. We know we will probably have to restart the program and all take some big steps together. We will have an orientation and training meeting in August. Watch for announcements of time and date. If you are interested in being part of a tutoring team or have questions, please contact Barbara Nordberg. One of the benefits of the program is not just being proud of the students’ new English skills but experiencing  the relationship you will develop with the students. You will learn as much from them as they learn from you. Please help!

BLAST Needs You!

We are hopeful that we will be resuming weekly Sunday morning in-person classes this fall and we want and need your help to make that happen.

We are looking for full and part time teachers, volunteers to help with our one-time events like Journey to Bethlehem and Journey to the Cross, and we are also continuing to look to fill our Superintendent vacancies. We invite you to consider how God might be calling you to use your unique gifts to help us pass faith and love for God to the next generation.

There are so many ways you can be involved, so please take the time to contact Pastor Tony at 262-547-8518 to discuss all the amazing possibilities that are available.

Foster/Adoption Care Support

Perhaps you are curious of how COVID-19 has affected foster care in Wisconsin. According to a new report from the Children’s Defense Fund, “Children have experienced a year of unprecedented upheaval due to the pandemic and racial reckoning.” Every aspect of foster children’s lives has been impacted by these shifts more quickly than data can track; even the most recent available data sets do not fully encompass how this past year has shaped our lives. A year marked by such dramatic change and drastic negative impact on children’s lives must be followed by one of healing and restoration.

  • 4,576 children were abused or neglected in Wisconsin in 2019
  • 7,642 children were in Wisconsin foster care in 2019
  • 100 children a month are placed in foster care in Milwaukee County
  • 65% of kids in foster care are sibling groups

(Note: Numbers from Children’s Defense Fund’s The State of America’s Children® 2021)

Our Be the Village Ministry connects and helps support families in the foster system. Chosen is a community organization that assists many families in need of help. They have a clothes closet located in Waukesha and plan to open another closet in Wauwatosa/West Allis area.

Chosen is excited to announce the return of their Walk on the Wild Side Foster-Care Annual Awareness Walk. After much consideration and desire to create a safe and exciting event for walkers, they have moved the date to Sept. 11. This year in order to exercise an abundance of social distancing they will be having a scavenger hunt with checkpoints, passports, fun fostering facts and a boxed lunch where prizes will be awarded. The tickets will include admission to the zoo as well as a picnic boxed lunch. More information to come!

Brenda Lytle, RN
Director of Care Ministries

Latino Ministry News

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.              ~Ecclesiastes 3: 1 & 4


I found myself thinking of this Bible verse today. Some days it feels as though we experience all of the emotions mentioned in Ecclesiastes on the same day. I was working on my newsletter article and focusing on all of the positive things happening with our ministry at Ascension. With the nicer weather, we have decided to worship every Sunday outside, as long as the weather allows. Although the farmers could use the rain, we have enjoyed the lack of insects during worship on the front lawn.


We are busy planning a quinceañera for the end of July and we are planning another wedding for August. The August wedding is special because it is for a couple that was legally married years ago, but they have been dreaming of a chance to have a religious ceremony and to have a marriage that is officially blessed by the church. They are happy to be a part of a church that has affordable wedding options.


As I was forming my thoughts about all of these joyful things for my article, I received a call that my brother-in-law had unexpectedly passed away. He was in San Salvador visiting his mother. He was only 37 years old. Because of the distance between San Rafael Oriente, our family’s village, and San Salvador, my sister and his mother did not know each other. His mother decided she would take care of all funeral arrangements and that he would be buried in San Salvador. My sister was in shock at all that her family was facing.

Navigating supporting my sister from a distance, determining who from our family in Waukesha will be able to travel to El Salvador and making those travel plans required urgency. Suddenly planning for the happy things was no longer on my agenda for the week.

During these difficult times, I need to remember the words of Ecclesiastes that although my family is once again facing great sorrow, we will heal. I pray that we all find peace knowing that while we are feeling sadness for my sister and nephew, my brother-in-law is free from suffering and experiencing the gift of resurrection.

May you feel the presence of Jesus in all of your moments, good and bad.

