Serve With Ascension

The Matthew 25 Promise

Mission Outreach/Serve commits to the words of Matthew 25:  “I was hungry and you fed me, I was a stranger and you took me in…..” These are the words of Jesus as He was preparing to ascend into heaven. He was very clear that out of love for Him, we would share that love with those on earth who were in need. These words motivate us to live out our love for Jesus through our love for others. Ascension has determined that we would provide opportunities to carry this out and to serve those most in need through our partnerships globally and locally.

As we select our Community Partners, we identify agencies or programs that serve those most in need whether it be feeding the hungry, providing shelter to the homeless or stranger, visiting the sick or providing clothes for those in need. We not only give monetary donations out of our budget, we look for ways to be directly involved through in-kind donations and volunteering. This is a true response to the hymn we sang a few weeks ago, Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard You calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart. The opportunities are here, it is up to each of us to respond.

If each person in the congregation pledged to do one small effort of service, we could change our community! We have a lot of special ways to do this coming in the next weeks and months. Watch the e-alerts and bulletin announcements and check out the Mission Outreach Facebook page for opportunities to serve. We update the opportunities regularly.

Meals for Healing Hearts

Healing Hearts, one of our Community Partners, is a program for families who have experienced loss. We will be supporting their work with families in need of support whether through death, divorce, deployment, separation through migration, imprisonment or any other loss. We will be providing a meal for the families prior to their session on Monday, Feb. 19, at First United Methodist Church. We will need donations of soup in a crock pot, bread or crackers, fruit and cookies. Please see the available slots in the Sign-Up Genius and click on your selection for volunteering or donating. Food should be brought to Ascension before 3 p.m. or right before 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 19, when the servers arrive. Servers will be done by 6:15 p.m.

Hope Center

Do you shop at Target? If you shop at Target, you have a chance to help the Hope Center. When you are shopping on the Target Circle app, click on “My Target” then go to Target Circle and under available earnings, click on “Vote for Nonprofits.” Vote for Hope Center. That is all you have to do and your votes will help win support for the Hope Center. What a fun and easy way to support one of our partners!

Hope Center is officially moved into the new building. Check out the pictures on our Mission Outreach Facebook page. They are already serving meals and have a beautiful new Clothing Closet. They will be able to provide many new services for the people of Waukesha. Several of our groups already are serving meals at the Hope Center. Are you interested in serving? Are you willing to help sort the donations? See the Hope Center website for more information about volunteering or contact Shirley Wehmeier.

Food Pantry of Waukesha County

Did you know that one third of the people served through the Food Pantry of Waukesha County are babies and children? They have a special Baby Care program where they offer (when available) baby formula, baby food, diapers, wipes and other hygiene items for children three and younger. This program ensures that families with infants and young children have the foods and hygiene products they need. Food needs increase in the winter as more people are seeking help during this time of year. Donations can be taken directly to the Food Pantry or brought to our Donation Center and placed in the appropriate bin.

Creation Care Ministry

Our county Creation Care/Green Team has many offerings available in their newsletter for congregations and people of faith to live out their faith through how they care for God’s creation. There are a lot of faith-based programs and activities that can enhance our ability to care for creation as a part of our faith life. To find out more about this, go to https://www.waukeshacountygreenteam.org/creation-care-network.  Thank you to everyone who brought in used Christmas lights for disposal, keeping them from the landfills. This simple act makes a difference.

Save the Date! Winter Farmer’s Market

The Food Faith and Farming Network Winter Farmer’s Market is at Ascension on Sunday, March 10. This is always a special event and we will need volunteers to help with a lot of different parts of the day. Watch for announcements and opportunities to help with the day. The day includes a very busy market and a brunch made with ingredients from the farmers.

Serve With Ascension in 2023

Serve Wing & Mission Outreach

Why do we still refer to this wing in both ways? We do that because it is impossible to separate mission outreach from service. Many people think of mission as only global mission. While this is an integral part of what we do, we can’t forget that serving those within our own community is equally important. Our wing’s ministry leaders have committed 2023 to be a year of helping the members of Ascension to see that they all have a calling to serve through love. Through this service, we will live out the command Jesus gave and will bring others to know Jesus as their Savior. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35)

There was an old praise song that still motivates me to service:

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love

How can you serve? Watch the newsletter and weekly announcements about simple ways to serve our community partners either by yourself, your family or a small group.

How do you know what is the best way to serve? What are your skills? What are your interests? What is something that you feel drawn to? Take a bold step and try something out to see if you have found a way to serve. If that doesn’t feel comfortable after a few tries, try another calling. God will guide you to the right thing. Please contact Shirley Wehmeier,  shwehmeier@gmail.com, if you or your small group would like to know the upcoming needs. Don’t belong to a small group? It doesn’t have to be a formal group. Gather a group of friends to live out the command to love one another so everyone will know you are His disciples.

Hope Center

We have had a wonderful response to the requests for specific donations for Hope Center. We have collected a large amount of baby needs for the virtual baby shower and the TGIT small group made their own delivery after collecting needed items. This group also serves a meal at Hope Center when needed. Amen ministry responded to the need for long underwear as we move into the winter season. They had a social event and collected the underwear as their winter service project. Service can be fun! Amen also regularly serves a meal at Hope Center. Both the baby items and winter clothes donations will be ongoing as is the need for serving meals.

