The Mountain Top

I stood on the top of a mountain in the middle of June.

In the midst of 22 junior high students and four adults, I found myself wrapped in a waist harness and attached to a rope. I walked to the base of the mountain and looked for the first crevices for hands and feet to secure the beginning of my ascent. A couple of attempts met with frustration. And then a ledge for my left foot and a crevice for my right hand and I was on my way up the rock face. Sweat ran into my eyes and every slip of a hand or a foot caused a little skin to stay with the mountain. About half way up the mountain I reached a plateau where I could turn around and sit and rest. Looking out through the thick canopy of trees, I caught glimpses of the river below and the rock formations across the valley. Yet through the canopy of trees, I could not see a clear picture – only momentary glimpses when the wind blew the trees one way or another.

I turned back to the rock face and began again. I learned that the farther up the rock face you climb, the more difficult it is to find crevices for your hands and feet. At the bottom of the mountain there are countless smooth ledges where others have traveled to give you direction. Yet, the higher you climb, the fewer people there are who have gone before you. I was no longer able to depend on the smoothness of edges to tell me where to hold next. So on a wing and a prayer, I climbed upward. At the very top, I found solid footing and stood on the very top of the mountain. When I turned around I could see the entire valley – the river, the cliffs across the valley, and entire canopy of trees – no longer an obstruction but now a carpet to frame the view. If I had decided to stop half way up the mountain I would have never seen the big picture. I am glad for the difficulty of the climb – the view at the top was worth the challenge.

I am always hopeful that I am able to share the big picture with members of the church. Yes, we get caught up in the details every now and again but I am hopeful that much of the time we are able to focus on the bigger picture of who and what makes us church. I am hopeful that we are always focused on God. In our worship, in our study, in our reflection, and in our service that we are always putting God first and always giving God the glory. I am hopeful that we remember that the mission of Ascension – to share the love of God through our Worship; to Grow in our relationship with God; to Walk alongside each other; and to Serve both the community inside our walls and outside our walls is a part of the larger mission that God offers to us. Our ministry, our obedience, our following in the footsteps of our Savior is about joining in God’s mission for the world, specifically: to bring others to the saving knowledge of God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

There are times when we get caught up in the little details. Sometimes we need to get caught. Are we doing what we can in and through our worship to welcome others? Are we tending the needs of our building so that this house of worship can support the needs of future generations? Are we looking outside our walls to the needs of those around us? In all things, are we always pointing to Jesus as our Savior? Now, there is the big picture item.

As you enter into summer rhythms, I invite you to consider the details when you need to but also to keep your eyes on the big picture. Take the step, climb the mountain, choose to step back and reflect when you find a moment. Enjoy the gifts of God that invite us into precious moments with those we love and tender moments of self-care. Sometimes the big picture moments can be found in the smallest of details.

See you in church.
Pastor Chris

(Reprinted from the July 2019 newsletter)

Our Story: Part Two

In the last segment of our story we learned a little about the city Ascension has called home for the last 70 years. Now, we should figure out how our church home came to be in this beautiful city of Waukesha. If you remember, our first church (we have had three in the last 70 years) was at what is now 803 Madison Street on the corner of Fairview. Our home there, sadly to say, is no longer standing but instead a small park graces the area. What once stood there, however, was a beautiful “chapel”-style church not much bigger than a modern-day three-car garage.
This small church was built from scratch, pretty much, as a do-it-yourself project by our first Pastor, Rev. Lee Egloff. He personally built much of the concrete block building himself, with a $20,000 loan from the Mission Fund of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Most of the construction occurred during the fall of 1948 through the summer of 1949. Although built of concreate block, one of the first construction projects to use this method in Waukesha, the inside has been described as being warm and friendly with a hard wood floor and oak trim throughout. Its foot print measured 24’ by 40’.

We have to assume Pastor Egloff came to Waukesha with a strong vision of the future and with the will of God at hand, as he began constructing his church before he even had a congregation to serve or a name for our future home. Sources such as the Waukesha Freeman and our own previous historical compilations pick the date of the first service at this new church as occurring between April 1949 and November of that same year. Further research is needed to confirm. We do know for sure that by November of 1949 Ascension Lutheran was conceived with a membership of 24. In April of 1950 our founders applied for membership to the Missouri Synod English District. We also purchased property on the corner of Moreland Boulevard and Hawthorne Drive, as already the vision was that this small chapel would not be able to comfortably-support a rapidly-expanding congregation. We offered two services on Sunday mornings, 8 and 11 a.m. The 8 a.m. service was specifically focused for the children of the congregation while the 11 a.m. was directed more for adults. Our first baptism occurred shortly following the first service, in the new church, for baby Marsha Ullsperger (now Marsha James).

