Advent & Christmas at Ascension

Join us for these events, activities and worship during this special time of the year.

Advent Midweek Worship

Each Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. in of Advent, we will gather in the sanctuary for a half hour worship with music, prayer, scripture, devotion, and communion. Join us on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 10 and 17.

Annunciation Worship & Breakfast Dec. 12

On Thursday, Dec. 12, we will celebrate the visit of the Angel Gabriel to Mary with a 6 a.m. Spanish-language worship with a mariachi band, followed by a potluck breakfast.

“Go Tell It on the Mountain” Dec. 13 & 14

Join us for a special weekend of worship with our Advent Concert Worship services. On Saturday, Dec. 13, at 6 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 14, at 9:30 a.m., the musical ensembles of Ascension will share the music of the season in the context of worship with holy communion. We will celebrate with a potluck brunch at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. Please sign-up in the narthex with what you’re bringing.

Las Posadas Saturday, Dec. 21

Las Posadas remembers the journey of the holy family through the streets of Bethlehem where they were turned away by innkeeper after innkeeper. We begin with hot cocoa and a live nativity at 4 p.m. Las Posadas begins at 5 p.m. Children of all ages are welcome to be in costume. A dinner will follow Las Posadas with mariachi band and a piñata. Join us for this multicultural event popular with all of Ascension.

Children’s Ministry Nativity Program

Sunday, December 21st, the Fourth Sunday of Advent, will offer normal worship at 8:30 a.m. and at 10:45 a.m. we will hear the voices of children raised in song to welcome the coming Savior. A new format this year will offer some additional children’s times to tell the story of Christmas with reflections on the people and animals that found themselves invited into the story of the birth of Jesus.

Christmas Eve Worship

We worship at 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 9:30 p.m. with carols, communion, and candlelight at all three services. Our 3 p.m. worship will be led with organ and piano. Our 5 p.m. worship will be led with organ, piano, and choir. Our 9:30 p.m. worship will be led with guitar. Our Latino families will celebrate Nochebuena at 6 p.m.

Christmas Day Worship

Christmas Day Worship is at 10 a.m. and gathers our praise to “greet the happy morning” as one hymn writer offers. We offer holy communion at this worship service.

Sunday, Dec. 28, the First Sunday of Christmas will gather us for worship at our normal worship times of 8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. for our English language worship and 10:45 a.m. for our Spanish-language worship.

God Is Here

The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before. It is not possible to keep it from coming, because it will. That’s just how Advent works. What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God’s hindquarters fade in the distance. 

So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. 
Behold. Wonder. 
There will be time enough for running. 
For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. 
Wait.
Something is on the horizon. ~ Author Jan Richardson.

Advent is my favorite time of year. Yes, some of you will accuse me of saying that about Lent and Easter, but it is really true of Advent. Last year, when several of our pastoral colleagues used the Celtic Advent Calendar, which offers six Sundays to the season of Advent, I was tempted to make the switch, but then all the things – budget hearing, annual meeting, Thanksgiving must all squish together in clunky ways and the one thing I dislike more than anything else is when things are “clunky.”


Advent, for me, has become the “great surrender.” For several years now, I have shifted the days of Advent to less running around and more opportunity for quiet. “How do you do that pastor?” Ah, well, first there is little that must be decided in a meeting in the month of December that will not wait until January or could not be concluded in November. Which means more nights at home in front of the fire with family. This new schedule means more dinners together as family around the table with the lighting of the Advent wreath before we pray over dinner so we might honor the slow progression of the days leading us to the manger. It means no JOLT on Thursdays so that there might be lingering moments with a friend over a warm cup of coffee. This surrender means that I will let go of the schedule that is always leading my days so that I might be drawn to what my soul longs for instead of what my schedule shouts at me. 

