Mountaintop Moments

July 2017 and the grace of God took Ascension to the mountaintop!

What joy it brings to share with you the events of the last month and all that is coming in the days ahead. July gathered our CRASH high school ministry to a first-time “Mission Next Door” event, in which each day, the students and adult leaders gathered for devotions and breakfast and then headed out into the community. Day one took our high school servants to the Memorial Gardens and flower beds all around the church campus. A full day of weeding, tending, and shaping the space all the way to the ash garden. An incredible day! Later in the week, the Waukesha food pantry would get a cleanup inside and a makeover outside complete with mulched flowerbeds. Thursday took the students to one of our member’s homes for a healthy weeding of flowerbeds and the tending of a relationship. In the middle of “Mission Next Door,” Ascension welcomed the arrival of our brothers and sisters from El Salvador. Bienvenidos!

Thursday was full of feasting and canning and swimming at Ottawa Lake. Friday was busy with tours of partner churches in Milwaukee, community gardens, and captured rainwater projects. But, my favorite part came Friday afternoon when we gathered to bowl at Bayshore, where there are video screens and glowing neon lights. Explaining bowling in Spanish was fun to watch. Explaining in signs and gestures was even better. Watching the smiles unfold when just one pin fell down and the ball stayed out of the gutter. Now that was priceless.

I tell you God is at work! I am grateful to our Mission Outreach Team under the leadership of Wing Leader, Shirley Wehmeier. It is wonderful to watch the church be exactly who the church should be with hospitality overwhelming and joy overflowing. Edwin and Sarah Aparicio have been incredible hosts and representatives of Ascension as they have navigated translation after translation after translation and every blessed detail of the delegation’s visit. A moment of great celebration took place on Sunday, July 16 with a gathering at the home of the Wehmeiers for the delegation, church staff, church council, and partner churches. It was a glorious day. We heard updates on EVERYTHING! But most importantly – we feasted – we played volleyball – we had one-on-one conversations with Pastor Julio about healthcare, challenges of ministry in El Salvador, and especially the deep concern and request for prayer for the children and young adults of El Salvador. Please include them in your prayers – especially for the opportunity to simply and safely grow up. In my sermon from July 16, I spoke of the belief that the visit by the delegation from El Salvador was nothing short of a miracle. It is true – every word. The journey is a gift of God in every single way. Thank you for your hospitality of the delegates through the days of the visit and in worship.

What can you learn from the stories of these mountaintop moments? So very much! In all these things, we are reminded that God goes before us. We remember that we need to hear the story of God’s love as much as we tell the story of God’s love. We remember that the great cloud of witnesses that surrounds our worship and our faithfulness to God has grown once again – with the great and faithful servants of CRASH serving our God and God’s people; with the visit of the saints of San Jorge and Usulutan; and with the great gift of good news shared by Pastor Angela!

I give thanks to God for all of it. I give thanks to God for each of you. Gracias a Dios. Thanks be to God! See you in church.

Rev. Christian Marien

(This article was first published in the August 2017 newsletter).

Living Faith

Dear People of God,

I take it as pure joy to be sitting outside in the middle of September relishing every moment of 72° and the delight of sunlight and blue skies. I know before too long, the days will announce fall with a new wind blowing and a fresh chill in the air. For now, we rejoice in the gift of the breeze coupled with the warmth of the sunshine to bring mums to bloom and one last ripened tomato from garden to table.

The beginning of fall programming in our congregation brings joy as well. So much to celebrate. So much offered from God’s open hands. There is something for everyone. I am always stunned at the sheer amount of ministry happening in and through the community of Ascension.

Alongside my constant surprise at the number of active ministries moving in and through Ascension walks the almost unbelievable fact that Pastor Angela celebrates her first anniversary as pastor with us at Ascension. She is a gift in so many ways and brings a perspective to the congregation that deepens our understanding, strengthens our faith, and inspires our hearts. I am grateful for her presence among us.