In a ten-year span to 1959, this 24 member congregation had grown to 215 with 115 children in Sunday School. Somewhere in these 10 years, church services changed to almost what we have today, 8:15 and 10:45 a.m., with Sunday School between. In that same year, 33 newborns where also added to the swelling numbers of the church. With a strong plan for the future and a growing congregation, Pastor Egloff moved on to accept the challenges of a new congregation by accepting a call to St. Johns Lutheran Church in Oxford, Wisconsin in July of 1962. Theodore Heusar took over the reigns of pastor of Ascension. However, soon after arriving, he became ill and died of cancer in December 1964. During this careworn time, we had several interim pastors with Walter Gauger being the longest serving until the fall of 1965.

Even with the struggles of a suffering pastor and the uncertainty of who would fill the pastoral shoes, our forbearers kept the vision of a strong congregation in sight. In August of 1964, 7.5 acres of land was purchased on Dopp St. with the thought that this land could house not only a church but a fellowship hall along with plenty of parking and the ability to expand further when that time came. The land previously purchased on Moreland was deemed not suitable to fulfill these potential plans and was sold to support the new purchase.

In August 1965 Pastor Henry C. Ebeling accepted the call to Ascension. With no room to expand nor even the ability to park a car nearby for Sunday morning service, ground was broken at the new site on Dopp St., on July 31, 1966. Construction crews began building the new church and fellowship hall in August of that same year. What took $20,000 to build in 1949, took $125,000 to build in 1966, albeit on a much larger scale to accommodate a much larger congregation and expanding community.

As you can see, we have been a church community in fluid motion since our beginnings. We have never been a congregation to just sit on our heels and accept what we are in that place and time. We have always thought of the future, not only of our current members but on future members and the community we occupy, as well. With God as a guide we move forward, remembering our past but not living in our past.

Our next journey in looking back will take us from the ground breaking of our second church to the wonders of expansion into the spaces we now occupy.

The answers to last month’s quiz — 1.Who was the President of the United States back in 1949? (Harry S. Turman) 2. How many Presidents have there been since Ascension came to be? (13) 3. Who was our State Governor? (Oscar Rennebohm) 4. How many church buildings has Ascension been in from 1949 to today? (3) Bonus question for those looking for an A+, how many Pastors have we had in the last 70 years? (7)

Remember this is not a history of a building or things and objects, it is the history of people, of you, of us. If any of you have memories of our time as a congregation in our first church and the ground breaking of our second church we would love to hear from you. You can send an email, leave a written note at the church office or find myself, Roger Norberg or Linda Hansen and tell us. We would love to compile your memories of Ascension and be able to share with all.

Scott Tenwinkel
Council board member, Ascension’s 70th anniversary team

Reprinted from the June 2019 newsletter.

Christ Is Risen

Christ Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Still the words of resurrection hope and promise ring in our ears as we make our way towards the last days of the season of Easter and are about to be overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit’s presence in the coming season of Pentecost. If you are having trouble remembering the story, the disciples are together in once place – Jesus has ascended into heaven – and the disciples are at a little bit of a loss even as they have received their direction from Jesus to, “go into all the world and baptize in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” And as the disciples are gathered, the winds of the Spirit begin to blow and tongues of flame rest over each of the disciples and scripture says, “all were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues.” There is so much more to the story, but what is important to me is the end of that verse where Luke talks about speaking in other tongues.

We so often hear those words and immediately begin to imagine other languages. I am led to believe that “other tongues” also references different expressions of who we are as the People of God together. As I write these words, I am reveling in the preaching and worship of colleagues who gather each year for the Festival of Homiletics. An Olympics of preaching if you will – preaching not for title or crown – but for the encouragement and conviction and upbuilding of fellow preachers in the Church. I use Church with a Capital “C” because there are Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Salvation Army, Catholic, Episcopalians, African Methodist Episcopalian, and Baptist preachers all together in once place. And the “other tongues” I am experiencing are preaching and proclaiming God’s Word in some incredible ways.

