June Mission News

Mustard Seed Ministry Update

I was so excited about my mustard seed plant growing and thriving on my window seat. I even shared it on the Mission Outreach Facebook page as a way to demonstrate how together we can have a big impact if we each take a step out in ministry. I was so excited to see the little seeds grow into many small plants that grew taller each week. Then, I got busy with the Ministry Fair and other personal things that distracted me from my goal of taking good care of my little plants. My busy schedule made me forget the plants until I went to transplant them into bigger pots. Imagine my shock when they had shriveled and stopped growing. I had only one or two plants that survived my neglect. What a follow-up to our Ministry Fair! So many people with so many fresh ideas and so much interest in our ministries added excitement to the Fair. Then people got busy and distracted and by the time ministry leaders called on them, they were too busy or had forgotten all about the sign-up sheets. Just like the neglected plants, the ministry commitment withered without attention and determination. Busy schedules can be adapted and energy can be recharged so that the mustard seed of faith can grow into something bigger. Together, our mustard seeds of faith can have a huge impact in our own lives, in our church, our community and our world. Where are you planting your mustard seed? 

Shirley Wehmeier, Serve Wing Leader

Hope Center Open House

You have likely heard about the new Hope Center building. You are invited to attend an open house to see all the programs that they offer on June 6 from 4 to 7 p.m. There will be a dedication at 6 p.m. Ascension was one of the founding congregations back when they were located in the M & M building on Main and Maple offering Mission and Ministry. The program has outgrown two buildings and now occupies the entire old Chase Bank at 101 W. Broadway which has been completely renovated to meet the program needs. What a great way to learn more about one of our community partners! You may even find a way you want to serve.

Habitat for Humanity Dream Builders Gala

Habitat for Humanity is hosting their annual Gala at the very site where the dream of home ownership becomes a reality: the Domenica Park Neighborhood, on June 14 at 6 p.m. Garden party attire is recommended. Join Habitat for an inspiring evening beneath a glamorous tent and on the actual build site where homes are being built. Enjoy drinks, delicious food catered by Sendiks, entertainment and a chance to help create real and positive change in Waukesha and Jefferson County. More information and tickets available at https://www.habitatwaukesha.org/dreambuilders.

SOPHIA Multicultural Fair

Save the date for the SOPHIA Multicultural Fair on August 17 at Frame Park, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Several of our members have participated in this in the past two years and have really enjoyed the music, the food, the resources and the dancing. More information will follow but please mark your calendar and take note of the new location.

Tanzania Partnership News

For the past several months, we have been following the sad story of the Tanzanian government taking the land of Galilaya church and the homes of the people that live in the area. They have been promised compensation for their land, although it is far below market value. Since losing the church building, they have worked together to create a new worship space. A member who did not have his land seized, donated some land for a new church. Members saved their money to buy lumber to create a short-term worship space. Church members worked together to build the new temporary space as well as to dig the foundation for a more permanent church.

We also received news that a fourth preaching point has been added to Samaria Parish in May. Kijenge is the newest church that is part of the Samaria parish network. Like Galilaya preaching point, the members of Kijenge are worshipping in a temporary space for now. They have asked for our prayers to support these ministry challenges.

Gracias from the El Salvador Delegates

At the end of July, a multigenerational delegation of twelve Ascension members, alongside five Lake Park members, will travel to El Salvador to visit the ministries of our sister parishes in El Salvador. On May 18, over 100 Ascension members and friends came together to celebrate our partnerships and to raise funds to support this summer’s trip. It was inspiring the way Ascension came together with donations, writing for Thrivent grants, donating food and beverages for the dinner, and bidding on the items, playing games, and joining together in fellowship for the purpose of celebrating our partnerships in Tanzania, and this year, especially in El Salvador. A special thanks for Cynthia Carlson and her team for stepping in at the last minute to takeover the catering.

NAMI

Mental health conditions are common among teens and young adults. Fifty percent of all lifetime mental illnesses develop by age 14 and 75% develop by age 24. A mental health condition isn’t your fault or your family’s fault — these conditions develop for complicated reasons that researchers are only just starting to understand. Ascension partners with NAMI to help understand the scary and confusing aspects of mental health in ourselves or our families. There are a variety of ways that NAMI programs can help us understand more about mental health and the help that is available. See their website for more information. 

