When Ascension hosted Together in Mission at the beginning of February, we wanted to be able to show hospitality to our guests in a way that showed our visitors who we are. With the synod’s connection to El Salvador and our Latino Ministries, it was a natural fit to offer some food from El Salvador. We had pupusas, plantains, frijoles, and Salvadoran quesadilla. Salvadoran quesadilla is a very different food from Mexican quesadilla. It looks similar to cornbread, and is sweet/savory cake to be enjoyed with coffee. Several people asked Pastor Edwin for the recipe. He had to tell everyone that the only person in his family that knows how to make a traditional Salvadoran quesadilla is his very non-Salvadoran wife.
Pastor Edwin’s family isn’t unusual. Most people cook either on something resembling a camp stove using propane, or the cheapest option — using firewood. Cooking over the open flames has caused Salvadoran women to suffer disproportionately from respiratory issues since these fires tend to be indoors so cooking can happen regardless of the weather. The World Health Organization is educating the women of El Salvador on the dangers of cooking over firewood, so little by little, tortillas are no longer being made at home, but being purchased from people that have saved up money to buy a propane griddle to make small businesses selling tortillas from their homes.
In El Salvador, owning an oven is a luxury. For the few that own an oven, it is even more unusual to be able to afford to use the oven part for baking. Nearly everyone that owns an oven uses the oven part as a storage cabinet and only cooks on the stove top. When people need baked goods, they need to purchase them since no one has the means to bake at home. This is why the bakery ministry at San Jorge church is a blessing in so many ways. Thank you to everyone that supported the San Jorge Bakery and other ministries during Love Your Church, Love Your World.
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.
December was an amazing month for Mission Outreach activity. So many people were involved in a variety of outreach events. We thank the group involved in planning the parade Moving Posada for all the work. We especially thank Carol and Steve Spieker for their dreaming, planning and coordinating this new event for getting Ascension out into the community in a fun way to emphasize our multi-cultural congregation. Thanks for all the hard work. Thank you to the Marien family for serving the Healing Hearts meal in December. The participants loved the pizza. This is the third monthly meal for Healing Hearts that Ascension has provided. Thank you for the generous donations and the friendly servers.
Thank you to the AMEN ministries for the 55 pairs of men’s and women’s long underwear that were donated to the Hope Center. AMEN also serves meals at the Hope Center twice a month with two to four men helping each time.
Thank you to Linda Hansen’s Thursday Nurture Group for coordinating the Giving Tree for the Christmas Clearing Council. $1500 of gift cards were presented to the Christmas Clearing Council to help families have gifts for their children. This was the best year ever for this outreach.
Ascension sent $2300 to El Salvador to provide Christmas kits with basic food staples to allow the families in San Jorge to have a simple meal for Christmas. Thank you to everyone that has contributed to our appeal for backpacks and tennis shoes as the children in San Jorge prepare to begin a new school year in January.
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO CONTRIBUTED IN ANY WAY!
Community Outreach Meeting: Community Outreach Committee will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 9, at 6:30 to plan outreach activities for 2024. If you have an interest in outreach, please join us. New ideas are always welcome. Community Outreach involves: Reaching Out, Inviting In, Gathering In and Walking With. This is our opportunity to get involved in the community, invite others to Ascension activities or services, seek out those who have not been in worship for a while and become more deliberate in our ways we welcome visitors. Contact Shirley Wehmeier, at shwehemeier@gmail.com, or just show up for the meeting.
El Salvador Trip Information Meeting: After a long five years since our last trip to visit our sister parishes in El Salvador, we will be returning in the summer of 2024. We will be there for about a week at the end of July /beginning of August. It will be a time of learning about the ministries of our sister parishes, exploring opportunities for future shared projects (which likely will include eating lots of chocolate), cultural excursions, and building friendships with the members of San Jorge church. We have our first informational meeting on Sunday, Jan. 14, following late church. Contact Sarah Wehmeier Aparicio, sarah@ascensionelca.org, with any questions.
Community Partners Ascension has multiple community partners, which are agencies within the community that carry out the Matthew 25 promise: “Whatever you do for the least of these, you have done unto Me.” As we follow Jesus’ words, we realize we can often do it better by joining with others who are similarly focused. We will be lifting up our community partners over the next months.