And like last year, I’ve added an opportunity for study and reflection with a three-week book study to focus anyone who wishes to walk the road of Advent. This year, we will reflect on the “Voices of Advent,” a book written by Dr. Matthew Skinner, a professor at Luther Seminary. You will have opportunity to sign up ahead of time and join me on either Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. or on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 a.m. beginning on Dec. 2 and 3 respectively. Along with the book study, we are offering a new opportunity for quiet, reflective worship with communion at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays in Advent, much like what some of you experienced this past Lent. A half hour worship with music, prayer, scripture, devotion, and communion. All nicely brought together in a half hour worship. It is but one additional way I surrender to the season of Advent and the call of the star to follow. 

It has been a most glorious year of ministry. As the church year closed on Christ the King Sunday and began again on Nov. 30th with the First Sunday of Advent, nightfall is longer, temperatures lead us to winter, and the weather invites us to linger in warm conversations that keep us together for a moment or two longer. And so I will practice the “great surrender” once again this season and invite you to join me. 

“Through the dark of Advent. There is hope that whispers: God is here.” A promise we have known all along – a promise, we need only remind ourselves and each other, will never not be true. May Advent be a time to stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running and rushing around. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon.

See you in church.

Pastor Chris

Making Room

“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” ~ Luke 2:7

I read a story on the internet about a Sunday School Christmas Program telling the story of Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem and looking for a room. In the program, a very pregnant Mary and Joseph move from place to place searching for lodging, but at each place they try, they’re told “there is no room for you here” and sent away.

During this most tense part of the story, one of the children playing an animal in the program stood up, strayed from the script, and loudly yelled, “Hey! Come over here by me, I’ll make room for you!”

Now I have no idea if this story is true or not, but it certainly illustrates a profound message for us during the Advent and Christmas seasons – Do I make room for Jesus? At my best, I hope the answer is yes. I hope and pray that my words and actions every day reflect Jesus, that my life is a witness to God’s love. I hope that I’m living out my faith, listening to those nudges from the Holy Spirit to take advantage of the opportunities God gives for me to love and care for my neighbors in Jesus’ name.

But I know my answer is not always yes. Life is busy, and I’m human. Even with the advantage of working in professional ministry, there are plenty of times when I miss chances to reflect God’s love or even find myself intentionally avoiding doing something I know God would want me to do. I suspect that’s true for you as well. It’s so easy for the busy-ness of life to push aside time with God. Ironically, perhaps that’s especially true in the Christmas season!

The Christmas story is a story about making room. Mary made room when she said yes to God – “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Joseph made room when he accepted the angel’s explanation of his fiancée’s pregnancy and changed his mind about ending their relationship – “When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took Mary as his wife.” The shepherds in the fields made room by taking a break from the demands of their job, leaving their flocks, and hurrying to Bethlehem to see the newborn baby in the manger, then spreading the good news all over town – “So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child.” The Magi made room by leaving their homes and traveling to a far-away land on faith that a star would lead them to a king – “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” And of course, God is the one who started it, who – “emptied himself…being born in human likeness.”

As you and I celebrate the season of Christmas this year, I pray that we will all make room for Jesus, opening ourselves to the Holy Spirit who helps us to make room for what God is doing in our lives and in our world.

Wishing you and yours peace and joy throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons!

Pastor Tony

Advent & Christmas at Ascension

BLAST Program: “Abajo en Belén” (Down in Bethlehem): The BLAST Sunday School children will share the story of Jesus’ birth in worship on Sunday, Dec. 22, during worship at 10:45 a.m. Dress rehearsal for BLAST children is Saturday, Dec. 21, 9-11 a.m. 8:30 a.m. will be regular 4th Sunday of Advent worship.

Christmas Eve Worship: Christmas Eve Worship on Sunday, Dec. 24, will be at 3p, 5p, 6p (Spanish) and 9:30p. Candle lighting, communion, and glorious music will be shared at all the services— organ and piano at 3p, the Ascension Choir at 5p, and guitar at 9:30p. If you can help with ushering or communion, please contact Tamie in the church office, tamie@ascensionelca.org. Invite your friends! Bring your family and share in the joy of what is always a beautiful night filled with song and candlelight, tradition, and memories.

