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.

 

Dear People of Ascension,

Our journey together began six and a half years ago when you, the faithful people of Ascension called me to serve among you as your Director of Faith Formation. In that time, we have shared many incredible moments of laughter and great joy while also our experiencing our share of painful tears and unimaginable heartache. Yet, through everything that we have encountered, we have continued to walk in faith, together.

And then four years ago when the Holy Spirit was no longer interested in entertaining my excuses for running away from God’s call, this community of faith once again excitedly committed to stand beside me on another venture – this time through seminary. Every step of the way you encouraged, supported, celebrated, and helped me to develop and share my pastoral identity. It would be an understatement to say that I am humbled by your confidence in me, and for the countless ways you have pushed me to endure this journey, all the while affording me opportunity after opportunity to learn and challenge myself in order to be a more faithful servant.

And now, my sisters and brothers in Christ, my heart is filled with unspeakable joy because God has graciously set a new course before us to continue serving God together, grow in our relationship, and further challenge what we have known as we follow the Holy Spirit into new territory. This new adventure is a celebration of our relentless God, the Body of Christ, and all that is possible when faithful people take risks, dare to dream, step up, and face challenges with faith, hope and courage.

So, I wish to take a moment as we begin this new endeavor and say thank you – for your trust, your confidence, your partnership, and for your love; both for myself and my entire family. Please know how grateful I am for every moment of our journey together and for all that is yet to come. I am honored to receive this call and serve alongside you as your new Associate Pastor, and so it is with deep gratitude that I wish to leave you with this prayer from the apostle Paul:

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason. I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. (Ephesians 1:15-19 NRSV)

May this day and every day to come be to the great glory of God…

Pastor Tony

Sunday, Sept. 13, ELCA congregations will observe the ELCA’s annual day of service, God’s Work. Our Hands. Sunday. This year our church — and our world — are living through the covid-19 pandemic. Physical distancing has forced congregations to cancel in-person worship and move to virtual services and/or outdoor worship. We miss gathering with family and friends to share God’s love in person. But amid this difficult situation, we continue to be church together. Throughout the ELCA, we are witnessing the love and concern God’s people have for one another.

From the ELCA: “During this time, our congregations continue to support ministries that assist vulnerable people in their communities. These acts of service allow us to explore one of our most basic Lutheran convictions: All of life in Jesus Christ — every act of service, in every daily calling, in every corner of life — flows freely from a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. On God’s Work. Our Hands. Sunday we come together to restore and reconcile our communities. You do this kind of work every day —loving your neighbors and making your community a better place.”

Here at Ascension, while we have had to change how we serve others, we still have places to make an impact and be the hands of God, doing God’s work. Watch the announcements and Mission Outreach Facebook page for ways to serve in the community. There are options for service and ways to donate to help others. As the needs emerge, we will update the list.

• Volunteer at the Food Pantry in a covid-safe environment
• Provide food and household needs to the Food Pantry
• Fill the Blessing Box
• Participate in Outreach for Hope Bike/Ride/Walk or donate for a participant
• Provide financial support to our partners at Cross, Tanzania or El Salvador
• Support Latino Ministry Outreach
• Participate in fund raisers for our Community Partners

Together in Jesus Christ we are freed by grace to live faithfully, witness boldly and serve joyfully.

Shirley Wehmeier
Mission Outreach Wing Leader

 

Because we’re living in unprecedented times and with the uncertainty of how this fall and beyond will look, it’s been necessary to re-imagine the programming that we offer Ascension’s children, youth and families. And while we’re diligently working to create high quality ministry experiences that the community of Ascension is used to, we want you to be aware that it will look quite different from the ministry experiences you have come to know.

We ask for your continued patience in the days ahead, and we invite your partnership, as well as your input as we try to create the best possible ministry experiences. We’re looking forward to interacting with you in new ways as we learn about and experience God in new ways too!

Click on the links below for fall 2020 faith formation plans for each of our children/youth groups.

Pastor Tony Acompanado

 

BLAST (3k-5th grade) info

Registration

 

 

JOLT (Confirmation, 6th-8th grade)

Registration

 

 

CRASH 

I have read these words of Jesus more in the last two weeks than any other verse in the Bible. I know some of you will say that Pastor Chris always tells us in sermons that he is preaching on his favorite Scripture, sometimes, speaking of his favorites week after week. But in these last days of June, since the 18th (when we gave my mother back to God) and really since the 12th (when I began to fear that the stroke that kept my mom from waking up from surgery would keep her from ever waking up), I have come to find comfort in this simple, ten-word promise of Jesus.