Our current community partners are: Waukesha County Food Pantry, Hope Center, Hebron Housing Services, Hawthorne School, Habitat for Humanity, SOPHIA, NAMI, Healing Hearts, and the Christmas Clearing Council. One of the things we look for is that the agency does not just expect financial donations but that there is an opportunity for in-kind donations and for volunteer service. We want to be able to build a relationship with the partner and respond to their needs not just our perception of what they might need. We practice accompaniment with local community partners just the same as with our global partners. We feature their specific needs through our Mission Outreach Facebook page so that there is always a timely request. Watch also in the e-alerts and bulletin for announcements as needs arise. We are always looking for leadership for the partners so if you have a real passion for a partner, please contact Shirley Wehmeier, shwehemeier@gmail.com, so we can link you up with a partner. We would like to develop Partnership Pals where each partner has two or more people who become the champion for the partner.
Healing Hearts Healing Hearts is one of our community partners. Healing Hearts provides free, local peer groups for children, youth and families who grieve a loss due to death, divorce, addiction, incarceration, deportation or military deployment. Healing Hearts has been providing services since 2009 and depends on trained volunteers to provide the support the children, youth and families need. They also depend on volunteers to provide quick meals the night of their groups so that families are fed before participating in the group. Ascension has been asked to commit to serving meals on a regular basis. The meals need to be quick to serve so that they can get to their sessions. Ascension served three times in 2023 and volunteers reported that it was a great experience. We use a sign-up genius to get food donated from the congregation. This has been a successful way to include people who may be looking for a simple way to get involved. Our first meal included 5 new members who either served or donated food. Watch the announcements for the dates of our next meals. Teri Quam is coordinating this opportunity.
November updates include Pastor Julio’s visit, NAMI, a new minsitry, Christmas parade, Christmas Clearing Council, Habitat for Humanity Gingerbread House and Thank You’s.
Pastor Julio Visits Ascension
After many years of brotherhood with the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Usulután in El Salvador, their pastor was finally able to visit and worship together with our community. Pastor Julio had the opportunity to attend one of the Bible studies on Grace that Pastor Tony is conducting. He helped lead JOLT and was part of all of the fun. He toured the Hope Center facilities to learn about this ministry project. In the absence of both Pastor Chris and Pastor Tony for Sunday worship, Pastor Julio was able to accompany Pastor Edwin in the English service and in the bilingual service. He even had the chance to enjoy an early Thanksgiving dinner.
Pastor Julio is surprised with all the great work Ascension is doing. He believes that many of these things can be implemented in El Salvador, for example work with children and young people. With adults he hopes to implement bible study sessions using the same Max Lucado book, Grace, that Ascension is currently using. Ascension gave him the book in Spanish so that he and Pastora Blanca could read it and decide if they would like to do a Bible study. If they do the Bible study, Ascension will purchase the books in Spanish and send them to them so that the Bible study is a success.
The intention of Ascension is to share with our brotherhood part of the resources that are available. These types of resources are sadly not available to the pastors and leadership of the Salvadoran Lutheran Church. Ascension will continue to be illuminated by the guidance of the Holy Spirit on our journey of sharing his love with another. Thank you to everyone who made Pastor Julio feel welcome during his time here.
Mental Health in Families of Faith
NAMI Mental Health in Families of Faith will beNov. 14 2 p.m. at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 631 N 19th St., Milwaukee. Come to hear Meg Kissinger and Kathleen Geuder-Martin bravely share their personal and moving stories of growing up in families with mental illness and how their faith helped them. They will be sharing from their newly-released memoirs. All are welcome.
Mustard Seed Ministry
On October, 5 Ascension members attended the annual SOPHIA Community Prayer Breakfast. What a wonderful day it was to be inspired by people of faith who see that by working together we can accomplish so much more than as individual congregations or even denominations. We were reminded of the great needs in our community for a reformed immigration system and ways to assist immigrants and refugees in adapting to life in this country. Affordable housing is becoming a crisis in the entire county not just for the very poor but increasingly for the younger and the older ends of the age spectrum as new construction tends to meet the needs of the middle. Affordable housing has many barriers that can be overcome. These are just two of many areas of justice and opportunity that SOPHIA is working to resolve. We were challenged by a Moravian pastor to stand and take a step forward and follow Jesus’ parable of planting a mustard seed of faith. When we love and nurture our seed, a giant plant will grow. Would you like to meet to discuss Mustard Seed Ministry? We think Thanksgiving time is a great time to be thankful for the harvest already completed through the work of SOPHIA and now we can take that leap of faith and plant some new seeds that can help grow a field of Ministry Mustard plants that can make a difference in our community. Each small step can lead to a big result. The prayer breakfast closed by a reminder from a Catholic priest that “Whatever we do for the least of these, we do unto Christ Himself.” This just happens to be the motivating force behind all that our Mission Outreach Team is doing. Join us between services on Nov. 19 to discuss the planting strategy for Ascension. “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”( Micah 6:8)
Waukesha Christmas Parade, Dec. 3
One of our goals has been to make the community more aware of Ascension’s unique ministries and how we are bringing the good news of God’s love for all into the community. The Christmas parade provides us with this opportunity. We need your help. We need people to help with the final preparations before the parade. We need candy donations for handing out on the parade route. We need people to hand out candy and keep the candy bins full. We need costumed characters to walk in the parade and we need other people of all ages to walk with the procession as we portray Mary and Joseph looking for a place to stay in Bethlehem. It will be a moving Posada! We will be handing out a special invitation with details in English and Spanish about all the worship activities and special events at Ascension during December. See the Signup Genius to volunteer. We need your help to make this community event a success in telling how we share God’s love at Ascension.
