Celebrating 75 Years

On September 14, 1949, a brave gathering of 24 people hungry to hear the Word of God and to offer their worship and praise to our God gathered for the first time for what would become the community of Ascension Lutheran Church. Ascension’s first sanctuary was built by its first pastor, the Rev. Lee Egloff. The entire sanctuary measured a cozy but adequate 960 square feet. Seventeen years later, in 1966, ground was broken on a 7.5-acre parcel of land, which would become our current location, with a new sanctuary, fellowship hall, and offices built to house a flourishing community of faith.

In the summer of 1976, Pastor Frank Janzow accepted the call to serve at Ascension. In 1979, the Hearth Room, admin hallway, and additional offices/classrooms were added to the building. 1982 brought the arrival of Pastor Jim Bickel to join Pastor Frank in the ministry leadership of the congregation. The need for a larger sanctuary and lobby space brought the addition of a new sanctuary in 1993. As Ascension’s ministries continued to grow, an education wing was proposed and supported by the congregation. In 2007, the congregation opened the doors to a two-story building capable of handling children and adult education, small group and bible study ministries, and a preschool.

In 2010, Pastor Chris Marien arrived with Pastor Frank announcing, “The Mariens are coming, the Mariens are coming!” Just not the “Marines” some might have thought. In the early spring of 2020, the Covid pandemic saw the shut-down of the church campus while we worshiped and gathered virtually as the world came to terms with a global pandemic. Pastor Tony Acompanado accepted the call to join the ministry alongside Pastor Chris in August of 2020. In March 2021, life returned to the church campus, with praise and worship being shared by all in the sanctuary once again. In the summer of 2023, Pastor Edwin Aparicio was called to Ascension and joined the clergy leadership with responsibility for our Spanish language ministry and high-school youth ministry. We have come a long way since 1949.

Now, in 2024, we are preparing to celebrate our 75th anniversary as the community of Ascension Lutheran Church in Waukesha. Over the weekend of September 13-15, we will gather to celebrate 75 years of ministry and mission to the glory of God. We will start festivities on Friday night, Sept. 13, with a concert under the stars in Ascension’s Memorial Gardens, enjoying the music of Ben Janzow and the Dirty Boogie Band. An appetizer potluck and drinks will invite us to feast. Bounce houses will keep the kids entertained and music will fill the air.

On Sunday, Sept. 15, we will gather for worship as one community at 10 a.m. Our musicians from all three worship services will lead us as we gather to worship and give praise to our God. A catered brunch will follow worship, with tickets beginning to sell the week of Aug. 25. Our history will be out in full display, reminding us of where we have come from and the faithful dedication of those who have come before us. We will invite you to bring framed pictures of weddings, baptisms and other celebrations to the weekend of events to be displayed for all to see.

We are excited to have Bishop Paul Erickson, Pastor Frank and Deacon Jan Janzow and Pastor Elisabeth and Jacob Himmelman join us for the celebration. We will gather under the theme of Luke 15:24b – “And They Began to Celebrate!” And celebrate we will indeed. Pastor Jim will join us Friday night and his wife, Paula, will join us on Sunday.

We will need many hands to plan and prepare for the weekend of excitement. If you are willing to share in the preparations, please let the church office know by sending an email to Tamie Greenwood, Tamie@ascensionelca.org, or calling 262-547-8518 and adding your name to the list of those who might be able to help with preparations.

We give thanks to God for God’s faithfulness to this community, and we are excited to imagine the future God is preparing to lay before us. Juntos nos levantamos! Together we rise!

Anticipating the days ahead,

President Amanda Payne , Rev. Christian Marien, Rev. Anthony Acompanado, Rev. Edwin Aparicio, Pastor

Everything Old Is New Again

Dia de Los Muertos ofrenda

This time of the year is the end of both the liturgical year and the calendar year. The end of one year and the beginning of a new one is often a time for looking back at the year that was. I recently had an experience that caused me to look back not just at my own past, but at the history of Ascension.

During our outdoor services during the pandemic and during the remodeling of the Spanish Sanctuary, we were looking for ways to create a beautiful, yet portable, altar. This lovely cross became part of Spanish language worship. I never gave the history of this specific cross much thought until we put together our ofrenda for All Saint’s Day worship.

Pastor Chris came in to look at the ofrenda and he asked me if I knew the story of the cross that was the center of the ofrenda. I had no idea. It was the cross from the original church. I thought of the twenty-four founding members. When they founded Ascension in the small town of Waukesha in 1949, I doubt any of them would have seen that in the future, their altar cross would be in the center of a Mexican-style Dia de los Muertos ofrenda.

It made me think about what it means to be people of God in a church. Some things are always changing, the language we worship in, the songs we sing, the way we celebrate special holy days. On the surface, worship today in the East Hall looks very different from what it looked like when it was the only sanctuary of Ascension starting in 1967. Yet when we take a deeper look, things are more alike than we realize.

Even when we see things looking different than they did before, the Advent message of Peace, Hope, Love, and Faith are still pillars to remind us of God’s never-ending love and grace. As we go through this season of Advent, may the Holy Spirit continue to guide us in this multi-cultural journey of discipleship. We change, but God never changes.

Edwin Aparicio, Pastoral Intern, Spanish-Language Minister