For those of you who have been here for in-person worship over the past month or so, you may have experienced what, to me, has felt like the “normal” worship services we experienced pre-pandemic. Our choir and praise band are singing, handbells are playing, kids are coming up for Children’s Time – it has felt like worship the way God intended it to be! I’m also aware that not everyone is fully vaccinated and there are concerns over strains of the Covid virus still at play, but I have begun to wonder if it’s finally safe enough to start saying we are now living in a post pandemic world? And if it is, that begs for me a much larger question, now what?

While we continue to return to being the church again, it is not and will not be the same as it was 15 or so months ago. But take heart because this isn’t a bad thing as God is always calling the church and the people of God to experience reformation and transformation.

All the churches I know are struggling to understand their identity as they figure out what it means to be the Body of Christ in this new world. For the last year and a half, we’ve been in survival mode, directing all our energies toward making sure worship happens on Sunday, and maintaining basic functions of existing. No one had time or energy to truly give any thought about what happens after the pandemic. So, now that we are inching closer, as we taste what post pandemic life looks like, we are beginning to form a plan for a future that remains unknown. We don’t know what to expect, we only know that it won’t be exactly like it was before.

Normally, by this point in the summer we would have a good grasp on our fall plans and how we intend to lead this congregation forward. This summer, in so many ways we are still trying to wrap our heads around the fact that Sunday morning in-person worship is happening again. So, I wonder if we could just pause a moment to give our minds, bodies, and our spirits a chance to take a breath and catch up?

In truth, well, no we can’t. So, we are moving ahead and now more than ever we need your help. We have big plans for our continued return this fall which will hopefully include BLAST Sunday morning in-person classes, regular CRASH youth ministry activities, several in-person fellowship events, new educational opportunities to learn and grow, and more.

So, how can you help? In short, show up, in whatever capacity you are comfortable and able. Show up for worship, fellowship events, and BLAST and JOLT and CRASH. Show up for church workdays, choir and handbells, adult education and Bible studies. Show up for ministry team meetings, ministry events, and for no other reason than to just reconnect with us so we can truly celebrate being the Body of Christ together again. We aren’t the same if you’re not a part of it and we need everyone to do their part.

You can also step up. We have many ways you can volunteer that can be as simple as a one-time short-term commitment or it could even be a longer-term commitment like serving on a ministry team that meets more regularly. We understand that it’s hard to get into the swing of things when life has been so disrupted, but we are now faced with new opportunities for us to recommit our lives to God and our time and energy to serving. If you have an interest in serving or leading, then prayerfully consider saying, “YES.”

Finally, take time to look up and pray. There’s no way we make it back to who God has called us to be without leaning into God’s goodness and grace. We have come through the pandemic relatively healthy, but we still need God’s guidance to take our next steps. Your prayers for this church and its leaders’ matter, and together we can become who God has called us to be. Thank you for being partners in this amazing journey!

Peace be with you,
Pastor Tony

I was a stranger and you welcomed me. (Matthew 25:35)

Both the Old and New Testament are filled with verses reminding us of God’s command that we welcome the immigrant. These verses have been on my heart in the past few weeks. Two Tuesdays in a row, immigrant members of Ascension have had their final immigration hearings to determine their status. Being granted political asylum as an immigrant from El Salvador is an unlikely prospect under current immigration law. Yet despite the odds, both of our members received their green cards. My brother Carlos was one of these lucky individuals. He was verbally promised permission to receive his green card in January of 2018, but it took until this July for him to have his final hearing and approval.

I am also feeling extra aware of my own immigrant status as I prepare for my first Sundays of preaching in English as part of my internship. Part of the challenge is finding a Spanish-speaking pastor that can preach at our Spanish language service while I am preaching at the English service. There is not a big pool of Spanish-speaking substitute Lutheran pastors in Waukesha. I continue to practice my English pronunciation and reflect about how the message of the Gospel is shared in different contexts so that my English sermons are meaningful.

In the days and weeks to come, if you find yourself feeling like a stranger in a new situation, may you find yourself surrounded by those that welcome the stranger. May we all continue to work together to find ways we can all live out God’s expectation that we welcome strangers wherever we encounter them.

Edwin Aparicio
Spanish Language Minister

“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

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.

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!

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.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

We are still celebrating the season of Easter. It does indeed feel like Easter…maybe not with all the usual moments of celebration. Vocal choir anthems were still silent, but the handbells and organ and brass and Praise Band provided so much of what I remembered from years past – I could actually be led down the road to resurrection celebrations this year. As I said in my Easter Sunday sermon, I know Jesus is raised from the dead whether we are together in worship or not – Pastor Tony reminds me of this fact. ALL. THE. TIME. Yet, being together this year was a beautiful beginning to our full return to life as a community of faith.