It is no secret that our Children’s Ministries have undergone a significant transformation over the past two months. Our Director of Faith Formation, Tony Acompanado, receives much of the credit for this transition along with the dedicated teachers who have taken a “leap of faith” in walking with our Children’s Ministry in this inaugural year of newness. So far so good. We have spent a good deal of time redefining our Children’s Ministry in the light of experience.

In these days of ministry, I often ask this question, “What does it mean for faith to come alive?” Answers to that question are all around us. However, one moment has stood out, for me, more than any other. In the midst of our Kindergarten Stepping Stone, we revised our activities to make everything we do hands-on. Our kindergarten students had a blast. Playdough brought the story of Noah’s Ark to life. Legos helped to explain the story of Solomon building the temple. Finger paint and candied gel decoration taught the students about the moment where Jesus spoke of himself as the vine and all of us as the branches. Forty-five minutes flew by. Before we knew it, class was over. The best part for me was sharing with the parents and students an opportunity to bless each other at home with the sign of the cross. It may sound simplistic – perhaps it is. And yet, for me, it is pure joy to link playdough and Legos and paint to the stories of our faith. This new stepping stone was like sunlight and blue skies all rolled into one moment of watching parents and students share a moment around the living Word of God. I can’t wait for what’s next!

Peace be with you.

(This article was taken from Ascension’s October 2015 newsletter).

Get to Know the ELCA

Because God has been good to us, we can share that goodness with others, and our church is an excellent vehicle to use. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a four million member church that draws on our rich and vibrant faith that connects us to Lutherans all over the world. Our ministries throughout the nation and the world are extremely efficient and solidly ethical. The ELCA and 300 health and human service organizations participate in an alliance known as Lutheran Services in America, which serves more than six million people each year in the United States and the Caribbean. That’s 1 in 50 Americans every year. That’s HUGE! We Lutherans serve 1 in 50 Americans! As part of this alliance, we support more than 285 social ministry organizations affiliated with the ELCA. Chances are, if you want to start a ministry, the ELCA is already doing it!

The ELCA has so many ministries that there is no way I can list all that we do nationally and globally. So, let’s begin with our home congregation. Through Ascension’s Mission Outreach wing, we embrace our Companion Synods: Tanzania and El Salvador. Companion Synods are a concrete expression of our communion and fellowship with the 140 Lutheran churches of The Lutheran World Federation. There are 65 synods in the ELCA. Each synod has at least one international church companion. We are part of the Greater Milwaukee Synod; therefore, we embrace the relationships that the ELCA has prayerfully assigned to us. Ascension and Cross Lutheran have enjoyed a long history with El Salvador. In fact, churches in our area were instrumental in providing asylum for Salvadorans during their civil war. We also enjoy a deep and abiding relationship with Cross Lutheran in Milwaukee. Ascension focuses on our three partnerships and builds relationships that are mutually uplifting.

We belong to an amazing church that is active in the world. When people are facing a crisis or are at their most vulnerable, we respond with care and compassion, ready to serve and love our neighbor. Here are several examples of how we, the ELCA, serve God and the people of God (descriptions taken from elca.org).

ELCA MALARIA CAMPAIGN

A child dies from malaria every 60 seconds. But we are changing that grim statistic. Since the ELCA Malaria Campaign joined the global movement to fight malaria, we have seen a reduction in the number of deaths from this disease. But we’re not done yet. We are committed to raising $15 million by 2015 to support work in 13 of our companion churches in Africa. We are going to make malaria history!

ELCA WORLD HUNGER

More than 800 million people – that’s 1 in 8 people in our world today – are chronically hungry and cannot lead active daily lives. Did you know that 1.2 billion people live in extreme poverty, living on less than $1.25 per day? Or that in the United States, more than 50 million people do not know where their next meal will come from? Or that 46.2 million Americans are living in poverty. As members of the ELCA, we are called to respond. In 2012, our support of ELCA World Hunger totaled $18.6 million. ELCA World Hunger supports projects and programs in 43 U.S. states; 56 countries (including the U.S.); 388 food pantries, homeless shelters and other projects in the U.S.; 239 sustainable development, health and other projects around the world; and 15 education and networking programs in the ELCA.

