From El Salvador to Seminary

As I am in the process of completing the paperwork to begin seminary in the fall, I thought I would share the story of my path so far. I have always felt that God had a purpose for my life. My childhood was surrounded by the violence of the Salvadoran Civil War. There were many times I could have died, but God watched over me and kept me safe. I always lived my life knowing God must have a purpose for me.

I had many leadership roles with the church in El Salvador. Pastor Julio, my pastor, asked me to become a diaconal pastor. It took me a year to say yes. After that, I was named a diaconal pastor by Bishop Gomez. My dream was to use my business degree to be an advisor to the church.

I worked with the church in El Salvador until March 2013 when I moved to the US to be with my wife. Moving to a new country can be difficult, but my arrival was exciting because our daughter was born within an hour of my plane landing in Milwaukee. I went to the hospital directly from the airport and she was born five minutes after I arrived. It was an amazing way to start my new life in a new country.

I joined Ascension where I was the only Spanish speaker. I studied English and worked as a landscaper, exploring different possibilities for a new career. During this time, family and friends continued to move to Waukesha and attend church at Ascension. Now I was not the only Latino. There were twelve Latinos at Ascension, attending the English service, even though they could not understand what was being said. PC would use Google translate to print his sermon into Spanish to help the people. I was embarrassed. Ascension had long had a dream of starting a Spanish worship service, and now seemed like a good time.

Since beginning Spanish ministry in September, it has continued to grow. Our congregation has grown and we’ve had special events like Las Posadas, the alfombras for Holy Week, and summer cook outs that have strengthened our cultural traditions and connected both communities. It became clear that the time had come for me to accept God’s plan for me to attend seminary. I am grateful for all of the support I have received from Pastor Chris, Tony, and all of the members of Ascension.

Edwin Aparicio
Spanish-Language Minister

(Reprinted from the August 2019 newsletter)

Our Story, Part 3: 1966-1982

Back to our history lesson. But first a little review. Our first church, no bigger than a modern three car garage held its first service in 1949. By 1955 we had greatly overwhelmed our little church structure and our ever-expanding congregation went looking for larger space. We first purchased property on Moreland and Hawthorn but within a few years realized this did not offer enough space for or future needs, and then purchased 7.5 acres in the Dopp subdivision where our church currently stands. At this same time (1964-1965) Pastor Henry Ebling accepted a call to Ascension after we had suffered the death of our second Pastor, Theodore Heuser, from cancer in 1962.

On July 31, 1966, ground was broken for our new church on these seven and a half acres. This was to be “the church” — bigger, better with office space, a modern design (modern for 1966, remember) with plenty of room to grow and expand. And we did and have ever since. On April 2, 1967, our new church was dedicated. Our church is what most of us now know as East Hall or where the Spanish Ministry Service is held on Sundays. For the time, it was a grand area with tall ceilings and golden glass windows running down each side. It had a raised alter area, as well, running the length of the south side and a grand entrance back where the coat closets are currently located. This was no longer that three car garage but a whole aircraft hangar and then some.

Our old church, built by hand by our first Pastor Lee Egloff, was sadly (looking at it through current eyes), sold to a nearby resident who remodeled it into a three-room boarding house. At a later time, it was remodeled again into a rental apartment but eventually left to deteriorate. The city eventually condemned the structure and razed the building in 1985. Nothing has stood in its place since.

By 1971, Pastor Ebling accepted a call to a Kenosha church and a year later Pastor Ron Daley accepted our call. With our growth continuing, Pastor Daley experimented with adding services and changing service times. As everyone should realize, trying to find the right proportion of praising our Lord in service and having a Sunday day off, is hard work. He tried a 6:30 Saturday evening service which didn’t last long. He tried a 6:45 am Sunday service that again didn’t last long and even threw in a 11:30 Sunday morning service in September 1973.

As one of our congregation told me, having attended a couple of these services, she could not remember any men being there. “And you were darn surprised when you did see one.” Remembering as a child with a sports-minded father, I will have to assume sports, TV and the male characteristic of watching sports on TV, especially in September, probably doomed this service quickly.

By February of 1976, Pastor Daley had decided to move on from Ascension, but by June that same year Pastor Frank Janzow accepted his call to us. At this time our congregation had 937 baptized members along with 590 communicant members. A wee bit more than those original 24 members in 1949. Pastor Frank’s first years were busy. In 1978, after much thoughtful prayer and deep discernment the Ascension congregation voted to drop membership from the Missouri Synod and reside membership with the ALCA (Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches) — English District. Two years later we also, after much prayer and deep thought, decided to add what was then called the education wing to our church. This wing is what currently constitutes that long hallway from the main church office down to the Prayer Room.

As Ascension’s life, and the life of our congregation, continued to churn, meld, and take ever-changing shapes, Ascension decided an assistant pastor was needed to help fill the gaps Pastor Frank could not fill. Remember one person is still just one person even if Pastor is part of their first name. In July 1982, Pastor James Bickel accepted his call to Ascension as Assistant Pastor.