Christmas Angel Tree
This year, the Angel Tree will be set up in the narthex from Nov. 2 through Dec 7. The Thursday Afternoon Women’s Nurture Group is coordinating this activity to benefit the Christmas Clearing Council. They are requesting Target and Walmart gift cards of $25 for children and teens over 12. Angel ornaments can be taken from the tree with Target or Walmart on them and placed in the marked box in the office with your gift card. The group will deliver the gift cards to the Christmas Clearing Council in time for them to be delivered to families in need. If you have any questions, contact Linda Hansen, lindahansen@wi.rr.com.
Habitat for Humanity News
Join Habitat for their tiniest, tastiest build of the year! Showcase your sweet skills for a great cause by building a Gingerbread House. All proceeds go towards funding their mission. Build, vote for, or buy one of the gingerbread houses and support affordable housing in Waukesha County! The Gingerbread Build is Dec. 9, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Corners of Brookfield. Register online, habitatwaukesha.org/gingerbreadbuild.
Getting a new car for Christmas? Did you know by donating your vehicle to Habitat you can help build and repair affordable homes while also helping the environment? Since launching the national vehicle donation program, Cars for Homes, in 2005, Habitat has accepted over 120,000 vehicles for reselling or recycling, raising funds for Habitat to partner with local families to build stability and security that a safe affordable home allows. Cars, trucks, RV’s, vans, SUV’s, boats and motorcycles are accepted whether they are running or not. Towing is free! Donate now.
So Many Thank You’s
To all those who walked, ran, rode, volunteered or donated to Outreach for Hope
To all those who participated in the NAMI Walks to help raise awareness for mental health
To all those who donated to the Tend a Teacher Program for Hawthorne School
To all those who donated to feed the children at the schools of our parishes in Tanzania
To all of those who donated food locally to the Food Pantry or our Blessing Box
What a joy and blessing it is to experience the generosity of a congregation that lives out their faith in big and small ways to accomplish great things! Praise be to God for the gifts and service to Him through the gifts and service to others in need.
¡Gracias! from Hawthorne
Dear Ascension Church,
On behalf of the entire Hawthorne Community, I want to express our sincere gratitude for your unwavering commitment to supporting our school and families. Your generosity and partnership have made a real difference in the lives of our students and families.
From providing financial assistance to supporting our teaching, you have consistently gone above and beyond to create a vibrant and supportive learning environment. You dedication to our school is truly inspiring.
We are particularly grateful for your support in granting our teacher wish lists. Your funding has helped prepare our teachers prepare their classrooms with new items!
We are so fortunate to have you as a partner. Your support helps us to create a school where all students can thrive. Thank you for believing in our scholars and our school.
Pastor Julio will be at Ascension the first week of October. On Sunday, Oct. 8, you are invited to join us for a potluck lunch following late service to share Wisconsin hospitality with him and to hear more news from our brothers and sister in Usulután.
There is also interest in El Salvador in hosting a Bible study based on the book Grace by Max Lucado. Pastor Tony and Pastor Edwin have both been leading book studies on this book at Ascension. The Spanish-language versions of the book are $12 each. If you are interested in sponsoring a book that Pastor Julio can take back with him, you can connect with Pastor Edwin.
School Lunches for Tanzania
We hope to collect enough money in the month of October to provide all 1100 children and teachers with lunch for the 195-day school year. Because of the drought and world-wide high food prices, we need to raise $18,576. For $100, all of students and teachers in our three partner schools will have a day and a half of lunch. It is only $16.84 to feed a child for the year. Give on Sundays, but it is even easier to give online now.