Christmas Day Worship: The joyful sounds and faces of Christmas Day will be heard and seen at worship at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 25.

Advent Arrives

Advent has come! “Advent,” as one author writes, “is a season of the heart, a time when our hearts are warmed by the love of family and friends, and especially, the love of God. Advent is also a time for heart work, a time to address straying of the heart from God’s purposes, hardening of the heart to the people around us whom God has called us to love, and dulling of the heart to the joys and wonders of life.”

Advent has sometimes been called “the little Lent,” but Advent is so much more! A time of preparation and anticipation for the One who makes all things new. Candles are lit each Sunday around an Advent Wreath to help us prepare. Words like Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love are announced to remind us of what the coming Savior of the world will offer to us. There is a joy in the waiting for Christmas because we know what is to come. The labor pains of Mary will give way to the cries of a newborn king. The world will not even take notice. But animals close by the manger and armies of angels in heaven will bend their knee in worship. Emmanuel, God with us, has come to be among us. 

We so often wait with worry, frustration, fear. We expect that the end of our waiting will bring news that is difficult to hear. Even in moments of joyful anticipation, there can be moments of cautious hesitation expecting something bad to happen. It is the broken world that seeps into our hope. It is only by the arrival of Jesus that our hope can be restored and with that hope – we find peace, joy, and love to sustain us in this life. 

Who could believe a baby in a manger would change the world forever? Is it too much to hope for in this life, with all of its struggles and moments that weigh us down, that our God comes to us to be present with us in the valleys and celebrates with us on the mountaintop? Perhaps, most days it is too much to believe that God cares so much as to take notice. Yet, I am convinced that the God who comes to us in every vulnerability, is the same God who comes to us with every strength to carry us through these days and one day, will carry us home. 

So this Advent, join us on our journey to the manger. Seek out the star in the sky, follow the shepherds, hear the cries of a new born baby, and kneel down, with all creation, in worship and reverence for the arrival of the newborn king once again.

People of God, Merry Christmas! (if just a bit early)

Pastor Chris

Light in the Darkness

Have you ever been in a place where all the lights went out and you were left standing in complete darkness? 

One time when we were at my wife’s family cabin in the north woods, one of her cousins and a friend left to go for a walk on the road around the lake. It was just before sundown when they left, and when it finally turned to night, the moon was completely obscured by a dense layer of clouds. The rest of us had been sitting around the campfire when we heard cries of “HELP!” coming from the road. So, I grabbed a flashlight and headed toward the distress. And when I got to the road I shined the flashlight around and discovered the cousin and friend about 10 feet off the driveway looking disoriented. They said they forgot to take a flashlight and without the moonlight it was pitch black and they couldn’t see the road much less find the driveway to get back home.

When I first shined the flashlight on them they seemed relieved and began to laugh. It’s amazing how unnerving it can feel when all the light goes out, even if you’re close to the relative safety of loved ones or a place you know well. I wonder if you have ever been surprised by the absence of light? The light makes all the difference in the world doesn’t it?

If you want to see what Jesus means in your life, just imagine a time without him. Have you ever had that time in your life? A time before Jesus existed for you? A time before you knew about the light of the world? Was it as dark as a late night walk in the woods without a flashlight or the moon to light the way? Imagine a time before Jesus was born. Where was the hope for the world? Where was the joy? Where was the focus on love and forgiveness? There really was a time before Jesus, a time when the world was waiting, expecting, and hoping.  

Each year during Advent we wait and expect and hope for the coming of Jesus while much of the world around us remains in the dark. For many, the Christmas holiday means shopping and decorating without a hint of the baby Jesus. As Christians, the center of our holiday season is the light of the world, an infant king, bringing peace. 

Take a moment and consider this: What are the ways you will choose to focus on Jesus this season? How will you grow in your knowledge and presence of him? How will you show those around you the difference he has made to you and to the world? 

Wishing you and yours a joy-filled Advent and Christmas season. Waiting, Expecting, Hoping.

