Author: Amy Gilgenbach

Adult Ed: Love Is the Way

Pastor Tony will lead a six-week in-person book study on Monday nights beginning Feb. 21, at 6:30 p.m. If there is significant interest in a daytime session, he will consider hosting a 10 a.m. session on Monday mornings as well.

Throughout our lives, we are certain to encounter difficult moments that will challenge our strength, hope, happiness, and most of all our faith. What is the answer? In his book “Love is the Way,” Bishop Michael Curry addresses love as the essential component for dealing with the seemingly insurmountable challenges facing the world today, and he offers an inspirational road map for living the way of love. Sign up online. If you have questions, please contact Pastor Tony. You can either buy the book ahead of time or request one of the 12 copies Pastor Tony has available for $15/ea.

Advent & Christmas Schedule 2021

Join Us!

Ascension has Advent and Christmas worship and activities planned that will be memorable for all of our church community. Please join us for these special events and help the glory of the Lord shine in the dark days of winter.

Deck the Halls of Ascension, Dec. 4

Help us get the sanctuary and other areas ready for Advent and Christmas on Saturday, Dec. 4, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Lunch provided

Journey to Bethlehem, Dec. 5

BLAST families and the congregation are invited between services on Sunday, Dec. 5 for Journey to Bethlehem where we will travel with Mary and Joseph as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Children 3k through 5th grade along with their parents will move through various stations of fun crafts and activities that will help tell this amazing story. People of all ages are invited to come and see all the joy and excitement that surrounds this event.

As part of the Journey to Bethlehem on Dec. 5, we’re collecting new books and clothing for children. Just like the wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus, we’ll be gifting these items to people in need. Look for the bin in the narthex starting this weekend.

Advent Concert Worship, Dec. 11 & 12

Invite your friends and family for this worship experience from all of Ascension’s musicians — the Ascension Choir, Ascension Ringers, the Praise Band, and youth choirs. Saturday, Dec. 11, 6 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 12, 9:30 a.m. (Please note: There will be only one service on Sunday.)

A special brunch will follow the 9:30 service on Sunday. Please watch for more information in e-alerts.

Las Posadas, Dec. 18, 5 p.m.

Weather allowing, this event on Saturday, Dec. 18, will be held outside with live music. People can start arriving at 4:45 to prepare with a candle and Mexican hot chocolate to warm up for the winter’s evening. Following the journey, you are invited to join us in a dinner of holiday favorites.

Children’s Christmas Program Dec. 19, 10:45 a.m.

Students participating in the Children’s Christmas program will gather at church on Saturday, Dec. 18, between 9-11a for a final Christmas Program dress rehearsal.

Join us on Sunday, Dec. 19, at the 10:45a worship service to celebrate the Children’s Christmas program. BLAST children will share the joy of the season through readings, singing, and a special live nativity that you won’t want to miss!

Christmas Eve, Dec. 24

3 & 5 p.m. worship, sanctuary
6:30 p.m. outdoor worship, Memorial Gardens (weather permitting)
6:30 p.m. Spanish worship, East Hall

Christmas Day, Dec. 25

10 a.m., sanctuary

First Sunday of Christmas, Dec. 26

10 a.m. (bilingual), sanctuary

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Care Ministries

Christmas time is a time of hope, peace and joy. It is important to recognize that much of what we love about the Christmas season are the ways we have found to make love manifest. Gifts given, treats baked, visits made, and trips taken not only to show how full of love we feel for our friends and family but also for strangers who will benefit from our gift of time, talents and treasures.

The Christmas season during the pandemic challenges many of us to focus on simplicity. As we remember, millions of people around the world will miss more than simple traditions. They will miss the loved ones they’ve lost, the jobs they no longer hold, the health they can no longer count on. So for many people this may be a sad and lonely holiday. As Christians, Jesus is our hope for peace and joy during this pandemic time. So perhaps let us find new ways to show his love if we have to change our normal ways of tradition. Drop off cookies at doorsteps, use generous takeout orders to support local businesses, shop small businesses who may be struggling, share devotions and call those in our congregation who would love to connect with an Ascension member. We can all make a difference in our Christian lives to make this a holiday full of love.

Brenda Lytle, RN, Director of Care Ministries

Grateful Hearts

Thank you for your generous donations for the Be the Village Ministry’s ToyPalooza Drive for Chosen. Many new toys were collected to distribute to foster children. Thank you for making a difference in our community!