June President’s Report

As we mark the start of summer with summer worship times and outdoor services, there is much to be grateful for here at Ascension. This summer, more than 15,000 students and leaders from across the country will gather at the ELCA Youth Gathering, including a group from Ascension. What an incredible opportunity to help develop the faith of these young future leaders.

Ascension is in a unique position – not only will Pastor Edwin and our youth participate, but Pastor Chris and Pastor Tony are both involved at a leadership level in the Youth Gathering. The fact that our pastors have been invited to serve the national church through leadership roles with the Gathering speaks volumes about Ascension. In many ways, Ascension is seen as a leader within the local and national ELCA community. What a blessing! Both Pastor Tony and Pastor Chris have been involved in serving the Youth Gathering since before becoming pastors at Ascension and we are grateful that their leadership continues. What an incredible opportunity to serve within the walls of Ascension and out in the community by shaping the faith of thousands of students and their leaders. On behalf of the Church Council, we are proud of their hard work and tireless dedication and energy to serving. 

Beyond the Youth Gathering, we begin preparations for Ascension’s 75th anniversary celebration on September 15. This fall, we will take time to celebrate our history as a church – where we started and where we are today. Above all, there is much to be grateful for. God bless.

Amanda Payne, President

Summer Worship at Ascension

Summer Schedule

  • 8:30 and 10 a.m. English Worship
  • 10 a.m. Spanish Worship

Senior Toweling

  • Sunday, June 2
  • 8:30 & 10 a.m.

Vicki Taylor Celebration

  • Celebration and reception for Vicki Taylor’s 40th anniversary of Music Ministry
  • 9:30 a.m. Sunday, June 2

Pastor Edwin Celebration

  • Celebration and reception for Pastor Edwin’s 1st Anniversary of Ordination
  • Sunday, June 23

Outdoor Worship (English)

  • June 23, July 28, Aug. 11, Sept.

El Salvador Delegation Blessing

  • Blessings and sending of El Salvador Mission Team
  • Sunday, July 28

Sing for a Sunday

  • Singers of all ages are invited to sing in an intergenerational choir on Sunday, June 23. We will meet for one rehearsal on Thursday, June 20, from 6 to 6:30 p.m., followed by singing in 8:30 worship on Sunday, June 23.
  • The song can be easily learned by listening and all are welcome!
  • Email Vicki Taylor and say you’ll join us!

Memorial Day

It’s amazing how quickly time seems to fly by. Somehow we’re already stepping into May – days are getting longer, grass is growing greener, flowers and trees are starting to bloom, and at the end of this month our nation will celebrate Memorial Day. For some this is simply a marker that the end of school is close, summer vacations are within reach, and family barbeques are just around the corner. For others it is a time to remember – a time to honor all those who have served in the armed forces and lost their lives in service to our country preserving and protecting the freedoms that you and I enjoy each day.

But regardless of the particulars of how, or what, or why each of us celebrate Memorial Day, at the center of it all – its very name, “memorial” invites us to a posture of remembrance.

The ability to remember is a wonderful gift God has given us. In an instant we can be taken back to childhood days – skipping rocks across the water or playing with friends, or maybe just to an earlier time like when we went on a first date or experienced our first day at a new school or job. Through memory we can fall in love, taste that amazing dessert from that one special place, and enjoy a wealth of past experiences all over again.

All this is possible through the blessing of memory. Some of our memories bring us happiness as we recall those wonderful experiences, while others leave us sad and weeping as we remember them. Memories are also practical. If we couldn’t remember that a red light means “stop” then we might get ourselves into dangerous situation. If you weren’t able to remember what day it is, especially if it were your anniversary, then you might be headed for big trouble with your loved one. So, memories are practical. The problem is, sometimes our memory fails us, and we forget. 

Fortunately, God has surrounded us with memorials, in fact, the entire Bible itself is a memorial. And we are invited to dwell in it daily in order to remember. Each time we gather as a worshipping community, each celebration of the Lord’s Supper, each baptism, each Christmas celebration, and every Holy Week leading us to the joyous celebration of Easter is a memorial.