Pastor Tony

Advent & Christmas at Ascension

Join us for special worship and activities to celebrate the Advent and Christmas season.

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Dec. 24, 8:30 a.m. :

We will celebrate the fourth Sunday of Advent at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 24, before we move to Christmas Eve worship in the afternoon.

Christmas Eve Worship Dec. 24

Christmas Eve Worship on Sunday, Dec. 24, will be at 3, 5 and 9 p.m. Candlelighting, communion, and glorious music will be shared at all the services. If you can help with ushering or communion, please contact Tamie, tamie@ascensionelca.org, in the church office. 

Christmas Day Worship Dec. 25

The joyful sounds of Christmas Day worship is at 10 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 25.

PAST EVENTS

Welcome to Advent Worship Nov. 29

Join us on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 6:30 p.m. for a beautiful worship service as we enter into the season of Advent. We will gather around the music of Holden Evening Prayer.

Deck the Halls Dec. 2

Deck the Halls of Ascension begins at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2, to prepare the church campus for the season of Advent and Christmas. 

Advent Concert Worship “Rejoice and Sing!” Dec. 9 & 10

Choirs, handbells, praise band, and instrumentalists will present Rejoice and Sing! on Sat., Dec. 9, 6 p.m., and Sun., Dec.10, 9:30 a.m. followed by a potluck brunch. Invite a friend and join us in concert worship!

Annunciation Worship and Breakfast Dec. 12

Celebrate the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary on Tuesday, Dec. 12, with a 5:30 a.m. Spanish-language worship led by mariachis, followed by a potluck breakfast.

Las Posadas Dec. 16

Las Posadas remembers the journey of the holy family through the streets of Bethlehem where they were turned away again and again until an innkeeper took pity on their plight. This event hosted by our Spanish-speaking members continues to grow year after year. Incredible food, a mariachi band, and a piñata round out the night. It is a glorious gathering of the community of Ascension. It begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, with hot cocoa and coffee. Children of all ages are welcome to be in costume.  

Children’s Christmas Program Children Run Joyfully! Dec. 17

The BLAST Sunday School children will share the story of Jesus’ birth in worship on Sunday, Dec. 17, during worship at 10:45 a.m. Dress rehearsal for BLAST children is Saturday, Dec. 16, 9-11 a.m.  The 8:30 a.m. service will be regular worship.

Advent Activities: O Come Let Us Adore Him

We are returning to a Welcome to Advent Soup Supper and Worship experience on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Soup supper begins at 6 p.m. Worship will begin at 6:45 p.m. and end by 7:30 p.m. This evening will be a beautiful entry into the season of Advent and the patient expectation of the unfolding story of God’s saving work among us in the coming of a Savior.

  • Deck the Halls of Ascension: to prepare the church campus for the season of Advent and Christmas, will start at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3. 
  •  Advent Concert Worship: a beautiful evening and morning of worship on Saturday, Dec. 10, 6 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11, at 9:30 a.m. with a potluck brunch to celebrate the season of Advent. Invite a friend and join choirs, praise band, handbells, and instrumentalists in worship to Follow the Star.
  •  Las Posadas: remembering the journey of the holy family through the streets of Bethlehem where they were turned away again and again until an innkeeper took pity on their plight. This event, hosted by our Spanish-speaking members, continues to grow year after year. Incredible food, a mariachi band, and a piñata round out the night. It is a glorious gathering of the community of Ascension. It begins at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17, with hot cocoa and coffee.
  •  Children’s Christmas Program: BLAST children will share the joy of Jesus’ birth through story and song at 10:45 a.m. worship on Sunday, Dec. 18. Rehearsal for BLAST children’s Christmas program is Saturday, Dec. 17, 9-11 a.m.
  •  Christmas Eve Worship (English): Saturday, Dec. 24, 3 p.m. & 5 p.m.
  •  Christmas Day Worship: Sunday, Dec. 25, 10 a.m.

So much to look forward to as we return to the fullness of abundant life Jesus promises to us. O, come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!