Edwin Aparicio
Spanish Language Minister

 

Moving Forward

Dear friends, how far we have come! We continue to see the pandemic moving towards its close. And although we still recognize the concern for those among us unvaccinated and those unable to be vaccinated, I am grateful to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Singing has returned to the sanctuary in amazing ways with choirs, Praise Band, solos, and the voices of the congregation gathered to worship. Physical distancing in the sanctuary has been reduced to one section to offer continued covid protocols for those choosing just a little more separation. Masks have disappeared for most and the chance to see smiles on faces is worth its weight in gold. The best part has been a return to hugs and handshakes for those that are feeling comfortable returning to the practice. This Pastor will happily offer either to you when you see him. We celebrated baptisms in June and have a couple more to celebrate in July. Always a moment of joy in the life of the congregation. JOLT Adventure Camp was a wonderful return to some “normalcy” in ministry. The students were amazing and the adventures pushed students and the adults out of their comfort zones and into the “leaps of faith” where we trust our faith in God a little more deeply before we climb the mountain or step off the platform to hang on the zipline cable. All-in-all, the summer is shaping up to be a life-giving gift of God after the covid summer of 2020.

Personally, I will share with you that this past year has humbled me in ways that I did not expect. You have been so gracious to tend my father, my family, and to allow me to work through some of my own grief after the death of my mom in very public ways. I have acknowledged the milestones of the “firsts” that so many of you have spoken of in your own journeys with grief. First Thanksgivings, first birthdays, first Easters, first Mother’s Days – navigating each one was more minefield that I expected. So many of you took the time to share with me your own stories of figuring out the way forward after losing a parent or spouse or child. I am grateful for your willingness to share your own experiences so that I could know I was not crazy for what I was feeling and, more importantly, that I was not alone. For every card, every letter, every knowing glance, every half smile, every hug – thank you for your examples of faithfulness to our God that allowed me be reminded of God’s great love for all of us.

Finally, as I have shared with the Mutual Ministry Team and the Church Council, I have encouraged the staff to find time to be away this summer. Intentional time away from Ascension and the responsibilities of ministry, so that we will be ready to launch into the fall program with energy and enthusiasm. As many of you remind me regularly, I am also expected to take my own advice at times. I plan to be away from Ascension for three weeks this month. My family plans to be in CA for some vacation to visit family, walk the beach, and linger over some Starbucks coffee and many some 21-year-old scotch. Regardless of what comes first, I expect to be well-vacationed when I return to ministry at the beginning of August.

My prayer is that each of you will find some time to reconnect with family, old friends, a few of your favorite things over these next couple of months. I, for one, will be excited to see you when you find your way back to worship in-person at Ascension. August will allow us time to prepare for the fall. And September will be a time to witness the new things God is doing at Ascension and throughout the world.

Peace be with you.

Pastor Chris

Challenges

It is inevitable that each one of us will face a variety of challenges throughout our lives. Some of them may feel less significant like having to try a new thing or step out of our comfort zone for a time, while others may feel a bit more life-altering like moving to a new place, facing an unexpected diagnosis or dealing with the death of a loved one.

Often our first instinct is to run away from them, but challenges can be a gift if we allow them to be. Challenges can move us to learn new things about ourselves, push us to see what’s possible, help us to see that we are not alone, teach us the blessing of relying on others, and most importantly show us who God is and how God loves.

Recently, while we were away at JOLT Adventure Camp, challenges in various forms presented themselves to both students and leaders. And while each one was different, all of them shared some common themes – they offered opportunities to develop confidence, shift perspective, gain trust, learn acceptance, reveal strength, experience love, and find faith.

When we face our fears and uncertainties, we open ourselves to amazing possibilities, and when we do all this trusting that God is always with us and surrounds us with all we need to maneuver each step of this life, then we allow ourselves to be transformed into who God is continually creating us to be, and the world to be shaped into the place God desires.

Our time at adventure camp was an opportunity to be challenged but more importantly, it was a time to be amazed by God. But you don’t have to go away to adventure camp to experience this, you need only to be willing to have your eyes and heart opened and trust that God is leading you on a path deeper into God’s love. Challenges are certain – more importantly, so is God’s love.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” ~Romans 5:3-5 (NLT)

Pastor Tony

Hawthorne Partnership

Hawthorne School has two areas that were depleted this year that need to be refilled before school starts again in the fall.

  • Pants– They are in need of spare pants for boys/girls in the smaller sizes. Best would be leggings/sweats/joggers in sizes 5, 6, 7, 8 and/or XS, S, and M.
  • Sensory tools — These are used to help soothe children with sensory issues and to help children with attention deficits focus. A quick Google or Amazon search will give you many examples.

Donations can be dropped in West Hall. Online orders can be sent directly to Hawthorn.

Changes in Covid Protocols

Masks are now optional (indoors and outdoors) for those who are fully vaccinated. Physical distancing is no longer required in the sanctuary, although we have set aside one area of seating where physical distancing will be maintained.

We remind people to be mindful of those who choose to mask and/or physical distance, including children, those with health issues or unvaccinated people.