The Bereavement Coordinator at Luther Manor Hospice started a “We Honor Veterans” program in 2020. They found our Ascension Lutheran Knit Wits on the internet, and noticed that we volunteer our time to knit and crochet a variety of charity items. In July they asked if we could provide their hospice patients who are veterans some kind of red, white, and blue blanket to honor their service to our country. The blanket would be used as a comfort mechanism to the veteran at the end of life. When the veteran dies, the lapghan would be given to his/her family.

So, the Knit Wits started working on this. Donna Savin and Nancy Link got a grant from Thrivent to buy red, white and blue yarn. And we started crocheting and knitting! By August 15 we had created and delivered 21 lapghans and/or prayer shawls. Ladies participating include: Pam Grambow, Linda Elder, Maddie Goetter, Becky Pepper, Elaine Kilgore, Linda Knutson, Toni Anspach, Pat Ludwig, Corrine Newicki, Sandy Poliak, Beth Hoffman, Pat Kruck, Cindy Orth, Diane Pavletich, Premu Advani and Jean Kelso. Not all the Knit Wits are Ascension members, but we all work on our community charity projects.

As of Sept. 16, 2020, 48 lapghans or shawls have been made, and we still have enough red, white and blue yarn for at least another 50. This will be an on-going project to honor our military veterans.

After that first delivery to Luther Manor we received a note from Brittany Penoske, the bereavement Coordinator. She said: “The items you gave me were beautiful! The veterans adored them, and they were very appreciative. We are always admitting new patients, so this next batch of lapghans/shawls will be perfect to have on hand when we get those admissions. Thanks again!”

This has been a fun project. The finished projects have been varied and creative, few of them alike. Most of the lapghans and shawls were made at home. We also enjoyed meeting in the pavilion behind church to work on projects, being together, and still remaining safe during the Covid restrictions. Thanks, Ascension, for allowing us to use this space!

We also wish to thank Thrivent for their grant which directly contributed to the success of this project.

Ascension Knit Wits
Maddie Goetter, coordinator
Susan Koeferl, treasurer

(Reprinted from the November 2020 newsletter.)

I recently preached a sermon about truth telling, and I did this not only because it was the topic of that week’s lectionary text, but more so because speaking truth has been on my mind a lot lately. Partly because of all the dialogue surrounding the current presidential election, partly because of what’s happening around the Covid-19 pandemic, and partly because I think we’ve become far too comfortable with our trivialized interactions.

It has always bothered me that too often the authenticity and depth of our daily interactions stops at surface level. We all know the basic conversation starters, “How are you?” or “What’s new?” The breakdown I think comes in the stock, singular answers, “Good,” “Fine,” or “Nothing” that we offer in return to quickly move us beyond the current “distraction.” And then we follow it with the obligatory, “How about you?” which essentially brings us to the end of this tired cycle of meaninglessness. Now, I don’t think it’s realistic that we will always have time for these more meaningful connections, but I do think in general we’ve become far too content with not engaging one another in more significant ways.

Brothers and sisters, amidst all the challenges that surround us, I would like to invite all of us to consider pausing a few moments to dwell on our daily interactions and consider all the missed opportunities for connection, especially in these days when so many are struggling with disconnection. How might our relationships be different if we afforded ourselves the chance to be more available, more vulnerable, and more connected to each other? God created us to be in relationship with one another, and when we take advantage of these opportunities then we live our lives far more truthful to who we are and who we were created to be.

I believe that God offers every relationship as a gift to remind us of God’s great love for all God’s children. Maybe instead of digging our heels in the sand, hiding our vulnerabilities, or rushing past every opportunity to get to something “better” or something we “must get to,” maybe we could try to stay in these precious moments a little longer rather than letting them pass us by. And maybe we could view “how are you” as more of an invitation rather than a distraction – because these invitations are how God works to both draw us closer to one another and also to God. They are also invitations for truth-telling because they tell us the truth about who God is, how God loves, and how much God loves.