Tanzania and El Salvador two folded flags together
The Tanzania/El Salvador Dinner & Auction was a success! Thank you to the many volunteers and donors who contributed to the fun-filled evening!
As we get closer to the delegation visits (both from El Savador and to Tanzania), there are a couple of things we could use.
A twin bed (including mattress) that is not overly difficult to move that could be used as a bed for one of our Salvadoran guests for just over a week. It will be in a smoke-free/ pet-free house. (Edwin and Sarah’s house)
Donations for Welcome Kits for the El Salvador delegates.
Activities to Welcome El Salvador Delegates
We’d love to have you join us as you are able!
Welcome Brunch: You’re invited to a potluck brunch at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 20, to welcome the El Salvador delegation to Ascension!
Potluck Picnic: June 24, 5 p.m. at Ascension. Let’s share our Wisconsin hospitality!
Worship at Ascension, Sunday, June 25 8:30 & 10am
Meet the Delegates from El Salvador
We are looking forward to hosting a group from our sister parishes in El Salvador at the end of June. We hope you are able to join us in some of the activities while they are here. Watch for more details as we get closer!
San Jorge Church / Iglesia Milagro de Dios (God’s Miracle Church)
Mayra Criselda Campos de Quintanilla: Mayra is the secretary of the church council for San Jorge Church. She works as a kindergarten teacher.
Claudia María Flores Menjívar: This is Claudia’s second visit to Ascension. She is the facilitator of San Jorge’s church council. Claudia is a school principal.
Usulután Church / Mi Buen Pastor (Good Shepherd Church)
Julio Cesar Chávez Aguilar: Pastor Julio is the pastor at Usulután Church, Llano El Coyol, and Puerta Parada Churches. Pastor Julio is the brother of Pastora Blanca from San Jorge church.
Pastor Rafael Menjivar on behalf of Bishop Gomez, who is too ill to travel.
Victoriano Amilcar Torres Ramirez: Amilcar is the president of the Usulután church council. He buys old homes and cars, repairs them and then resells them.
Meet the Delegates to Tanzania
Pastor Tony Acompanado: I have served here since 2014 first as the Director of Faith Formation and then, after completing seminary, I was ordained and called to serve here as one of the pastors. I preach and teach and love to stay involved with our youth. I especially enjoy using my gifts in pastoral care to help people find peace and joy in God while experiencing difficult times. I’ve traveled internationally for mission trips many times but this will be my first time going to Tanzania.
Jackie Bosanac: I am a lifelong member of Ascension. I was involved with the baby ministry, knitting afghans for baptisms but took a hiatus from it when my husband got sick. I want to start up again knitting soon. I work two days a week for my sister at her daycare in Mukwonago. I have two adult children whom blessed me with five grandchildren.
Dianne Frowein: Dianne has been a member of Ascension Lutheran Church for almost 20 years. She is married to Rick Frowein. Dianne and Rick have three grown children and two grandchildren. She has been a substitute teacher in the Waukesha School District for 20 years. Dianne moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin, 40 years ago from the Chicago area where she worked for the Bank of America. She is a member of the Waukesha Service Club where she has been a buyer in the Gift Shop at Waukesha Memorial Hospital for 11 years. She enjoys reading, golfing, boating and sewing.
Rick Frowein: Rick retired six years ago from GE Healthcare after working there for over 38 years. He has been married to his wife Dianne for 41 years. Rick enjoys traveling, home improvement projects, and outdoor activities (boating, golfing, and skiing). He has been a long time Board member of the local YMCA and currently serves as its Foundation Board president. He is also a Vice President on the Mt. Meru Coffee Project Board responsible for its weekly operations.
The Ward Family: Bob Ward was baptized and confirmed at Ascension. Additionally, Bob and Kim were married in 2003 and went on a honeymoon with complete strangers to Honduras on their first mission trip with Ascension. Bob has been an electrician for 28 years and currently works at Preferred Electric. He’s been known to volunteer his time with projects around church. He has three beautiful children, two of whom are going on this trip. In his limited free time, Bob enjoys working on home improvement projects, traveling, hiking, and cheering on the Packers, Bucks, Brewers, and his kids’ sports teams.