Thank you to CRASH and JOLT for your generous service work for Chosen. Thanks to Be the Village Ministry for setting up all of the materials so that the kids could finish 30 tie blankets for foster teens in Waukesha! Great job!

Thank you to everyone that supported Chosen in Love’s Gala in November. It was a great evening for a great cause!

Christmas gifts given hope love pandemic peace

Thanksgiving Following Parade Tragedy

Holy God, we give you thanks for every gift given. As we gather in small ways and great ways to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, we are mindful that celebrations are more muted this year as we reflect on the horrific moments of this past Sunday. Remind us, Lord God, that you are present to us. Remind us that you offer hope; you offer life; you offer love for all the world. We come before you with hearts filled with emotions we are still working to understand. May your blessing be with us and we gather at tables, over the internet, and in all the ways we may connect with those we love. Amen.

On the Tragedy Tonight

We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that took place at the Waukesha Christmas parade this evening, and our hearts are broken for all who were present at the event and especially those who witnessed the incident firsthand, those who were injured, and those who died as a result of this senseless act of violence.

At this time, we are unaware if anyone from the community of Ascension may have been physically injured, however, the effects of this tragic incident extend far beyond just the physical and we ask that you join us in holding all who were affected by the incident in prayer.

We recognize that even if you were not present, you have most likely heard about the incident via the news, social media, or by word of mouth and our hearts go out to you for the sadness and grief you too are experiencing.

We know that there are several families with children who may be experiencing fear, sadness, or other trauma because of this incident and we encourage you to exercise self-care moments amid all that you are experiencing. If children ask questions, do your best to answer them honestly but tactfully. Reassure them that they are loved and that they are safe now. Validate their sadness and fear for themselves, their friends and others they love and be sure to take lots of time to just hug them and offer them tangible and physical reassurance.

Tomorrow, Monday, Nov. 22, the church will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for anyone to come and offer private prayers or for candle lighting. At 6 p.m., we invite you along with friends, students, neighbors, and any other members of the Waukesha community to come for a prayer vigil and to light candles to grieve those who have died and hold in prayer all those who were injured, especially those whose lives continue to hang in the balance.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. ~ Psalm 34:18

A November Filled With Thanks

In early October, Ascension’s Church Council, staff, and leaders met to reflect on the last 22 months and consider the next twelve months of ministry. I am grateful beyond words, for Ascension’s staff and leadership that continue to show up, commit, engage, and pray for the community and ministry of Ascension.

In this month of November, there is so much for which I give thanks to God. A community of faithful members and friends who gather for worship both in-person and online each Sunday; for children, junior and senior high school students and their parents who encourage, and transport and commit to bringing their family members to BLAST, JOLT, and CRASH. For musicians, who have stayed committed to enhancing our worship – choirs, organ, praise band, handbells, and the addition of special moments with additional instruments. Such joy to hear once again after a time of silence.

As we have moved into this month of November, I am reminded that for many, we will gather with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving. I cannot even remember what we did or did not do for Thanksgiving last year. What I do know is that I do not want to take anything for granted. So, I promised myself that for the month of November and into December – I will not take gathering together for worship for granted. I will not take singing together for granted. I will not take the receiving of communion for granted. I will not take seeing the face of students for granted. I will not take the sounds of infants and toddlers for granted. I will not take the laughter and noise of children for granted. I will not take book study participants for granted. I will not take weddings or baptisms for granted. Honestly, hopefully, never again will I gloss over a precious moment of the divine connecting with our humanity.

In the spirit of not taking anything for granted, I am taking a moment to share this moment of reflection with you. I love the holiday of Thanksgiving. A table decorated with everything. There can be brightly colored tablecloths and candles to light. Flowers and place cards might show up. In our house, we pull out the china and the flatware and the crystal and even the 8-year-old gets to drink sparkling cider from the crystal stemware. We cook family recipes a couple of days before, so we only need to reheat them the day of Thanksgiving. Usually, the turkey comes out of the freezer days before or we buy fresh and still need to give the bird time to warm to room temperature before we stuff it with lemons, onions, oranges, rosemary, thyme, and a stick of butter when my wife is not watching.