My friends I hope that you will take the time to listen to this life-giving truth – the truth that God is with us and for us every moment of this journey. And if we allow this to guide our daily lives, then I think we will come to recognize and better experience the abundant blessings God has promised to us.

Pastor Tony

(Reprinted from the November 2020 newsletter)

Last week, I received an email from a colleague – a pastor of another ELCA congregation. The pastor asked what Ascension was planning for Christmas. I replied, “Christmas? We are wondering what we are doing next week.” There is a little bit of sarcasm and a whole lotta truth in my reply to my colleague. Of course, Ascension staff and leadership are already talking about November and December and January. We have had more conversations that I can count around the topics of All Saints Day, the season of Advent, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. What a journey we continue to walk. As a person of faith, I have decided that these pandemic days are more marathon than sprint, more pilgrimage than destination. And so here we are.

It is October. And as we move into the fall, I am reminded that for those of us who live in the northern hemisphere, nature is beginning to share with us that the end of another growing season is upon us. Gardens are ending their life cycle, flowers that bloomed in the spring and summer are turning to seed and preparing for winter. Slowly nature is preparing us for death – for the end of another cycle of birth and growth and life as winter slowly begins to creep into the overnight temperatures. The colors of the trees burst with one last breath of vibrant joy before they let go of their leaves and turn inward for their survival. I wonder if you can find similarities in your own lives. The pandemic has been a pilgrimage of faith. Like Jesus pushed into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, we have found ourselves pushed into a pandemic. Unexpected, unanticipated, unwelcome – we have found ourselves living new lives and learning new ways of literal survival. And so here we are.

Last year at this time, we were welcoming a delegation of visitors from our sister parish of Samaria in Usa River, Tanzania. Pastor Nathan Makenge spent time among us, preached in worship, learned about the Milwaukee Brewers, and celebrated the continued building of relationships between our two faith communities. This year, we have already missed out on the gift of a delegation from El Salvador. We left JOLT Adventure Camp and CRASH Mission Trips in the dust of the category of “TBD due to the pandemic.” Many of you have canceled vacations, celebrations, and anniversaries. We have struggled to find meaningful moments of support and community in the midst of loss and celebration. One of the most striking losses for me has been the loss of communal song. I have missed the words of “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” and “I Know that My Redeemer Lives.” And I was heartbroken to not hear the sounds of voices surround me in a moment of grief, where the words to “Lift High the Cross” and “Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds” would bring promise of resurrection joy from the hearts and voices of those gathered to my own weary soul. I miss watching all of you walk to the altar for communion. I miss children’s sermons. I miss the smiles that are hidden behind masks. There is so much that I miss as this pilgrimage continues. And yet I have hope.

I have hope that singing “I Love to Tell the Story” sometime in mid-September on the worship recording brought someone a moment of joy. I have hope that the celebration of Pastor Tony’s ordination will carry the community of Ascension long into the pilgrimage ahead. I have hope that our continued wandering through many opportunities and new things, if only once or twice, will inspire and engage and reveal the promise of God’s resurrection hope and joy to weary hearts as this pilgrimage continues. And continue it will. We have a lengthy journey ahead. Politics and elections aside, I believe the science will only discover as it will – through the rigorous methods that have proven the truth of nature time and time again. Yes, we could get lucky – and a miracle may come. We might be so lucky as to enjoy a scientific discovery that surprises everyone just as penicillin entered the world. In the late 1920s, bacteriology professor Alexander Fleming returned to his messy laboratory after a 2-week vacation. He began sorting through petri dishes containing colonies of Staphylococcus. On one of the dishes with colonies, he noticed a mold growing with the zone around it being completely clear. The mold was determined to be Penicillium notatum, which excreted a substance later isolated and used therapeutically as penicillin. We could only hope and pray for such a discovery. Regardless this pandemic will be more pilgrimage for awhile longer. And yet I have hope.