Author Vicki Harrison wrote these words,

“Grief is like the ocean. It comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.”

Never in our imagination did we expect that my mom would not survive the triple bypass surgery scheduled for June 10th. The night before her surgery we gathered together at my parent’s home to pray and have communion together. There was laughter, a few tears, bread and wine, and a prayer for God’s tending and protection. And my youngest daughter – the one who honors her Norwegian roots better than the rest of us – the child who runs from hugs and slips out of handholds faster than we can hold on to her – took my mother’s hand in the middle of the prayer circle and held on tightly throughout the entire prayer. I did not know she had done this, but my mother was so caught by the out-of-character moment for our daughter that she shared the moment in a final conversation with my wife before we said our goodbyes and gave our hugs and spoke words of love one last time. The moment of our goodbye at their house is imprinted on my memory with all the vivid colors of my mom’s sweater – a lingering smile on her face. And when surgery was complete, the surgeon shared words of hope and good news that all had gone exactly as expected. It would only be later in the evening, after they began the process of removing her sedation and beginning to remove the vent that we would find the first signs of a stroke. Over the next few days, the blood clot that caused her first stroke would split into three separate clots and cause a massive stroke. One my mother would not wake up from in the days ahead.

I share all this to give thanks to God for your care – even in our physical distance and separation. We are broken. Shattered for a loss we did not expect. In the days of waiting, before our worst fears were confirmed, I was afraid for the presence of the power of death I could not shake from my thoughts. I have felt the power of death. I have been close to this power that tears away life more times than I want to remember. And yet, in sharing the journey with my dad and my sister, I have never felt so powerless in the waiting. My dad and I were allowed in just briefly after her surgery – and when we entered her room – we held hands – told her we were there – prayed and told her we would see her the next morning. My dad kept vigil by my mother’s bedside. My sister and I were not allowed to go into the ICU. On the day we transitioned to palliative care – my sister and I walked with my father down a long hallway to tend this woman we had loved in this life. A woman who called us “sweetheart” and “honey.” A woman who used our full names when she was frustrated with us. A woman who always looked at my father with love – even when she was angry. We knew it would not last – her anger. Forgiveness came easy to this wife and mother. Now we begin the search for pictures to remind us of younger days. We laugh at our how much better I have aged. Lord I was chunky in earlier days! And my thinning hair before I began to shave my head. Yes, my friends there will be pictures when we celebrate her life. And celebrate her, we will. In whatever way this pandemic will allow – we will celebrate her and give thanks to God for her.

And in these moments of remembering her, I again find myself coming back to the words of our Savior: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

To God be the glory. Thanks for sharing this journey of life and faith with your pastor, who in these long days does his best to honor the title of son to a father who is grieving and a mother who now stands in the presence of our God. Peace be with you.

Pastor Chris

Reprinted from the July 2020 newsletter

COMMUNITY OUTREACH
We will not be holding our annual Block Party this year due to the virus. The Block Party has been our major event to introduce our neighborhood and community to Ascension. Our Community Outreach Committee met to discuss creative ways we can do outreach without a specific event and with an uncertain future. Our online church services have been a huge success. A great way to invite people to Ascension even in this uncertain time is to share the worship posts. The more people who share the services increases the possibility that people may join in on either the English or Spanish service. It is our task to share the Word whether it is in a live service or an online service. For many people, it is easier to try out a church via an online service before they actually walk in the door of a new church. Sharing posts also raises our presence in Google searches and will make Ascension more visible. We encourage you to also share posts from the Ascension Facebook page or the Ascension Mission Outreach Facebook page that may be of interest to the community.

Our Community Outreach Committee shared a blog at the meeting recognizing all the changes society is going through right now. That means how we do outreach will have to change also. The best thought from one of the blogs was this: “Right now, every church is a startup and if you see it that way, you can advance your mission. There are so many people to reach, and an entire next generation in need of the Gospel.” Invite your friends to services or events, speak positively about your faith and your church. That is planting the seed and the Holy Spirit will do the watering.