Last year, the morning of Thanksgiving Day began with the sunrise and was quickly followed by a heavy gray cloud in our home. Setting a place at the table for my mom, even as she would not be present for the celebration. It was one of the holidays that was hardest last year – the table is central – and each of the guests around the table carry the title and importance of honored guests. I was grateful to my wife for setting the table last year, including a place for my mom with a lit candle representing her presence with us. Many of us will be facing this Thanksgiving with the absence of someone we love – because the coronavirus maintains a constant reminder that life is anything but “normal” right now; because travel challenges prevent some from gathering; because job loss or transitions bring financial constraints; because relationships have become more complicated in the lingering pandemic; because the power of death still rises up in this life even as Jesus has overcome the power of death in the life to come. I wonder who will be missing from your table this year. More importantly, I wonder who will be present? For whom will you set a place at the table this year?

Maybe this year, take nothing for granted? Pull out the china and leave the paper plates for the day after Thanksgiving. Unless you buy the fancy paper plates with the Thanksgiving decorations on them – then by all means use the paper plates. Regardless, dear friends, honor this one request from one of your pastors this year. Please, please, please – take nothing for granted in all these days of November that lead up to Thanksgiving. Stop for just a moment and offer a prayer of thanks to the One who blesses us with more than we can possibly imagine.

In the early 1200s, German theologian, Meister Eckhart wrote these words: “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” I am convinced Meister Eckhart is right. Take nothing for granted in this life and say thank you to the one who has never once taken you for granted. Thanks be to God for all of your and for this life with every twist and turn. I am grateful to God for all of this and all that will come in the days ahead. See you in church!

Pastor Chris

Thankful

Practicing Thankfulness

We tend to focus on giving thanks this month because of the Thanksgiving holiday that comes around on the fourth Thursday each November. And typically, Thanksgiving is meant to be a welcomed time to pause, gather, reflect, and give thanks. However, the last eighteen months have certainly tried to upend much of what we look forward to each Thanksgiving.

Politics have left many divided, troubled, and exhausted and the pandemic has left many of us nervous around and isolated from one another. There are many who still wonder if it’s even safe to gather the way we’d like or are used to. And for others, the instabilities and uncertainties that remain have left us more anxious, irritable, and prone to complaining. I suspect for some; this Thanksgiving may feel strangely inconvenient and perhaps even inappropriate.

For myself, as I have walked the journey with my mom and her battle with cancer, I have found myself spending a considerable amount of time thinking about what is means to truly give thanks to God, to live with a thankful heart, and reflect a thankful life – one that goes beyond a holiday and grows into an everyday expression of thankfulness. But living a life of thankfulness isn’t always easy, and it can be especially difficult during challenging times like the ones we find ourselves in at this moment. So, while living a life of thankfulness isn’t necessarily a complicated task, it does require us to be intentional about making a conscious choice to be thankful.

I think what we need right now is a guide, and when I dwell on who that guide could be, besides Jesus, I can think of no better example than the apostle Paul and his letter to the Colossians. Because despite what he was suffering personally locked away in prison along with the many reasons he had to be angry, fearful, and despairing – he remained thankful. “We always thank God,” he begins (Colossians 1:3). He could have begun his letter with complaining, and instead he punctuates his letter with profound thankfulness (Colossians 1:12; 2:7; 3:15–17; 4:2), and each chapter captures another dimension of healthy, God-glorifying thankfulness.

Giving thanks to God is difficult and generally not our first response in the disappointment, anxiety, and complaining, which are the normal, natural, earthly responses to circumstances like ours. And the apostle Paul knew that all too well. However, there are things that remain to be grateful for. Amid all these challenging things there are still opportunities to laugh, to connect, to work, to love, to care, and to find ways to enjoy life.

And as Paul nears the end of his letter, he is emphatic in stressing the vital and spiritual importance of thankfulness. Notice how he repeats himself: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:15–17)

You can hear him driving home the theme – Let peace rule in your hearts with thankfulness. Let praise rise up from your mouths with thankfulness. Let all you say and do – be done in thankfulness. Whatever you do – even in a global pandemic, even amid political upheaval, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health – do it all in the name of Jesus and do it with thankfulness to God.

My prayer for us as we journey through these uncertain times is that each of us would allow this season of Thanksgiving to be an opportunity to renew our thankfulness to God. Because, no matter what we suffer, or how deeply we suffer, or how long we’re forced to wait for healing and relief, God has made us his in Christ and promised us himself forever – and in this my friends we have endless reasons to be thankful.