And here let us reflect a moment. We, Ascension, have come from the planting of God’s will into an Army Colonel (Pastor Egloff was a Colonel during the Second World War) in the jungles of Panama, to this man coming with his family following the war, to Waukesha, a place he was not completely familiar with. To him building a church, by hand, before there was even a congregation. To having our first 24 members expand our church beyond the walls of our first structure in the first decade of our existence. To building a new church four times the size of our first and filling this with near a thousand baptized members and needing to add even more space … to having two pastors to serve our congregational needs. All this in the first 40 years. And we still have 30 more years to relate to you in our next article in September.

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

(Reprinted from the August 2019 newsletter.)

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 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.

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.

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)

Epiphany — Living in the Light

In the early days of my ministry when the season of Epiphany arrived on the heels of Christmas – I was often at a loss for what to say to people of faith who had just recently knelt at the manger to witness the miracle of God coming to us.

If Advent is waiting for the light and Christmas is celebrating the coming of the light – Epiphany is surely the celebration of living in the light of Christ. Advent is my favorite time of year – the four weeks of anticipating and waiting and watching remind me that, in many parts of my life, I often stumble in the darkness or dim light of what I think I can see. Instead of my stumbling, I believe it would be better to simply wait and rest in the promise God makes to us that the Savior of the world will come. And yet, because I often know better than God (or so I think) I will rush in when I should hide out!

If Advent invites us to wait, Christmas invites us to revel. If one revels – they take pleasure, enjoy the party. Christmas is truly God’s party at the manger. Not exactly the way we think we should party here in this life. No fancy drink or dress – no luxury of hospitality. Instead, we revel in the joy of God’s promise to come to us coming true. Jesus is here. A light to chase away the darkness; a light to one-day drive out the darkness forever. If we stumbled in Advent – Christmas calls us to rest in complete joy in celebration of the pure gift of God’s love given to us.

Epiphany then is our invitation to journey in the light of our God. It is so much easier to walk in the light. I am not sure how many of us take advantage of such a gift.

The Scripture for the day of Epiphany is from Matthew 2. It is the story of the visit of Magi (you might know them as the wise men) and the middle verses of the Scripture are by far the best: On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.”

The Magi left for their home by another road. Once you have found the light of Christ, it is hard to travel the old ways. Or at least it should be. Who wants to walk the same roads of suffering and loneliness and regret they have known before they meet Jesus? Certainly, not me.

It is true for each of us, that in the light of God’s love we are invited to travel home by another road. And yet we all know people, and sometimes those people are us, that travel the same roads over and over again expecting different results each time. I was reminded that if you want different results for your life than we have to choose different approaches. In my life, that means traveling home by another road. Another road I may not have seen until I chose to open my eyes to the light of Christ and let that light lead me in a new direction – a new road – a new hope in my life.

Dear friends – the choice is yours. The light of Christ shines on the road before you. The question to ask is whether you wish to open your eyes to the new road before you, gifted to you by God, or simply choose to stumble forward hoping for something to change. When in reality, God has already changed everything with the gift of a baby, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Blessings in these days of Epiphany full of God’s light and hope in your life.

Pastor Chris

Reprinted from the Jan 2019 newsletter

Pr. Chris’ Advent Message

I am grateful for the following poem from writer Ann Weems, This Year Will Be Different. She reminds me that the journey of December is far more about my own heart preparing to receive Jesus than all the hearts I want to reach in the giving of gifts and greetings in cards and smiles in pictures. Oh believe me, I love all the trappings of Christmas – right down to the Christmas tree cut-out cookie that somehow never looks like a Christmas tree. Yet, the season of Advent is always brings this longing inside of me to tend the lonely places in my life with the new life of our Savior. I wonder if you have lonely places too that hunger for the new life offered by our Savior Jesus.

Who among us does not have dreams that this year will be different?
Who among us does not intend to go peacefully, leisurely, carefully toward Bethlehem?
For who among us likes to cope with the commercialism of Christmas which lures us to tinsel not only the tree but also our hearts?
Who among us intends to get caught up in tearing around and wearing down?
Who among us does not long for:
Gifts that give love?
Shopping in serenity?
Cards and presents sent off early?
Evenings by the fireside with those we love?
The aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg mingling with pine?
The children cheerfully talking about giving instead of getting?

Who among us does not yearn for time for our hearts to ponder the Word of God: moments of kneeling and bursts of song and the peace of quiet calm for our spirit’s journey?
This year we intend to follow the star instead of the crowd?
But, of course, we always do intend the best. (And sometimes-best intentions tend to get the best of us!)
This year, when we find ourselves off the path again (and we invariably will!)
Let’s not add yet another stress to our Advent days, that of ‘trying to do Christmas correctly!’
Instead, let’s approach the birth of our Lord with joyful abandon!

