Worship:
Saturday 6 PM
Sunday 9 & 11 AM
This Week At Ascension
Called to create opportunities for all people to become devoted followers of Christ
May 7, 2023
Friends in Christ,
When Jesus is about to leave his disciples, his parting words of instruction from John’s gospel are this: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
How are you doing with that one these days?
Love is such a standard and obvious Christian requirement that it’s easy not to think about it too much. But Jesus is actually asking A LOT of us.
Join us this weekend as we reflect on how we’re doing, and how we can get better at loving one another as Jesus loves us.
In gratitude for all the ways you are the hands and feet of Jesus,
Have you filled out our Worship Survey?
In case you missed it, here is Pastor Tim’s message from earlier this week:
Thank you for taking a few minutes to take this survey that will help us understand key measurements that we are looking at regarding the worship experience.
We want Ascension members and all who come to worship here to “Get the blessing and be the blessing” and your feedback along with your participation in worship helps immensely!
CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY
Blessings,
Ascension Lutheran School Gala — What a Fabulous Night!
Congratulations to Ascension Lutheran School and the hard-working team behind its Legacy Gala and Auction at Wolfe Canyon Ranch. Dancing under the stars, a fun auction with a fantastic auctioneer, and delightful touches including a 360-degree photo booth made for a magical night in an exceptionally beautiful setting. (Yes, that’s Principal Rich Gregory, Pastor Tim Delkeskamp, Pastor Paul Gravrock and Maintenance Manager Jeff Hengst on an endless whirl.)
Roughly 160 people were on hand for the event, with monies raised for our school in excess of $100,000!
Kudos to the gala’s core committee – Sara Wallace, Leigh Day, Eddie Moore, Janelle Kagay, Jamie Dickey, Erin Storey, Jenni Nagel, Corinne Angress and Staci Hammerschmitt — and all the volunteers who helped make this happen.
Kudos also to our mighty principal, who drew raves for hosting. Mr. Gregory not only emceed, but was seemingly everywhere all at once, chatting with parents, teachers and other One Ascension supporters – including Church Council members and Ascension Foundation Board members. He also took blankets to gala-goers to wrap around their shoulders for extra coziness and comfort in the cool air. (Thanks to Pastor Chamie Delkeskamp for supplying those!)
The online auction was a success in itself, with members of the One Ascension community snagging an array of wonderful goodies whether they could attend or not. We are deeply grateful for the contributions of auction items.
If you missed out, you can start planning for next year’s gala, celebrating 60 years of Ascension Lutheran School and its mission to lead, inspire and serve.
Check it Out: New ECC Website!
Congratulations to Ascension Lutheran Early Childhood Center. Your brand new website looks awesome!
This easy-to-navigate fiesta of cuteness was built by Ashley Nicole McCoy, who studied marketing at Cal Lutheran and now has her own company, Start Here Marketing, in College Station, Texas. She also happens to be one of the daughters of ECC director Jenni McCoy. (Lots of talent around here.)
Do stop in and look around the site. You, too, are bound to find the expression of our ECC’s mission and its actualization both heart-warming and inspirational. And cute. Did we mention cute?
Yesu, a uka!
The Global Ministries Team was pleased to get uplifting Easter updates from two of our ELCA Missionaries. Rev. Kristin Engstrom in Zambia, and Rev. Christie Manisto in Cairo, Egypt. Jesus is Risen indeed!
Message from Pastor Kristin Engstrom in Zambia
Happy Easter dear siblings in Christ,
Here in Zambia, I gathered with five congregations in the Lusaka city area for Easter weekend celebrations. There were workshops, shared meals, worship, singing, and on Easter morning, we even marched on the side of the highway in front of the church to share the good news that Jesus is risen! Yesu, a uka!
In more good news, my April 2023 Newsletter is also available to view and download on my blog: CLICK HERE.
Message from Pastor Christie Manisto, StARS, Cairo, Egypt
A Baby Born During Easter Service
We had something pretty amazing happen here at church on Easter… READ MORE.
Offering of Letters
(from Pastor Steve’s post earlier this week)
Thanks to everyone who participated in Sunday’s annual Bread for the World offering of letters, for the #2023FarmBill. www.bread.org
We are a Bread for the World congregation! HERE is the Bread for the World PowerPoint presentation.
Proverbs 31:8-9
Speak out for those who cannot speak,
for the rights of all the destitute.
Speak out, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Fair Trade News
Read on for details of Adult Ed Class with New Fair Trade Place and Chocolate Tasting May 21 at 10:10 AM, and the Fair Trade Tea May 21 at 2 PM at a member’s home!
Start Your Summer the Fair Trade Way! We’ve got lots of fun opportunities and everyone’s invited to all of them!
Now is the time to stock up on your Fair Trade favorites for picnics, outings and celebrations with family and friends. We’ve got coffee, tea, snacks, cheese and chocolate – lots of delicious chocolate in its many wonderful forms. Orders for your Fair Trade favorites can be placed until Sunday, May 14 (6 PM). We hope to have orders ready for pick-up before May 23. The May Order form is available on our Fair Trade webpage using this link.