HIV AND AIDS MINISTRY

AIDS has claimed the lives of more than 25 million people worldwide. The ELCA, along with the international community, has pledged both resources and action.

LUTHERAN DISASTER RESPONSE

Lutheran Disaster Response brings God’s hope, healing, and renewal to people whose lives have been disrupted by disasters in the United States and around the world. When the dust settles and the headlines change, we stay to provide ongoing assistance to those in need. The ELCA is currently responding to U.S. flooding and fires; Middle East and Europe refugee crisis; the Nepal area earthquake; the Ebola outbreak; unaccompanied and migrant children, and the South Sudan conflict.

LUTHERAN IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE SERVICE (LIRS)

We are a church that does God’s work in the world and in local communities pursuing justice, peace, and human dignity for and with all people. In partnership with Lutheran congregations and Lutheran social ministry organizations, LIRS has welcomed more than 379,000 refugees to the United States since 1939. This ongoing partnership and work is driven by God’s love for all people and a vision
for congregations to be welcoming and generous centers for mission and ministry. Now, we are working to resettle immigrants from Syria.

GLOBAL CHURCH

We are a church that believes God is calling us into the world, together. 70 million Lutherans do make a difference! As a member of The Lutheran World Federation, the ELCA is one of 142 member churches in 79 countries all over the world. Walking and working together, we seek to accompany our companions. Accompaniment is defined as walking together in a solidarity that practices interdependence and mutuality. The ELCA lives out accompaniment in relationships with global companions in the following ways: Mutually: All of us have gifts to support God’s mission. There is no mission to, only mission with and among. Inclusively: We seek to build relationships across boundaries that exclude and divide. Vulnerably: Just as Jesus became vulnerable to us, we open ourselves to others. Empowering: We seek to identify and correct imbalances of power, which may mean recognizing and letting go of our own. Sustainably: To ensure local ministries last, we seek to embed mission in ongoing relationships and communities.

PUBLICLY ENGAGED CHURCH

We pursue justice and seek peace. Our faith and our call to boldly serve and love our neighbor take us into some interesting and challenging aspects of life: advocacy, corporate social responsibility, racial justice, science and ethics, peacemaking, justice for women, social issues, and community organizing. We are drawn into every corner of life, society and its institutions to bring the good news of Jesus Christ and to work for lasting, positive change that upholds human dignity.

PEACE NOT WALLS

The ELCA is working for justice and peace in Palestine and Israel through our campaign, Peace Not Walls. Peace Not Walls connects ELCA members to our companions and promotes dignity, full respect for human rights, healing and reconciliation. With our Palestinian Lutheran companions, we also accompany Palestinians and Israelis, Jews, Christians and Muslims working together for peace with justice.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

There is a great need for your time and skills for doing God’s work in the world. Locally, God is already doing great things through ELCA congregations, Lutheran social ministry organizations, and projects in our area. Check out our synod’s website: milwaukeesynod.org. Nationally, there are a wealth of volunteer opportunities: ELCA- affiliated camps and retreat centers across the United States; Lutheran Disaster Response sites; Lutheran social ministry organizations; Mission Builders donate their time and technical know-how to help with construction of new churches. There are also long-term service opportunities through Holden Village, Lutheran Volunteer Corps, Urban Servant Corps, and Border Servant Corps. We even have short- term and long-term service opportunities around the world through ELCA Global Mission.

ECUMENICAL AND INTER-RELIGIOUS RELATIONS

The ELCA is not an island. We are committed to fostering unity among the children of God for the sake of the world. The ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations team cooperates with partners, such as The Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Our Full Communion partners are the Episcopal Church, United Methodist Church, Moravian Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church in America, and United Church of Christ. We are dedicated to living out our baptismal calling to be light to the world. We serve our awesome God in amazing ways.

(This article was taken from Ascension’s October 2015 newsletter).