Walk With Ascension Into 2023

Care Ministries

Happy New Year to all of our Ascension friends! We begin our year with celebration as the New Year marks the beginning of a fresh start for many. A new beginning! As a new year begins, we have new wishes and promises for a brighter future as we say farewell to the past year. I continually want to challenge myself to view the year through a lens of love instead of one of criticism. I stand firmly in my belief in the gift of being kind to ourselves and everybody around us. I think it is so important that we allow ourselves to be wrong, embrace our failures and our imperfections and feel good enough to accept our thoughts, souls and spirits. I believe love within ourselves is the greatest gift we can give ourselves. We should believe in practicing life with compassion, courage and with empathy towards others. We cannot really love and spread love around the world if we don’t first feel good about who we are. My New Year’s resolution some years ago was to start accepting myself truly and find peace in being me. A calmness that wouldn’t overthrow me every time I was struck by a feeling of inadequacy. I was tired of chasing after things that I could not achieve and that were not genuine. It was time for me to fully embrace myself, to treasure the gift of life. Time to show gratitude towards my loved ones just the way they are.

As Christians, it can be hard to find peace in a world filled with so many things to worry about. As humans, our brains are primed to pay attention to our environment. Our minds are constantly scanning to help keep us alive and identify opportunities to make our lives more pleasurable. It is why we are more likely to keep an eye on the oven than our Bible. The sights, sounds, and smells of this physical world just feel more real and tangible than our spiritual world.
 
One possible way to counter this is to focus on praying, reading the Bible, and attending church which can bolster our spiritual focus. However, many struggle to commit these practices to habit. Perhaps just thinking about God, himself, can help shift our focus away from the worries of this physical world to our more enduring spiritual one. What’s more comforting than knowing how our Savior will someday return to welcome us into his arms? Spending just a few moments thinking about God, who he is and what he means to us, can help ease anxiety, alleviate worry, and bring some peace of mind. 

“The Lord gives strength to his people, and the Lord blesses his people with peace.” (Psalm 29:11)

Brenda Lytle, RN, Director of Care Ministries

Pathway to Mental Wellness Event

After a successful first Pathway to Mental Wellness Event, “The Pathway to Peace” in October, we are ready to offer our second event at the end of January on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 12 p.m., “The Pathway to Understanding.” We will gather for a potluck lunch and then hear a presentation from the National Alliance for Mental Illness. The presentation will offer a personal perspective of mental health conditions. The presentation will provide an opportunity to hear open and honest perspectives on a highly misunderstood topic. A chance to ask questions of presenters and information on how to learn more about mental health and get involved with the mental health community.

AMEN No Regrets 2023

No Regrets 2023

Ascension Men — Coming Again to Ascension!

Saturday, Feb. 4, 8am to 1:30pm. Register to watch with us at Ascension, online https://tinyurl.com/AMEN2023 or with this QR code. Password is AMEN.

GriefShare Ministry

We plan to begin another session of Grief Share this winter beginning in February. The details will be announced soon.

Pastoral Assistance and Cancer Care

If you or a family member is hospitalized and would like a visit from a pastor or pastoral assistants, please call the church office at 262-547-8518. Ascension’s Cancer Care Ministry continues to open arms to those in need, helping members of our congregation. If you know of a congregational member or family that could use some assistance walking their cancer journey, please contact, Brenda Lytle at brenda@ascensionelca.org

Young at Heart (55+)

If you are interested in fun outings and fellowship, join us at a Young at Heart Ministry gathering. They meet on the third Wednesday of each month for a potluck lunch and to play cards and games. Come and have fun!

Jesus Is Here

Well, sabbatical has come and gone. And as one author writes, “into the mess I go.” Not the mess of the church. The church is far from a mess. Pastor Tony, our staff, and lay leaders were an incredible gift of confidence and stability during my time away. No, the “mess” I refer to is life. Life with all its journeys of mountains, valleys, twists and turns and even roadblocks. Yet we are here. And so is Jesus.

When we are broken. When we are hurt. When we are led astray. When we are treated poorly. When we struggle to breathe. Jesus is there. 

When we are sinful. When we hurt others. When we betray a confidence. When we treat others poorly. When we are a stumbling block to someone else. Jesus is also there.

This life, for all its roads, is the only life we have. Jesus reminds us in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Thanks be to God. When we are living out our faith in this world as a beautiful reflection of the love of Jesus and when we forget that each person deserves the dignity of the image of God placed upon them that we might love them and offer both welcome and hospitality. Jesus still offers us life. The gift of forgiveness. The gift of mercy. The gift of God’s grace is still ours by the generous hand of our God.

I share all of this to remind us that we are not alone on this journey. Nor does God leave us to fend for ourselves though many people believe they are on their own. What that means for me is that there are days I need to be reminded that God honors my efforts and forgives my failures. Of which, if I am being honest, I have many. Don’t we all?

One of the ways, at Ascension, in which we have begun to tend the challenges we face in this life is through a new ministry still in its infancy. “Pathways to Mental Wellness” began as a longing and a hunger among members to tend the fear, anxiety, worry, and other burdens either we, ourselves, are carrying or those we know are carrying in these days. On Sunday, Oct. 16, we had our first gathering. “A Pathway to Peace” offered an opportunity to rest in the cool darkness of the sanctuary illuminated by candlelight and enveloped in the gentle sounds of piano music where one could sit in relative anonymity and release all the gasping moments of these days. In the darkness there were holy sounds of tears and sniffles and sacred moments of sobbing. I am grateful that Ascension provided a place for release. A place for people to let go of their tightly wound lives and removal of the many masks we wear. An opportunity to choose not to keep spinning all the plates in the air. There was time for candle lighting and private prayers and people left with a blessing for all that we carry. I could not have hoped for a better entrance into a new ministry that is still being discovered and shaped through the movement of the Holy Spirit.

If you would like to join myself, Pastor Tony, and Brenda, our Director of Care Ministries, in the dreaming for what is next – you are most welcome to join us. We are looking to gather other dreamers and those who long for other pathways to explore as our mental wellness is tended by the power and promise of God. We are hopeful to explore possible roads in the following directions: A Pathway to Restoration, A Pathway to the Place Between, A Pathway to Revelation, A Pathway to Joy, A Pathway to a New Beginning, and A Pathway to Hope. And of course, so many other ways to dream. Even if you do not have a dream – consider joining us to listen and to imagine what could be in the days ahead. We are gathering on Monday, Nov. 28, at 6:30 p.m. I would love for you to be there.

There is much more to celebrate in the life of Ascension. As you read through this newsletter, you can almost feel the joy of the full return of ministry after the long hibernation and slow awakening back to life as much of the covid cloud begins to lift. May you be blessed as you consider the days ahead to the glory of God.

See you in church.

Pastor Chris