All that being said, I am wholly aware of this life and calling as pastor that always invites me to moments of reflection on who I am as pastor and who we are as the community of Ascension. I am overwhelmed with what the Holy Spirit has been doing around Ascension. The Mission Outreach dinner and fundraiser was really a tremendous outpouring of both God’s love and the Spirit’s presence. Yes – we raised a lot of money to tend travel costs for delegates from Tanzania and assist with travel costs for delegates heading to El Salvador; BUT we also saw the gifts of fellowship, education, partnership, and multi-generational community. It truly was a sight to behold. More than 140 members of Ascension, family, and friends gathered to help us walk the journey of accompaniment together.

In the midst of such joy, I am also excited and a little bit overwhelmed by the growth and ministry happening with our Spanish Language Worshipping community. Edwin Aparicio, Ascension’s Spanish Language Minister, has been providing for and tending a fledging community of native Spanish speakers that is now firmly standing alongside our English speaking worshipping community. I am grateful for the Holy Spirit’s work. Five years ago, if you had asked me if Ascension would be sharing in the development of a Spanish language worshipping community within our own walls I would have laughed and said, “probably not!” Except – God knew better. God knows better. And our ideas and hopes and dreams are but one side of the coin when we step into sharing God’s mission and ministry in the world.

In less than a year, our Spanish language worship has grown from 12 to 27 in average worship attendance. A Spanish language Bible study is meeting weekly with 7-12 in attendance. Edwin is preparing to begin first communion classes. It is a wonderful expression of the “other tongues” that Pentecost introduces not simply in language but in ministry and action and faithful following of our God.

I am a firm believer that a church expecting to not just survive but actually succeed in sharing the story of God’s love and the saving power of Jesus needs to be open to what God is doing in the world. A church, like Ascension, knows better than most that to give glory to God means to focus on worship – giving our very best to God. We are committed to tending people – young and old and everyone. We are confident and unapologetic in our telling the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We are excited to be about God’s work in our church, our neighborhoods, our city, and our world. We know, and I am happy to remind you, that each of us carries a tongue of fire above our heads. We reflect God’s light into the world. We are “other tongues” telling the story of death and resurrection through our words, our actions, and our willingness to learn, reflect, and engage with the people we love – the enemies we need to love – and all those we have yet to meet. Thank you for being an “other” tongue of fire. Thank you for being another tongue of fire, added to other tongues of fire at Ascension and around the world that speak and live out words of hope to our world.

Blessed Pentecost to you! You are called to follow in this season of fire and freedom – where God unleashes the Holy Spirit’s power on you and all the world to the great glory of God.

See you in church.
Pastor Chris

Reprinted from the June 2019 newsletter.

The Blessings of a Second Sanctuary

Ascension is not alone in starting a worship service in a second language, but we have a unique approach.

Most churches have their Spanish service separate from when the English-speaking community is in the building. As we began to plan for this new ministry, our Latino members didn’t want their children to be kept separated from the rest of the activities on Sunday morning and the adults still wanted to be able to see their friends during the fellowship time between services. The most logical way to achieve this was with simultaneous worship. This has allowed us to continue to create a more diverse congregation at Ascension instead of two separate congregations that share a building. The children of the new members can’t wait to join the children’s music ministries and BLAST in the fall. Because of sharing time together Sunday mornings, Latino members of all ages have felt comfortable participating in other activities of the church.

By reverting the East Hall into a part-time sanctuary, this has allowed our Latino members to create a worship space that makes them feel completely at home. They spend nights and weekends working on projects as their gifts to the church to beautify the space. Because of this sacred space, Latinos that are in the building for other events have begun to feel a part of this ministry as well. Anell, the church’s cleaning person, has told Edwin that she has been moved by the Spanish Sanctuary and now comes early to work in order to have time to pray before she “punches in.” She has such love for this new ministry that she spent $55 of her earnings on a basket to support Spanish-language ministry at Ascension that we auctioned off at the mission outreach dinner. She is saving money for another raffle basket.

Feel free on a Sunday morning to stop into the Spanish Sanctuary to experience worship in another language or simply to say “Buenos Dias!” before or after service.

Reprinted from the June 2019 newsletter.

Our Story, Part I

First Ascension, Madison and Fairview

History is one of those subjects either people love or hate. If you’re one that hates history you may want to skim these few paragraphs. But if you have a little interest in the story of Ascension you may want to stick around for a few more words. Trust me there will not be a test at the end of this history lesson, just a surprise quiz.