And this year …
Let’s do what Mary did and rejoice in God.
Let’s do what Joseph did and listen to our dreams.
Let’s do what the Magi did and go to worship.
Let’s do what the shepherds did and praise and glorify God for all we’ve seen and heard.
As for the Advent frantic pace, we don’t have time for that. We’ll be too busy singing.
This year will be different!

Perhaps this year, we will all try to be different: rejoice in God; to listen to our dreams; to go to worship; to praise and glorify God for all we’ve seen and heard; and to gather at the manger to join with the angels’ song: “O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!”

Dear friends – Blessings on your Advent and Merry Christmas (just a little early)! Peace and joy be yours in these dark winter days as we long for the light of a Christmas star once again.

Pastor Chris

Karibu Tena

“Karibu tena” translates from Swahili to English as “welcome again.” It is the invitation and the hope of our brothers and sisters in Tanzania who are already excited for our next visit either here in Waukesha or in Arusha, Tanzania. There is so much to share with you. If you missed Sunday, Aug. 26, during worship or the potluck gathering that evening, please consider joining our delegates on Sunday, Sept. 23, between services for more stories and inspiration from our visit.

As we are walking into our fall programming here at Ascension, I will only take the time to share one story with you from our time in Tanzania. I have a new understanding for the work of the Holy Spirit in our midst. I am well aware of God’s timing and tending in my life. Often times, I am overwhelmed by what God is doing to shape my life and my walk in different ways.

In Tanzania, early in our trip, Bishop Elias Kitoi offered these words. He said, “In America you have all the clocks, and In Tanzania we have all the time.” A reminder that everything that happens will happen in God’s timing. Our rush to keep a schedule was limited by the smoothness of the road before us and the length of the welcome and hospitality of the place where our visiting was coming to an end. I learned to slow down and to let the rhythm of Africa and the leading of our brothers and sisters set the tone for our sense of direction and timing.

The second interaction with the Bishop of the Meru Diocese came with this story. We planted trees at every church we visited. Our first Sunday visit brought us to Maroroni Parish where the Bishop joined us for a building fundraiser during a 4½ hour service. At the end of the service, the Bishop and I planted a tree together. I got dirty, somehow he did not. When we went to take the picture together to commemorate the planting, I apologized for my dirty hands trying not to get dirt on his hands or alb. He looked at me as he grabbed my hand and said, “Pastor Chris, it is okay. In Africa, God reminds us that we all come from the dirt.” Such a simple reflection overflowing with both hospitality and relationship. I was humbled to go as a delegate to Tanzania. I was privileged to meet people of faith who now call us family across an ocean and a continent. Thanks be to God!

And now, back to the clock! Or at least back to the school year that calls us to new fall programming here at Ascension. I want to share with you two invitations for you to consider as September unfolds.

First, we are preparing for a fall small group emphasis around Max Lucado’s new book, “Anxious for Nothing.” Lucado writes these words, “Does the road you’re traveling loom large with mountains to cross, obstacles to avoid, and hairpin curves to navigate? Could you use some calm? If so, I have a scripture for you:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7.

This new small group study begins the week of Sept. 16. I will be leading one small group at church on Monday nights beginning on Sept. 17. Join me or ask at the small group table beginning on Sunday, Sept. 9, about other possible groups to join.

The second invitation has been brewing in my heart for a long time. In the Lutheran Christian world, we only baptize once. As the Apostle Paul says in the book of Ephesians, “4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” In our Lutheran theology, when someone is hungry for a reformation or renewal of their faith, we invite individuals to affirm their faith by entering into a time of study and reflection and spiritual discernment with the eventual response becoming a crafted and shared statement of faith affirming who they are as a disciple of Jesus.

I am excited to invite you to consider an adult confirmation experience – an affirmation of your faith with twice monthly gatherings and book study conversations; reflections on our Lutheran Christian theology, and a crafting of a public profession of faith to be shared along with the laying on of hands. Regardless of your age or your place on this journey of faith – perhaps this is an opportunity for you to consider in the days ahead. We will meet for the first time together on Monday night, Sept. 10, 7 p.m. to provide an introduction. If you can’t make that gathering but want to join us, just drop me an email and I will add you to the list.

So much is ahead of us…Opportunities to GROW like BLAST, JOLT, CRASH and Adult Education on Sunday mornings between services; Opportunities to SERVE like literacy tutoring, the NAMI walk and the Outreach for Hope bike ride; opportunities to WALK like GriefShare, small groups, Supermoms, Knit Wits; opportunities to WORSHIP like communion assistants, readers, choirs, handbells, Altar Guild, ushers, worship leaders, and well – WORSHIP. Come, join us, welcome to the ministries of God’s church – your church – Ascension Lutheran Church!

Peace be with you!

Pastor Chris

From the September 2018 Newsletter