Kim Bingen-Ward has been a member at Ascension since approximately 2003. She fell in love with the contemporary service and enjoys listening to the Praise Band. The trip to Honduras was life-changing, and she still thinks of one of the girls that she instantly bonded with. Kim has been working with children with autism for nearly 28 years. In 2010, Kim opened up Autism Treatment for Children, a small clinic that provides behavioral therapy, with her close friend and business partner. In Kim’s also limited free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, cuddling with her cats Midge and Gilmore, and supporting her three children in all of their extracurricular activities.
Zack Ward was baptized and confirmed at Ascension. He is currently finishing his sophomore year at Mukwonago High School and fingers crossed will maintain his 4.0 GPA. Zack works part-time at Metro Market in Mukwonago and has played high school and club volleyball and high school tennis. Zack loves playing video games with his brother who undoubtedly is his best friend.
Alina Ward was baptized and will be confirmed in October at Ascension. Alina is finishing up her eighth-grade year at Parkview Middle School in Mukwonago. Currently, Alina is studying for her finals in Algebra and Spanish in which she will receive high school credit as a middle schooler. Alina is involved in dance and volleyball. Her aspirations are to be a doctor or veterinarian. In Alina’s free time, she likes to hang out with her friends and her guinea pigs, Smore and Pepper.
Jeremy Poling: Jeremy is a drummer in the Praise Band at the late service. He is also a former council president. Jeremy traveled to El Salvador with Ascension on our most recent trip.
Sarah Wehmeier Aparicio: Sarah is a life-long Ascension member and coordinates our sister parish relationships in El Salvador and Tanzania. Sarah is a music teacher, currently at Summit View Arts Magnet School. In addition, Sarah is a part-time administrator in the church office and is the music leader for Spanish worship. When not at work, Sarah and her husband Edwin can be found supporting their daughters Marta and Luisa in one of their many activities.
Serve/Mission Outreach continues to work toward our 2023 goals: Reach out, Invite in, Gather in. Our ongoing to commitment to accompaniment or to walk with our partners guides all that we do. Look for how these key words are used to guide our efforts this year. 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 others as though they were serving Jesus Himself. “What you have done for the least of these, you have done for Me.” (Matthew 25)
Watch for Serve opportunities and take the bold step forward to serve others as though you were serving Jesus. Serve with joy as a reflection of your love for Jesus.
Winter Farmer’s Market Save March 12 for this year’s market and brunch which is held in conjunction with the Food, Faith and Farming Network and the Harvest of Hope Farm Crisis Fund of the Madison Christian Community; both are non-profit organizations supporting Wisconsin family farmers since the 1980s. This event is part of the Mission Outreach effort to highlight the issue of hunger in our world and how Christians can respond not only to hunger but to the needs of farmers who grow our food. Coordinators Steve and Carol Spieker have put together a committee to plan another successful market including vendors, a brunch, BLAST activities and some special surprises. Market Products will include: eggs, meat, veggies, soaps, salsas, preserves, bakery, confections, apples, syrups, cider, oats and alpaca fiber products.
Winter Farmers Market 2019
The market is open to the community so we may have visitors at church on the day of the market. This is also a great opportunity for you to invite friends to Ascension to visit the market and get to know more about Ascension. Please help us in welcoming them. First impressions matter. As a part of the market, a brunch prepared with market goods will offer: cheesy egg bake, green salad, sausage, oatmeal-apple coffee cake, cider and coffee. Tickets will be sold after services starting Feb. 19. There will also be a chance to volunteer in a variety of ways. This event is a way to invite in by providing a space for a partnership agency and inviting community members to the event at Ascension and to gather in our members in service together. Keep your eyes out for ways to help or contact Carol and Steve directly at stevespieker88@gmail.com.
Creation Care Ministry As Christians, we are called to care for the Earth that God created and ensure that the environmental resources we rely on are also available to future generations. If you are interested in participating or getting more information, please contact Mary Ellen Comp or Lynn Parkhurst. Thank you to everyone who brought in used Christmas lights for disposal, keeping them from the landfills. This simple act makes a difference.
Limit Your Outdoor Salt: In Wisconsin, road salt is synonymous with winter. Unfortunately, road salts are toxic to children and pets. It damages vegetation, birds and wildlife, and destroys the organisms in soil. Just one teaspoon of salt can permanently pollute five gallons of water. Limit your use of road salt around your home and business. Try a natural alternative, such as sand. Shovel often and early and identify the critical areas that ice builds up.
Love Your Church, Love Your World – El Salvador Our sister parishes in El Salvador have become models for Lutheran churches throughout Latin America in their innovative efforts to become self-sufficient with economic projects intended to support the church as well as provide church members with employment.