Ascension will be 70 years old this coming September. Our church was born on the eleventh of that month on the western outskirts of the City of Waukesha. Not where the church stands now but on Madison Street and Fairview Avenue, a few blocks away. We were not large, but we filled a great need at that time. World War II had ended only a scant four years prior to our birth. Service men and women were being wed and beginning to raise families at one of the highest rates the United States has ever seen. And those men and women needed God. Most people do after seeing and feeling war like everyone did. So God filled the need and brought together a small group that gave birth to Ascension Lutheran Church.

Now Waukesha was a lot different back in 1949 than it is today. Just west of Moreland Road stood nothing but open fields and dairy farms as far as Genesee Depot. Dopp subdivision, the homes that surround our wonderful church right now, had just been commissioned but not a home had been raised yet, and you could still catch the trolley in downtown, or take the train into Milwaukee.

Waukesha was just over 21,000 people, mostly to the east of the Fox River or on the cliff side to the west. You had your choice of three movie theaters in town: The Pix, The Park and The Avon, and you still had to go to the butcher for meat, the bakery for your bread, milk was delivered, and your other necessities came from Schultz Brothers, Woolworth or the Metropolitan. You were well off financially if you made over $4,000 a year and a new 5-room ranch home would have cost you $8,900.

If you would have picked up the Sunday Milwaukee Sentinel (The Freeman didn’t publish on Sundays in 1949) on the day Ascension came to be, the three biggest headlines you would have payed attention too in the 201 page paper would have been, “The Future of Heating Will Be Natural Gas,” “The Brewers Have Beat the Saints to Clinch Third Place” (that’s the St. Paul, Minnesota Saints), and “Green Bay to Play an Exhibition Game … Against Their Rivals the New York Bull Dogs, in Rock Island Illinois.”

Yes, life would have been a little different back in 1949 but now that we have set the stage for where we came to be, next month we will explore how our church was formed and by whom and those first years until we broke ground for our second church here on Dopp St.

Quiz Time (and no cheating)! Who was the president of the United States back in 1949? How many presidents have there been since Ascension came to be? Who was our state governor? And last, how many church buildings has Ascension been in from 1949 to today? Bonus Question for those looking for an A+: How many Pastors have we had in the last 70 years? You will get the answers next month.

Scott Tenwinkel
Council board member, Ascension’s 70th anniversary team

Reprinted from the May 2019 newsletter.

Lutheran Campus Ministry Update

Lutheran Campus Ministry at the border.

In January, Shirley Wehmeier spent an evening at the Corner House, the home of Lutheran Campus Ministry at UWM sharing our experiences working with refugees and new immigrants.

In return, several students and Pastor Rachel participated in a tutoring session at Ascension so they could experience working alongside our tutors with our students from varied backgrounds.

This was all part of their preparation to travel to the border for their spring break to truly experience what was happening there. In April, Ascension members participated in a special event where Pastor Rachel and the students shared their experience through stories and songs. It was an inspirational evening and hearing their honesty and passion about what they saw and heard at the border was awe-inspiring to all who were there. These young people are strong in faith and guided by God’s love and are ready to go into the world and lead. We were truly blessed to be a part of this special evening and to hear firsthand what they had seen and heard.

The Symbolism of the Latino Alfombras

During Holy Week, the Latino Ministry led the effort to bring a Central American Holy Week tradition Ascension and the Spanish sanctuary. In Central America, these carpets would created directly on the pavement of the main streets in town, but we used plywood as a base to protect the actual carpet. The sawdust was donated by Bliffert and was colored ahead of time using fabric dye purchased with a grant from Thrivent.

Here is some of the symbolism behind these carpets.

Alfombras are a bookend to Palm Sunday. On Palm Sunday, Jesus enter Jerusalem on at path of cloaks and palms; the alfombras beautify his walk to the cross.

As Jesus walked to the cross on Good Friday, the procession walks on the alfombras, destroying the artwork on their way to the altar. As Jesus dies, the world becomes an uglier place for three days, so the beauty of the alfombras comes to an end. It is also symbolic of the tearing of the curtain in the temple.

Alfombras are traditionally made primarily with sawdust and enhanced with salt and sand. Salt is mentioned over forty times in the Bible. Sand represents both the earth and Jesus’ connection to the sea and fisherman. Sawdust is used because Jesus was the son of a carpenter. It also reminds us of the passage from Genesis that we are from dust and we will return to dust.

Gracias to everyone that joined the Latino ministries for our Holy Week activities.