Remembering God’s grace in our lives is fuel for our faith as we move through God’s ongoing grace for us. And this makes our memory one of God’s most profound and mysterious gifts granted to us.

So as we commemorate Memorial Day as Americans, let us do so with deep gratitude for all that has been sacrificed for us by those who laid their lives down for the sake of our freedom. Most importantly, I pray that as followers of Jesus we would each take time to remember the extraordinary grace God blesses us with yesterday, today, and every day to come.

Pastor Tony

Easter Reflections

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

We are just a little past the midway point in our Easter celebrations. It has been a glorious season. From lilies and trumpets and music to lead us in praise of our God to baptisms, baptisms, baptisms. A ministry fair and pupusas to purchase and a final trip to New Orleans before the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering this summer. There is a lot going on and I, for one, am wondering when I can step down from the merry-go-round for a moment.

The school year is quickly coming to an end, which means a graduation to prepare for in our house. Fourteen years ago, when I arrived at Ascension, my oldest child was four years old and now he looks to a new chapter at University of Wisconsin at Madison. This is my moment to say thank you to all of you for helping to shape my son; for providing a place of welcome and hospitality and for allowing him to become his own person in your midst. Sometimes the children of the pastors must deal with a good deal of judgment and pillar balancing. I am grateful that you have allowed my oldest to be himself and know this faith community as a place of welcome and love for most of his life. All that being said, this pastor/dad is learning to balance all the pieces that come with preparing for the first of his children to make his way in the world. I confess, I am not sure how I feel about it. There are a lot of unknowns and several of you have already offered advice and honestly, thank you. Some of it makes me laugh and some of the advice is pure gold and somehow, it will all work itself out.

That is exactly how I am feeling about this summer and preparing to welcome 15,000 high school students – all of them for the very first time – to New Orleans and the Youth Gathering. In some ways, I have it easy this time around. It is my job to entertain and teach faith formation for about 3 and ½ hours each night of the event and make sure closing worship goes off without a hitch and everybody gets communion. Pastor Tony has to keep everyone safe. I think I will stick with my job, thank you very much! As I fly home from New Orleans, I am reflecting on all the work that has been done and the work still to do. Work, I can do because of your support and willingness to allow me to serve the national church in this way. It is no small task, and I am only able to balance the youth gathering and the ministry of Ascension with the partnership of Pastor Tony and Pastor Edwin and the amazing people who I work alongside each day. Amy, Ben, Sarah, Tamie, and Vicki tend to so many moments of ministry alongside the pastors – please thank them when you see them. Ascension runs as smoothly and provides so much to so many because of their dedication.

And then there is this incredible community of people. All of you who show up, step up, and stand up when there is a call to serve in some way to share in the ministry of this community of faith allowing all of us to grow and flourish. It is because of your commitment and faithfulness to the story of God’s love and your willingness to give of yourselves in leadership and love and in sweat and tears and laughter all along the way walking your individual journeys of faith as well, that Ascension becomes more and more of who God is inviting and leading and pushing us to be. Who we are, as the community of Ascension, a place of welcome and multi-cultural ministry, is because of who you are as God blesses you and invites you to share in the story and ministry of this community of faith.

In the season of Easter, as much I want to celebrate the resurrection and give praise to God alone, I am also filled with deep gratitude for the ways in which God inspires you to serve; to care for the other; to walk alongside each other and serve the world around us all to the glory of God. I am humbled to serve as one of your pastors and grateful for the ministry we share.

See you in church.

Pastor Chris

A Multicultural Flock

Last month I had the opportunity to talk with two Latino Lutheran pastors. One of them serves here in the midwest and the other pastor serves in El Salvador. They both wanted to share the experiences of their local ministries and to learn about the work we are doing as a multicultural community of faith here at Ascension, Waukesha.

The pastor here in the United States shared her experience. And let me tell you, her experience is completely different from mine and her story is very sad. A community of English-speaking people decided to open the doors to a Latino ministry. For many years within the building, God was worshiped in two languages, but separately. The Latino ministry was recognized as part of the church, but in reality, the Latino ministry was seen as an outside organization. The Spanish-speaking members of the church did not have the right to vote, nor to have representation in the council. There were never any bilingual worship services or multicultural events.