I have hope in your strength. Your emails, your letters, your phone calls, your text messages, your generosity of gifts to the church. There is strength in community – in our worship and in our communion. In our shared faith and our communal care for our neighbor. Yes, we will be on this pilgrimage for awhile still and God will continue to be with us because that is what God promises to us. God promises us to be present when we are in community and when we are alone. God promises us life even in the midst of death. So even as we enter into the fall and end of the season of growth and life, in death we will find promise – the promise of resurrection hope – the promise of new life – the promise of resurrection joy. My friends – the days are surely coming says the Lord…but for now: wash your hands, wear your mask, and add your prayers to my own for the days ahead. You are missed. You are loved. You are not alone.

Thanks be to God!

Pastor Chris

Reprinted from the October 2020 newsletter.

Welcome September! Whatever that means this year?!

It is a new world we are living in. A new world of living put upon us. Facemasks, something I used to see only on pedestrians and bicyclists in China, are now mostly the norm in the city in which I live – at least in stores and schools and churches – if they are open at all. And when I happen to recognize someone behind their mask, while shopping at Target or Menard’s, there is usually a question as to what is next at home, for school, at church – and so often over these weeks my answer has been, “I don’t know.”

Of course, I know what I hope will happen. I know what I am planning, dreaming, scheming, designing, detailing, and discerning. Yet, I do not know what is actually in store for the days ahead. I believe we will keep worshiping outside until it is too cold to do so. I know that we will continue to offer recorded worship every Sunday until the pandemic is over…meaning a widely available vaccine has been provided to the world. I know that school, in Waukesha, will begin face to face for many families though I am hesitant to believe it will last very long. I also know there is plenty of pastoral care being done by myself and now Pastor Tony and Edwin, Vicki, Amy, Brenda and Tamie. Members of our community are struggling with anxiety, fear, isolation, anger, despair. Pastoral care in a pandemic looks like phone calls, text messages, video calls on laptops, hand-written letters, emails, and dropped-off notes in mailboxes. Individual prayers are being tended on Thursday afternoons and by phone appointments in the evening or on the spur of the moment when someone reaches out.

Yes, September will look different this year.

We are walking the road of the pandemic knowing there are hidden turns and roundabouts we have yet to experience. The community of Ascension Lutheran Church also walks this pandemic road. What that means to me is that we are preparing and planning and wondering and waiting and honestly, a fair amount of wandering. The ministries and moments we have taken for granted year after year in the life of Ascension are reshaped, re-imagined, and redirected. One of the questions the staff keeps asking is this: “If we plan it, will they come?”

Since we cannot know the answer to that question, we plan and we pray and hold on to the promise that God is at work especially in these difficult days we walk together. BLAST will happen in homes – Stepping Stones will happen as best as they can in September and early October and if families are not ready to enter into public gatherings, Pastor Tony and I will come to front porches to honor first communion celebrations and bible presentations. We are hopeful to celebrate confirmation in early October outside. We will see what happens. JOLT will happen on two nights with smaller gatherings every other week and CRASH will find new ways to walk together. Adult Education will be offered in some new formats – a zoom video option early in the week and an in-person option later in the week. “Finding Purpose in the Pandemic” will be a new offering this fall inviting members to come together around a one week or two-week topic discussion relating to life, faith, and the journey of the pandemic. Worship will continue to be recorded each week to be presented on Sunday and we will continue to offer outside worship until it is too cold to do so. We are also offering an in-person Wednesday night worship on the 1^st and 3^rd Wednesdays of September to highlight the instrumentation in the sanctuary. The one caveat for Wednesday night will be a 50-person cap to maintain a significant physical distance. If people come – great. If not, we will not continue with Wednesday night worship after September. Everything is experimental this fall.

What is not experimental is our continued focus on the good news of Jesus Christ. We will keep preaching hope, love, forgiveness, eternal life – these are the promises our God lifts up for each of us and for all the world. We are tending members and friends of Ascension through all the tech possibilities and sometimes in the old-fashioned ways of pen and paper and stamp. I am grateful for the commitment of the Ascension staff to dream and design their days in order to reach out and engage our community and especially those who are struggling greatly through this pandemic.