I am reminded of the disciples gathering, rather hiding, in the locked room on Easter evening. Afraid for their very lives, unsure of what the emptiness of the tomb means for them, they are longing for Jesus’ full return. And Jesus does not disappoint. He shows up. Though the doors and windows are locked in fear, Jesus shows up. Full body – all the scars – resurrected and returned to the disciples just as Jesus said he would. The disciples had their doubts. Even as the women told their stories. Even as Peter and John saw the empty tomb and reported back to the disciples what they had seen or rather what they had not seen. Even as Mary Magdalene heard Jesus call her name. The disciples had their doubts. And so do we. Yes, we know the resurrection to be true. Story after story of Jesus appearing to the disciples are told in the book we claim as the “living word of God.” In a locked room, on the road to Emmaus, and on the seashore by a campfire – Jesus returns fully to show, rather than share, the good news of the resurrection. Yet the doubts still linger. That is why I am always grateful for Thomas on the Sunday after Easter. For one day in the year, the doubters get a hero to claim as their own. I changed my whole perspective on Thomas not long after I was ordained. He brought confidence to my own questions. I am grateful for his courage. Grateful still more for Jesus offering Thomas the healed scars of wounds to touch to prove Jesus’ full return. If the proof was good enough for Thomas – it is good enough for me.

The full return of life at Ascension, and life in general, is still a little ways off, I believe. Yes, we are moving forward – that is the direction I like most. Sitting still and maintaining “what is” – not so much. We continue to listen to the experts but also to each other in our community of faith. We continue to walk with hope and caution as we take the next step in our worship life with singing with masks indoors beginning the last Sunday of April. I appreciate that not everyone agrees with this next step as we are still living in the midst of the pandemic. However, I am also keenly aware of the need to provide concrete moments of engagement that ground us in our faith far beyond listening to the Word of God and meditating while music plays. It is not the perfect solution, but it does invite us to keep moving in a direction. I believe that is why the season of Easter lasts so long. An opportunity to help us move in a new direction in our faith with 50 days of celebration of the resurrection. Thanks be to God!

There are many new directions at Ascension that are happening even as the pandemic continues to remind us that we are not “there” just yet. Our 2020 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan was forgiven and council is discerning new directions for our visioning. Our Global Partners in El Salvador and Tanzania are inviting us to consider new ways of partnering as we seek their guidance in our support and companionship. Cross Lutheran in Milwaukee continues to minister in important ways with the members of their church and their community through the fulfilling of basic needs of food, medical and mental health care, and the tending of their spiritual hunger as well. Closer to home, we are beginning to see resurrection with our worship life and, if you are ready, we need people to step back into their roles in worship leadership – an email is coming but you don’t have to wait for the email to let Tamie in the office know you are ready to help out as an usher, communion assistant, or acolyte. Sorry we are still only using acolytes in 6-8^th grade. If you are over 14, let me help you find another way to bring light to our worship.  Also, small groups are back in meeting mode – some offering a combination of virtual and in-person meetings. Pastor Tony had 23 at his first Spiritual Practices study that began on April 12^th. Our JOLT students have been meeting and will meet one more time before the end of May. First Communion candidates gathered at the end of April. And a Spring Property Day Clean-up is on the calendar for Saturday, May 22^nd. We will to offer our graduating seniors their “toweling” on June 6 at the outdoor service.

Our Spanish language worship has been in full in-person worship mode along side our English-speaking worship services. I am grateful to Edwin who has continued to lead this ministry as he also prepares for his endorsement interview completion on May 6^th, which is the next step in his seminary career as he prepares for ordination. Your prayers are appreciated. Also on May 1^st – Edwin officially begins his 18 months of internship here at Ascension alongside Pastor Tony and myself. We are excited to welcome Edwin into more learning and practicing and participating in the life of the congregation. He will show up along side Pastor Tony and/or me at the hospital, at funerals, at weddings, and in the day-to-day ministry of Ascension. He will also begin preaching at the English services as his schedule allows. So much excitement in these next months at Ascension.

My hope is that the summer will offer more opportunities for resurrection, reconnection, restoration, and return. We are hopefully planning our Kick-Off Sunday on Sept. 12 with activities for everyone – a pig roast, and an experience of activities for kids with inflatables and a return to BLAST ministries. We have much to celebrate as we look to the days ahead and a full return of life by the grace of God, to the glory of God. All we need is a little bit of coffee, a lot of Jesus, and you.

Until I get to see your face – which can be next Sunday, if you are ready. Peace be with you.

Pastor Chris

(Reprinted from the May 2021 newsletter)