I wonder then how you would choose to live differently for the remaining weeks of this challenging year and beyond? What doors might God be opening in the inconveniences, the cancellations, the restrictions, the interruptions, and the disappointments to come? And, if we do all that we do with thankfulness on our minds and in our hearts, then I also think we will be far more likely to recognize the doors as God opens them.

So, allow me to take this opportunity to share with you one of the things I am most thankful to God for, and that is YOU! I’d like to say thank you for your love, your trust, your understanding, your compassion, your partnership, your encouragement, your honesty and your struggling. Most of all for your willingness to continue walking this journey of faith and life together.

I thank God every time I think of you!

Pastor Tony

Thanksgiving

Dia de los Muertos y Santos

Sometimes Americans tend to think of Dia de los Muertos as “Mexican Halloween.” While it is often a national holiday in Latino countries, with days off of school and work, it is also a religious Holy Day. It is a holiday that is both deeply spiritual and sentimental.

As part of Latino traditions and customs, on the day of the faithful departed relatives visit their deceased in cemeteries. They bring their loved ones flowers, clean and paint their graves, weed around the grave and bring food and drinks. It could be said that it is the day in which the community holds a small picnic next to the remains of their loved ones who have passed away.

This tradition is celebrated a little differently in each country and even within some Latin American countries the celebrations vary. As Latinos we don’t even all have the same name for this holiday. In Mexico, it is called Dia de los Muertos. In El Salvador, it is usually called Dia de los Santos, but some regions call it Dia de los Difuntes. As a way of honoring and remembering our deceased loved ones, on November 1 in some places families spend the night in cemeteries. The idea is to sleep and wake up with them on November 2. They eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with them. The foods and drinks that are consumed during this time are all those things that your loved ones liked. In other places, families only have a tradition of visiting the grave, cleaning it, painting it and decorating it. There are families that in addition to going to the cemetery, they also prepare an altar in their homes.

For this year, on November 7 we will prepare a small ofrenda inside the Spanish Sanctuary to remember all the deceased loved ones of our members. We have asked for the collaboration of the families to prepare and decorate the altar with flowers and with those things that loved ones liked (this could include fruits, objects, foods, etc.). After our worship, we will have a small lunch as a community with the foods that were favorites of the deceased. We do this with the purpose that families can celebrate and remember their loved ones based on their traditions. Most importantly, we celebrate God’s promise of eternal life on this day.

Edwin Aparicio, Spanish Language Minister & Pastoral Intern

Brothers, we do not want you to be left without knowing what will happen to those who have already died, or to be sad, like those who have no hope. Just as we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also God will raise up with Jesus those who died in him. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)

President’s Report

When I was approached approximately four years ago with the opportunity to serve on the Congregational Council executive team, the last thing I could have imagined was that a global pandemic would consume much of my time and energy in that role. Yet we find ourselves more than eighteen months into a pandemic that has taken over daily conversations and life. What that has meant for Council is a constant reflection on our “new normal” and how we care for the health of the congregation.

The pandemic has forced us to accept a pace of change and a daily uncertainty that gives us new reasons to be uncomfortable, exhausted, stressed, and worried. Yet in the midst of this, we have continued to live, grow, learn, and love. This is beautifully evident when Council reflects on the past year in preparation for the upcoming Annual Congregational Meeting.

We see life continue in a new way as we celebrate baptisms, Stepping-Stones, and marriages, while also grieving for losses. It inspires us to continue to seek new ways to be a living community as a congregation.

We see growth when we reflect as leaders on how far we’ve come since our last leadership gathering nearly two years ago. It inspires us to hope for continued growth as we discuss a vision for the coming year.

We see learning on a monthly basis as we discuss how the pandemic is changing and what our response as a congregation should be to the most current information we have. It inspires us to have an open mind and to seek further opportunity to learn.

And we see love in the support that the people of Ascension show each other through ministry, personal relationships, and giving that has kept this community as a beacon of hope in the world. It inspires us all to love as we have been loved.

My hope and my ask of each of you is for each one of us to continue to walk, together, down this uncertain road. There is so much to see along the way and the journey is of unparalleled value. I look forward to seeing you as we worship together, meet together at the Annual Congregational Meeting, and as we continue being the family God has called us to be.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Poling, Council President

church council