We celebrated an amazing ordination for our new Associate Pastor Tony Acompanado. It was an incredible day for our faith community centered on worship and praise to our God. So much excitement for the days ahead. Thank you for joining us and for joining us in our prayer if you could not be there in person. A new parking lot is now a reality and one more piece of our deferred maintenance campus puzzle is completed. I am grateful to the church council for their work, for Daren Maas, our facilities leg leader, and to Mark Pichler, member of Ascension and liaison with the company doing the work in the parking lot. The work on our campus continues. So, too, does the work of ministry. Funerals, premarital counseling, baptisms, counseling, prayer all continue. And our mission to reach out into our community and into our world continues. The Blessing Box continues to see heavy use among our neighbors – a beautiful example of tending the needs of those who literally live across the street from the church campus. Tanzania, el Salvador, and Cross in Milwaukee have all seen the needs of their members, and the needs of the communities in which they serve, rise with the continued days of the pandemic. Your generosity has offered assistance more than once for each community of faith. You also gave enough money to feed 900 students lunch each day for an entire school year in Tanzania – IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC. Thanks be to God for your faithfulness and your generosity.

And, because some of you are wondering, the budget! We continue to see a solid foundation of giving to support our ministries based at Ascension and ministries beyond our walls. Of course, if you are able to give an additional gift in these days – please consider such a gift – a tremendous treasure received by Ascension. I am humbled by your generosity to praise God by sharing of the gifts you have been given. There is so much for which I give thanks to God as we move into a new season of ministry without knowing exactly what the new days of fall will bring. What I do know is what I shared during my sermon at Pastor Tony’s ordination. The words have continued to guide my prayer life and my response to the needs that present themselves as invitations each day.

“Being loved without request and promised eternal life without restraint. This, for me, is grace.”

And this is what Ascension Lutheran Church continues preaching, teaching, and reaching those outside our faith community to the great glory of God. Dear friends – be at peace – even as the world changes and adjusts to these new days – our God is present in every breath, every step, every new day – sharing with all of us the reminder that we are not alone just as Jesus promised us at the end of the book of Matthew: “I am with you always to the end of the age.” Thanks be to God!

Until I see you in church.

Pastor Chris

September means back to school. For me, it means back to seminary. As is the case for so many students these days, seminary this year will not be the same as last year. To begin with, my friend and mentor Tony will no longer be a student with me. I’m happy that he is still at Ascension to give me advice about professors and assignments. Classes are one hundred percent distance learning this year, so there will be no beginning of the semester trips to Wartburg. The seminary has also promised to adjust instruction knowing that many of the seminarians will likely be the parent that is helping their children with virtual schooling at some point in the year.

We don’t know what back to school is going to mean for the children in Waukesha, including the families that are part of our Latino ministry. Some families have already decided to keep their children home for the beginning of the year. Others are sending their children to school knowing that there is a chance that all children may be doing virtual school for at least part of the year. As challenging as virtual schooling was for all families in the spring, our Latino families have some additional challenges. Due to violence, war, and poverty in their home countries, some of the parents did not have access to an education. They feel unqualified to teach their children anything academic. That is in addition to the language and technology barriers that have led immigrant parents to feel overwhelmed by the idea of supporting their children in virtual school. In crowded apartments, it can be hard for all of the kids to find quiet corners for their class meetings and homework, not to mention enough Wi-Fi.

In these times of uncertainty, I will be waiting to see how things unfold with the school year. At the same time, we will be working with parents on strategies they can use at home and explore creating learning pods with the families so we can all work together to support students and their parents with these new ways of schooling. When I attended university in El Salvador to get my teaching license, I never thought I would be using it to support students in the USA during a global pandemic! I am grateful for my time as a substitute teacher last school year to help me learn more about the American education system. I am always surprised by God’s path for my life.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. – Proverbs 22:6

I pray that God is with all families, teachers, school employees, and our entire community as we begin a new school year.