Christmas Light Recycling

As you taking down your decorations, do you have a set of Christmas lights that don’t work? Are you ready to toss out a few old sets you’re not using? Most electronic products like Christmas lights are not bio-degradable and will not decompose into the earth’s soil after being tossed away and will leach harmful chemicals into the soil. If you want to keep your lights from going to a landfill and do your part to look after God’s creation, recycling your lights is a great way to do it! Place them in the marked bin in the Donation Center and we will properly dispose of them.

Hawthorne School Partnership

We will again be collecting new or very gently used coats, boots, hats and waterproof mittens for Hawthorne School. Outdoor play is encouraged unless it is super cold and many children do not have the proper outdoor clothing. Place donations in the Donation Center.

Habitat for Humanity: Ascension Build Day

Ascension Build Day with Habitat is Wednesday, Jan. 25. We will need a maximum of five volunteers. Volunteers must be at least 18-years-old and willing to complete an online waiver. This is our first build day in five years so we are excited to get back to serving our community in this important mission. They will know we are Christians by our love. Contact Nick Wagner to volunteer, nwagner703@yahoo.com.

Tutoring

After a break during December, tutoring will resume on January 8. We are hoping to have more of a one-on-one approach when possible. We work with preschoolers through adults. We work with young children to be school ready and school age children to assist in homework /classroom needs and to improve spoken and written skills. Our tutors are great at making these fun experiences. We work with adults who are English Language learners and need specific help in learning both spoken and written English. We also assist in preparation for the written drivers’ test and for the citizenship test. Please contact Shirley at shwehmeier@gmail.com if you are interested in helping with students or if you know of someone who may benefit from this program.

Blessing Box

Thank you to all of you who have been helping us keep the Blessing Box filled. As we have more very cold days, please be aware of putting things in the box that might freeze and containers break. We have people checking the box several times a week so that we can monitor that food is fresh and safe. On very cold days, dry products such as cereal, snacks, most canned goods are a good choice. Plastic or glass may break. Fresh produce or bakery will freeze quickly. We also see a little reduction in use when it is very cold so please keep an eye on the weather. If you come to church and you notice items on the ground, please bring them into church or notify the office so one of the leaders can come to take care of the items. We do not want things frozen to the ground this time of the year.

Ascension’s Community Partners

We often refer to community partners in our articles in the newsletter, bulletins, and the Ascension Mission Outreach Facebook page. What is a Community Partner? Waukesha is blessed to have many agencies that support the needs of our community. We would love to support them all, but we know it is better when we can have a deeper relationship to make the partnership more meaningful. We also serve to promote the programs within our congregation for those who may have a need.

Our Mission Outreach Ministry leaders selected the partners based on several factors. We need to be able to provide some hands-on experiences as individuals but especially as small groups (volunteering). Volunteering can be either on a scheduled basis or for a one time special event. We provide financial support from the budget and when there is an extreme need, in the form of special offering requests, (financial). The final arm of our partnership is providing in-kind support. We realize not everyone is able to volunteer personally but is willing to provide for the needs of the partner. We have leaders to keep in touch with the agencies who identify their specific needs. Just as we work under the guides for accompaniment for our global partners, we do the same for community partners. Rather than collecting things we think they might need, we work with them to identify their greatest needs. We also agree to promote their services on a regular basis thereby being true partners.

The choice of partners is reviewed each year as we prepare the budget and review how connected we have been in the previous year. Some partners focus more on in-kind. Each of the agencies we have identified provide much needed services within our community. We cannot as a congregation do individually what they can do for the neediest in our community when many congregations all work together. We are working as a team to carry out our Matthew 25 pledge:

“When I was hungry, you fed me, when I was thirsty, you gave me a drink, when I was homeless, you gave me shelter, when I was a stranger, you took Me in. When you took care of the least of these, you did it on to Me.”

NAMI Southeast Wisconsin: Do you love someone struggling with a mental health condition? Join NAMI for this virtual, two-evening session directed towards those who love someone with a mental health condition, or just wants to learn more! NAMI Family and Friends is for any adult who wants to know more about mental health treatment and options for a loved one from someone who “has been there.” This virtual experience will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 14 and 15. Contact Susan, sschoenmarklin@namisoutheastwi.org, to get the link to participate. NAMI has been one of our long time community partners.

Healing Hearts: Healing Hearts has a few program nights in November and December that still need food provisions for families and facilitators in their support program. The comfort and community that a warm meal cultivates is immeasurable. Simple foods are requested such as pizza, tacos, sloppy joes. Contact Shirley Wehmeier for more information on how your small group could do this as a service project.

Hope Center: Hope Center is in the process of restocking their NEW baby items for new and expecting mothers. The most needed items are baby wipes, newborn and size 1 diapers, (although diapers of all sizes are welcomed), hooded towels, burp cloths, receiving blankets, nighttime baby wash, baby wash and shampoo, 0-3 and 3-6 months outfits for boys and girls. The Layette program is geared to provide expectant mothers with items they will need once their baby arrives. It is often described as “a baby shower in a bag”. Donations are accepted Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Hope Center or if you can’t get it there, put your items in the  Hope Center box in Ascension’s Donation Center. Large amounts of donations should go to Hope Center directly.

Waukesha County Food Pantry: Did you know that the Waukesha County Food Pantry ensures that people with chronic medical conditions have the foods they need to stay healthy? As you think about donations, these are often overlooked. The pantry accepts foods that meet special dietary needs: Low sugar, gluten free, vegan and supplemental drinks like Boost or Ensure. Please remember the people who struggle with taking care of their special health needs when you shop or if you find that during this time of inflation, you struggle to get the foods you need for a special diet, you may be eligible for help through the Food Pantry.