When I have the opportunity to share the multicultural story of Ascension, I refrain from telling my story because it is not my story. It is the story of how Ascension has embraced the new arrivals. How Ascension has walked through these years in a multicultural environment. How in Ascension there is no separation of sheep. We are one flock that listens to what the good shepherd tells us to continue walking and rising together. When I finished sharing the story of Ascension with the pastor, the pastor said, “Everything Ascension has done, we didn’t do it. Ascension is a great example for everyone else.”

The Salvadoran pastor visited Milwaukee at the end of April. I had the opportunity to spend a day with him. He accompanied me to SOPHIA’s event and he was present at Kathy Hahn’s funeral and burial. He saw the Latino ministry sanctuary. It was the day before the Sunday of the Good Shepherd, he also heard the story of how Ascension has walked as a flock, with sheep that share, walk, work and enjoy together in an environment filled with many multicultural traditions. All the things we do as a church caught his attention, but there were two things that he believes he has in mind to put into practice in his community in El Salvador. The first is the garden of ashes; he is a pastor who advocates for the care of the environment and fights for community rights. He believes the Salvadoran Lutheran church should have a memorial garden to carry out the burial of ashes. The second was the alfombras. In Central America, this is a Holy Week tradition that takes place in the streets of the city. He said that there is no church in all of Latin America that puts alfombras inside the sanctuary. He believes that Ascension is the first church to do so in history. He said that he will take that idea to his community in El Salvador to see if it is possible to realize it using the same teaching that we use in Ascension. Holy Week does not end on Good Friday, there is resurrection! Christ is risen! Hallelujah!

These two stories are not the only ones. Last month, I also spoke with other Latino ministry leaders and English-speaking people with partnerships in El Salvador from other churches who would like to make alfombras in their communities.

Brothers and sisters, all these things that have happened, are happening and will continue to happen in our community of faith, are possible only through the work that God is already doing in the hearts of this flock called Ascension. Let the Good Shepherd continue to guide us in caring for this multicultural flock that has been entrusted to us, sharing our experiences and the story of love, joy, hope, peace and faith with other sheep outside our walls and even outside our borders.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

(Ephesians 4.2-6)

Pastor Edwin

Dinner & Auction for El Salvador

You are invited to a fun-filled night of food, fellowship, and some fundraising on Saturday, May 18, at 5 p.m. For $12 a person / $40 a family, you will receive a spaghetti dinner, appetizers, dessert, beer or wine, and other beverages. Tickets will be available Sunday mornings in May.

We have a wide variety of fantastic auction items but it’s not too late to donate items! We are also looking for volunteers to donate appetizers and desserts. Following the dinner, we will wrap up the evening with some bingo and trivia. Sign-up online to donate to the auc tion or to volunteer. 

All proceeds will benefit the mission trip to El Salvador taking place at the end of July. We have a twelve-member delegation traveling to visit the ministries of San Jorge and Usulután Lutheran churches.

Serve with Ascension in April

Mustard Seed Ministry

The parable of the Mustard Seed in Matthew 13:31-32: “He put before them another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field, it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in it branches.” The parable of the mustard seed is a lesson to us that huge things can happen as the result of a very small thing. We are challenging each Ascension member to think of one new way to serve God either at Ascension or in the community or with one of our global partners. Just imagine, if each person took one step out in service, what an impact this would have at Ascension, in Waukesha or in the world!

What can I do?  Where do I fit in? Where can I use my skills?  Where can I get involved?  On April 14, we will be holding a Ministry Fair after each service. There will be opportunities to learn more about ways to get involved. Many people are concerned that they just don’t have the time but we are called to set serving God as a priority in our lives. “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” (1 Peter 4:10) If you look at the various ministries, many are just a short term commitment or are just a chance to see what it feels like to serve. Please plan to spend some time walking through the displays to learn more about the wonderful ministries at Ascension. To make the time more fun, there will be a chance to win some gift cards by completing your Passport book. You will have to attend to see how to earn your stamps for your passport. Snacks and other fun ways to connect will give you a way to learn more not only about the ministries but it will also be a chance to meet other Ascension members and visitors. Remember, just one small step in faith can grow into great results at Ascension, in Waukesha and in the world! Mark your calendar for April 14 after each service!