BLESSING BOX
We continue to supply the Blessing Box with food, cleaning products and personal care items. Our neighbors stop by on a regular basis to take some of the donations our congregation supplies. The Little Free Library is seeing heavier use also with so many people stuck at home. Please help us keep these two projects going by putting donations directly in the boxes until the church building is open again.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Ascension has made some diligent efforts in working closely with community agencies who work with those most in need. One of the biggest concerns for all of them is that their main source of special funding is from annual events. Because of the virus, events have been cancelled or rescheduled. This has had a great impact on their ability to continue to provide services. Please support them through a financial contribution or through participation in their events. We will post information on the Mission Outreach Facebook page and the weekly announcements. As their programs are able to go back to full service, we will also post volunteer opportunities.

Shirley Wehmeier
Mission Outreach Wing Leader

(Reprinted from the July 2020 newsletter)

Our lives are more demanding these days as we are experiencing many safety challenges of ongoing covid-19 and anxiety due to the division of our races in our country with racial unrest.

It is a stressful time for everyone. Stress is also on the rise due to isolation and control of growing concerns about family, money, health, and personal safety. While we can’t completely avoid stress, we can take some sensible precautions so that life’s challenges can be managed minimizing the negative effects of stress.

• Find a refuge. Remove yourself from the stressful situation and find a quiet spot where you can be alone. Any private space will do.
• Stop and breathe. Be seated, close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths to calm yourself and gain some distance from the stressful situation.
• Take your physical and emotional pulse. Check your heartbeat and allow it to slow down. Release the tension in your body. Now check your emotional state and identify the dominant emotion you are feeling. Fear? Anger? Frustration? Grief?
• Search for the source of the emotion. In any situation there are factors you can change, and factors beyond your control. Focus on what you can change.
• Take good care of yourself — body, mind, and spirit. Eating a balanced, nutritious diet will help fortify you against stress as well as rest and exercise.

A healthy spirituality is also a key to handling distress. Sharing faith with others brings bonds of friendship and support and puts you in touch with God’s healing nurturance. If you feel spiritually empty, it may be a sign that stress is taking its toll on your soul. Try to find an appropriate way to express your spirituality in your daily life, through quiet time for reading and reflection or prayer.

Brenda Lytle, RN
Director of Care Ministries

Psalm 4

This psalm may be comforting when you need to calm anxiety. God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.
Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.
Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the Lord.
Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”
Let the light of your face shine on us.
Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound.
In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

What a world we are living in.

I am sitting at my makeshift desk, in our second story loft, overlooking the world outside. It’s a nice view from the upstairs window, but I miss the church – the office – the sanctuary – the people. Don’t get me wrong – I love my family and the neighbors that I have right around our house, but I am ready to see your faces…if only the emotion carried in your eyes as you wear a mask to protect others. I did go into the office today for a time – some things can only be done at church. Check requests, checking-in with Cloverleaf Preschool, walking the grounds, and revelation and respite in the silence of the sanctuary. Our house, with three kids and a dog, is not exactly a quiet space set aside for reflection and renewal.

The Church Council met on June 9 and began conversations about reopening for in-person gatherings for worship and ministry. We will meet again on June 16 (our normally-scheduled monthly meeting) to confirm directions, dates, and process as we continue to live in the shadow of the coronavirus.

Our expectations include opening for outdoor worship with multiple services that are shorter in length and celebrate the gift of community – though worship will look different. We expect to invite people to sign-up for a service time via the internet or by calling the church office and when one service time is full, we will invite you to consider one of the other services available. After we have had a chance to offer outdoor worship for a couple of Sundays, we expect to open the building to ministry needs while still holding off from opening the building to outside community groups. And when we have tended the details of opening the building to ministry needs, we will return to the sanctuary for worship.

All of these steps are happening with reflection, consultation, and forethought for how we begin again to gather together. There will, of course, be bumps along the way. Outdoor worship will include the use of bathrooms inside the building, but bathrooms will have to be cleaned after each service. Masks will be expected at outdoor worship except for the time of communion. You will be expected to socially distance at outdoor worship and sanitize your hands when you arrive, as you are coming up for communion and after you have received communion. We will ask you to bring your own chairs. Worship leadership will not wear masks when they are actively leading up front but will wear masks when they are sitting with the congregation.

All of this is to say – that we are working towards the goal of beginning to worship together in the coming weeks. As a side note, we will continue to offer recorded worship for those who are not yet ready or comfortable returning to worship outside or inside.

The days are surely coming says the Lord. I am ready dear friends. I am ready!

Peace be with you. See you in church – really soon I pray.

Pastor Chris

(Reprinted from the mid-June 2020 newsletter.)