San Jorge church has been hard at work in recent years resurrecting a baking project. They were able to get their hands on some old baking equipment that was donated by the German Lutheran church 20 years ago. A church member was trained as a baker during that time and he has been teaching many others how to bake. Since most Salvadorans cook on an open flame or on a camp stove, baked goods aren’t made at home. They have created the following list for us of needs to expand their business.
Ascension has been in partnership with the agricultural hardware store (agroferreteria) that supports El Buen Pastor in Usulután and its members since 2010. The covid lockdown was very difficult on the agroferreteria. Businesses were closed much longer in El Salvador than businesses were closed here, but without any rent or tax relief. As businesses slowly opened, people were only allowed to do business on dates based on their national id number. As a significant simplification, people with odd numbers were allowed to do business on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and people with even numbers were allowed to do business on Mondays and Wednesdays. On the days that agroferreterria was allowed to be open, business was booming. Unfortunately, the days they were allowed to do business was opposite of the days their vendors were allowed to do business. They were able to sell what they had, but they were not allowed to replenish their stock. As time went on, with less to sell, their income significantly decreased, but their overhead stayed the same. The workers ended up working for months without pay and Ascension was able to send money to allow them to catch up on back rent and back taxes. The next step is for us to send funds to allow them to replenish their inventory so they can once again become self-sufficient.
Christmas Food Packages: After receiving a financial gift from Ascension, the church council at San Jorge decided to make care packages of basic food supplies for all of the families at the church.
Land Crisis in Samaria Parish, Tanzania Hello Dear Friends,
I greet you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. I am very happy to write to all of you this time although we do communicate and share a lot of things in our partnership committee group several times a month.
I and my family are doing very well and personally I am very thankful to God for my family. Samaria people are doing well and we thank the Lord for giving us rain so the weather condition is now good because our cattle health is not as bad as it was earlier.
The main aim of writing this short story for you is about the forced migration of some of the people in Samaria, particularly the Savana and Bondeni sub-villages.
The Tanzanian government is taking citizens’ land and giving it to investors and its main reason for this is to improve economic development, so we have been informed that we are not allowed to bury people and do any development in our personal land including building anything. Sadly according to the Tanzania constitution, they say our land is the property of the government, so we have been told that we will only be compensated for houses and other buildings and planted trees. People are very frustrated because we don’t know how much a person is going to be compensated. You can see my house which is among those being claimed by the government. Our church building and one other Pentecostal church is in the area have been claimed as well. In the Savana subvillage, 39 households are being evicted.
Kindly pray for us about this because people are in fear as they don’t know where they are going to live. Old people are very frustrated. We are waiting for the next steps now that they have identified those who have to move.
We love you our friends. God bless you all.
Yours in Christ,
Eliudi Mollel (Longishu M. Moleli), Samaria Sister Parish Committee Chair
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, doyou 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.
And my internship is over!!! It seems like yesterday I started my eighteen month internship. During this period, I had the opportunity to learn new things in our multicultural context here at Ascension. I am grateful for the support with both the English ministry and Latino ministry; with the English community, for having opened their doors to me and listening to my preaching, and the Latino community for having been patient during my absences from worship services. These words sound as if this type of experience will not be repeated, but it is not like that, as you heard in my last sermon Pastor Chris told me that, “It was not my last preaching.” Sorry. You will have to continue to struggle listening to the Spanglish sermons.
Pastoral Intern Edwin Aparicio
I am sure that this post-intern period will bring new experiences in my journey of formation and discernment. Within these new experiences last month, I had the opportunity to attend a training for mission developers of the ELCA program REDIL Ecumenical Network for the Development of Latino Churches. The training consisted of bringing together leaders from all over the country to share their experiences with each other, and thus learn from each other.
One of the learnings that caught my attention was the way in which most of the missions are working. In all of the other congregations that were represented there that day, the Latino congregations were operating as separate congregations from the English-speaking congregations. From what I experienced that day, Ascension is pioneering a new type of bicultural ministry in a way that is unique in the ELCA. Most of our meeting time was spent talking about topics like collecting enough money in their offering to pay rent to the English-speaking congregations. Other churches talked about the lack of voice in the direction of their church, no representatives in council or otherwise.
After returning from this event, I began to work with the mariachi band Voces de America. They were so thrilled to be asked back to our event. They provide the music for a variety of Las Posadas events around the Milwaukee area and they told me that Ascension is their favorite due to the participation of so many people from the church. May we continue to be brave as we find new paths to being the body of Christ together.
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.