SOPHIA

We are really excited about SOPHIA’s Community Breakfast fundraiser this year. We are celebrating 20 years working for justice and community building! Ascension was one of the founding congregations and we have had a SOPHIA team ever since. Each year, friends and supporters of SOPHIA gather to celebrate their accomplishments, learn more about the issues, and raise funds to continue the mission of restoring hope and dignity to individuals and families in Waukesha Community. Buy your tickets now! Tickets are $50.

The keynote speaker is Justice Castaneda who is the Executive Director of Common Wealth Development in Madison. He will present his innovative perspective of community development considering sustainability, equity, and justice. His presentation will highlight the importance of SOPHIA’s campaign for housing justice, immigration reform, and transformational justie. The brunch is at La Casa de Esperanza on April 20 from 9 -11:30 a.m. The silent auction will be online from 12 p.m. Sunday, April 14, through Friday, April 19. Thank you to those who donated to our Wisconsin Basket for the silent auction!

Healing Hearts

Thank you to those who donated food and/or served at the recent meals for Healing Hearts. They have expressed gratitude for the special food and smiling faces from Ascension.

You are invited to help celebrate the blossoming of healing and hope since 2010 at the annual gala on April 20 beginning at 6 p.m. at Western Lakes Golf Club. Enjoy a wonderful dinner, an inspiring program, a Silent Auction, raffle and balloon pop. Tickets are $100 a person. Register online.

As one of the founding congregations of Healing Hearts, we would like to donate a basket for the auction. If you are interested in gathering donations for the basket, please contact Teri Quam.

Taco Dinner for El Salvador

We have a delegation of twelve Ascension members traveling to El Salvador to visit our sister parishes in August. They will be traveling to continue to build connections with the people of Usulután church and San Jorge church, participate in learning projects, and learn about both the ministries of the Salvadoran Lutheran church and El Salvador in general.

You can help the delegation by supporting our Taco Dinner and Auction on Saturday, May 18, at 5 p.m. It is a fun-filled evening of fellowship, learning about our partnerships, and enjoying delicious food.

How can you help? Save the date and plan to attend this always popular event. For now, we are collecting items and gift baskets for the auction, as well as smaller gifts for our raffle. Thrivent Members can apply for Action Team grants. If you have something for our auction, please contact Sarah Aparicio. As we get closer, we will also be asking for help with appetizers, beverages, and desserts. ¡Gracias!

Food, Faith, and Farming Network

Thank you to all who made the farmers’ market a great success. We especially thank Marge Schroeder and Cynthia Carlson who were the leaders of the event. Without their commitment to the market, we would not have reached out to as many people. We had a great group of volunteers helping in the kitchen on both Saturday and Sunday. Friendships form when people of the church work together. We had a larger number of non-members who came for the market. Just think, they came to shop but heard the joyful sounds of worship in two languages and experienced what is like to worship at Ascension. On top of all of this, we raised money for the farmers through Food, Faith and Farming Network.

Community Partners

Our Community Partners are agencies within the community that do great work that we could not do on our own. Our partner agencies are identified as those who carry out the Matthew 25 commission of serving God by serving others: “Whatever you have done for the least of these, you have done on to Me.” A true partnership is more than sending a monthly check. It includes learning about the partner and educating the congregation. We try to support and promote their fundraising efforts and we listen to them for ways we can support them through in-kind donations and volunteering.

We promote them on our Ascension Waukesha Mission Outreach Facebook page where we keep the congregation informed of their activities and their needs. While each of our partners have wonderful fund raisers which we promote, we also realize that not all people are able to participate in them. One simple thing we can do is to develop a basket for silent auctions. We just need a few people to decide on an idea and then promote the basket, deliver it to the program and watch to see how much money is raised. We can help get donations through e-alerts, bulletin, and Misssion Outreach Facebook page.