Memorial Bricks

Memorial Bricks

Please consider ordering a brick memorial paver for the remembrance of lost loved ones, positive thoughts or anything that may bring healing and hope to you or friends/ family.
Download the order form or contact the church office for a copy. The cost is $50/brick and you will be notified once the brick(s) are installed for viewing.

The Faith Journey of Lent

We are knee deep in the season of Lent. We find ourselves caught half way between the longing for earlier days of peace and light in Epiphany on one side and on the other the glory of Easter morning. Yet here in the middle of our journey, we are captured by moments of struggle – wanting to be obedient to our Savior’s call to follow but finding it difficult to see his footsteps in the shadows of Lent.

We spend a good amount of time looking to the end of the journey of Lent. Just get us to Easter morning. In the dawn of the resurrection of Jesus, let us hear the cries of Alleluia! God’s promise is that we will, indeed, find ourselves outside an empty tomb come Easter morning. Yet, I am convinced that the joy of Easter is often difficult for us to grasp in the midst of our journeys in this life. It is the reason I need the reminder that I do not walk alone in these days of Lent. Earlier this week, I was reminded of the words of the song that express my hope for these long and some times desperate days.

I want Jesus to walk with me; I want Jesus to walk with me;
all along my pilgrim journey, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.

In my trials, Lord, walk with me; in my trials, Lord, walk with me;
when my heart is almost breaking, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.

When I’m in trouble, Lord, walk with me; when I’m in trouble, Lord, walk with me;
when my head is bowed in sorrow, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.

Our journey of faith is full of twists and turns, mountains and valleys, and often surprises that can be both unexpected moments of joy and shattering times of sadness. God allows all of it in this life. We live. We love. We learn. We walk this journey of faith without being able to see the outcome. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” I need that reminder in my life. I find myself needing to be reminded that God is the one leading this journey. God leads – I follow. The great challenge is in letting go of my own needs and wants long enough to let God lead me where God invites me to go. This is my struggle and hope in this faith journey we call Lent. When I am desperate for Jesus to walk with me, I forget that God has promised to always be near.

I will keep singing the song. The words help me to remember and refocus my days on the promise of God for my life. All along my journey; in my trials; when my head is bowed in sorrow…Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me. And that will be enough.

All the way through the rest of Lent – into the holy days of Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday and Good Friday – all the way to the cross. And then when I am at my end – when we have buried Jesus in the tomb – I will keep singing the song. I will sing in sadness and shadow until Jesus rises from the dead and gives me a new song to sing. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

See you in church,
Pastor Chris
(Reprinted from the April 2019 newsletter)

April Council Update

I wanted to use the April newsletter column to give everyone an update on council activities and to share the wonderful things that are happening at Ascension.

Our council in February decided that additional information was needed before making a decision on whether to sell one or more of our housing properties. Jeremy Poling is leading a housing review workgroup and I anticipate that the council will address this issue within the next few months.

While we are being guided by our current strategic plan, we have added objectives for this year of promoting congregational health and wellness, increasing member engagement experiences, and strengthening Council leadership. The council at our March meeting decided to begin strengthening council leadership by reading a book together over the next year and by having a retreat. We will be reading Pursuing God’s Will Together by Ruth Haley Barton and our spring retreat on May 11 will have the goals of team building, reflecting on progress toward our 2025 vision, participate in training on the ELCA “Stewardship for All Seasons” program, and having a ‘drill’ to test our Ascension disaster plan.

Cynthia Carlson continues to lead our building team which is overseeing our current construction. Our church looks better every week as work continues on Phase Two. Thank you all for your generosity toward our Raise the Roof project.

Scott Tenwinkel is leading our Ascension 70th Anniversary team which includes council members Linda Hansen, Bryn Kirk, and Roger Nordberg. They will need assistance so if you are curious about whether to serve on this group, please contact Scott.

Lastly, Chris Holloway is leading a workgroup looking at technology issues including phone/video conferencing. This will allow the council, wing workgroups, and others to attend meetings without having to be at Ascension, which is important to allow increased meeting participation, as well as when we have adverse weather events or in case of a disaster.

This is an exciting time at Ascension and I hope that you feel encouraged and blessed by all that God has given us. I look forward to what we can do together this year.

May this season of Lent bring a deeper and more meaningful faith for you and your loved ones.

Jay O’Grady
Council President
(Reprinted from the April 2019 newsletter)