The Gift of Resurrection

It seems like a week ago that we gathered together for Ash Wednesday to begin Lent. We begin the journey of Lent with this phrase “You are dust and to dust you shall return.” A phrase that reminds us that this journey of earthly life is temporary, but the promise of eternal life is firm for all.

Throughout the season of Lent, we listen and reflect on the clues Jesus gave before his death. He said “the kingdom of God has come near, but that same kingdom would also be destroyed and rebuilt on the third day.” Messages that anticipated his persecution, the contempt he would face, and his suffering on the cross with these words “If anyone wants to be my disciple, let him deny himself, carry his cross and follow me” Mark 8:34. “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified… unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.” John 12:24. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man also be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” John 3:14-15.

This year, the forty days passed quickly and we soon found ourselves in Holy Week. A time in which we remember and reflect how our Lord in the midst of his agony on the night he was betrayed, washed the feet of the disciples, instituted Holy Communion and told us “a new commandment I give you: that you love one another.” “Just as I have loved you, you also love one another.” On Good Friday, Jesus is abandoned, scourged, crowned with a crown of thorns and sentenced to death on the cross. His death put an end to the beauty of his messages and his presence among the people.

But is this how it all ends? In no way, three days later the gift of the Resurrection occurs. The purpose for which our lord had been sent had been accomplished. Death was defeated and no longer has power over us. We have been freed from slavery. The temple that had been destroyed was rebuilt on the third day just as the Lord had mentioned to his disciples. With the Resurrection, the persecutions, contempt and agonies have been left behind, it takes us to a space where there is only joy and peace.

Last summer, a month after my installation and ordination, as you already know, my father went to enjoy the gift of the resurrection. Although his absence left a void in our lives, my family and I hold on to the hope of the promise of eternal life. His death brought an end to his earthly suffering, as I have peace knowing that my father was at peace at the moment of his death. The pain of my father’s death was tempered with the hope that gives us strength, comfort, joy, love and peace. In some of you there are probably gaps in loved ones who came before us, that just as Jesus died and rose again, so we will also rise to eternal life.

Brothers and sisters, my wishes are that the empty tomb fills us with Hope, comfort and peace as we walk on this new journey of resurrection. Happy Easter!

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” (Peter 5:10)

Pastor Edwin 

Christ Is Risen!

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

I never get tired of hearing those words. They offer praise. Bring peace. Extend comfort. Reassure troubled hearts. And even raise the dead. Okay, maybe not in the literal sense, but for many of us who know someone who is in a season of their life that is painful, difficult, hopeless – these words of resurrection joy can lift someone from their suffering, if only for a momentary glimpse of the Kingdom of God and the joy to be found there.

I have often wondered why our funeral liturgy does not include this resurrection announcement. I imagine the mood would change for those who gather to remember a loved one, if the first words they heard and said included: “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”

I am all for: 

  • John 14 – Let not your hearts be troubled;
  • Psalm 23 – The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want;
  • Matthew 11 – Come to me all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens;
  • John 11 – I am the resurrection and the life.
  • Romans 8 – What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us?
  • Job 19 – I know that my redeemer lives.
  • Psalm 118 – Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter them; 

And yet, none of those words fill me with the power of belief like, “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Who among us has not known the sting of death or felt the bitter wind at graveside? Even in the warmth of the summer sun, to stand at the edge of the grave of someone we love, there is a known sense of loneliness, regardless of the gathered crowd around you. So again, I ask, why do we not include the resurrection announcement at the beginning and end of every funeral we attend? For that matter, why is the story of resurrected Savior and empty tomb not reminded to us again and again at the entrance to the sanctuary and the gate of the cemetery? It is as if the celebration of Easter is not enough for us. AND YET THIS EASTER NEWS IS ENOUGH! It is all we need. If we had no other words of Scripture but this story of resurrection of the Son of God, it is enough. 

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’s head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed, for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not touch me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and she told them that he had said these things to her.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

I invite you to carry the story and these words of resurrection joy and promise with you into each new day – long past these 50 days of Easter celebration. Carry this resurrection joy deep within you, write it on your heart, and speak it in greeting to remind yourself and others of the good news of our God. “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! 

May the joy of Easter carry you into each new day.

Pastor Chris