Paper copies of the form are also available in the Church Office and in the blue folder at the Information Desk in the Narthex. You can also send an email message to us with the items you would like to order. We’re at .
May 21 is our Fair Trade “double-header! You’ll want
THIS SUNDAY in Adult Education
May 7
On Poetry
When archeologists discovered “The Epic of Gilgamesh” in Mesopotamia, written in cuneiform script on clay tablets in the Third Millennium B.C., who knew “Mary Had a Little Lamb” was coming? Or “The Star Spangled Banner” or “Jesus Loves Me” were coming as sure as “Liddle Lamzy Divey?”
Poetry is as much a part of the human makeup as music, dance, painting– or rearranging your books on the shelf, or a leaf you picked up along with a few pebbles on your desk or table. The urge to create is God-given and comes in a myriad of manners. Sunday, May 7, we will read some poems that may touch a chord in the reader or remind you of something you wrote years ago and have saved because you were moved to put it down on paper. That’s creativity at work and play.
With Pastor Jack Ledbetter, Poet, Author, and CLU Professor of English, Emeritus
In Need Of Prayer
Calling All Graduates and Families of Graduates!
We are planning a congratulations tribute to all of Ascension’s sons and daughters who are completing milestones in education this year — and WE DON’T WANT TO LEAVE ANYONE OUT!
Families, we need your graduating student’s NAME, SCHOOL and, if applicable, COLLEGE DEGREE.
Please email , or drop off your information at the church office.
Thank You!
Thanks to Di Starzak for teaching the staff about CPR and doing the Automated External Defibrillator training! We do this every six months.
We have three AED machines on campus:
1. Sanctuary west narthex.
2. Bethlehem room by the offices
3. Ascension Lutheran Early Childhood Center lobby.
(Post/Photo by Pastor Steve)
Congregational Meeting
June 25
After 9 AM Worship
VBS needs:
Paper bags (lots!)
Large boxes, especially tv sized boxes
A metal trash can (we’ll give it back after vbs!)
Please bring any donations to the church office!
HONORED
Treasured Memories of the Rev. Dr. Howard Wennes is the cover story of the latest issue of CLU Magazine – and it is a beautifully done piece with loving contributions from beloved friends and colleagues.
Also of note: Honorary Alumni honors for our own Jim Overton, for 12 years of service and many contributions to the university.
Well done.
Ascension’s New Member Class
Would you like to take another step in your spiritual journey with God and Ascension Lutheran Church? If so, we would like to invite you to be a part of our next New Member class on Sunday, June 11, from 12-2pm. This meeting will focus on the basics of the Christian faith and on the ministry of Ascension. Childcare is available and lunch will be provided.
To RSVP, please call the church office at (805) 495-0406 or email Jenelle Smith at . RSVP by June 5.
FROM LUTHERAN RETREATS, CAMPS AND CONFERENCES:
This March the LRCC Board of Directors approved a sweeping reform about how to charge people for summer camp. Our new “YOU CHOOSE” prices will allow families to decide what is best for them, even if it means you pay nothing at all.
We believe that everybody is welcome at camp, and everybody should experience the joys of coming to camp. It is our hope that allowing families to choose which price works best for them will allow and encourage more campers to attend our summer programs.
While it has always been the case that no child is turned away from El Camino Pines or Luther Glen Farm due to the inability to pay, this new campaign makes coming to camp that much easier. NO PAPERWORK IS REQUIRED. Simply pick the price you want to pay when you register!
ATTENTION SPACE EXPLORERS
This summer’s Stellar VBS is looking for a few good builders to construct two primary set decorations for the week-long program in July; a LUNAR LANDER, and a ROVER.
Ideally, pieces for each item will be created and assembled by a two-person team. Instructions, specs and materials will be provided. Some tools and experience are necessary.
Soon, we’ll also be looking for crafters to help us build stars, portholes, etc., from home.
Sign on to the job by visiting the display in the narthex after service, or contacting Pastor Julie: . Mission command thanks you!
AL School Food Drive
Ascension Lutheran School is pitching in to help our food pantry with a food drive – and we can pitch in to help them help, too! May 17-24, bring your donations to the church office during the week, or drop them off at church when you come for weekend services. The need is great. In one recent Friday alone, our pantry gave away more than 60 bags of food to our neighbors who came asking for help. Above is the list of most-needed items. Remember, we can’t give out any expired food.
Pastor Chamie’s Garden Class
This past December, Pastor Chamie completed a year-long program through the Horticultural Therapy Institute at Colorado State University to earn her certificate in horticultural therapy.
She loved reading about healing plants and how science shows what we already know to be true about God’s good creation… time digging in soil and holding seeds and clipping flowers and tending plants is good for our health. It lowers our stress levels and helps our anxious hearts find some rest.
Join Pastor Chamie in the garden on the remaining Wednesday May 10— at 6:30-7:45 PM. Sign up HERE.
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Call for Worship Help
Click HERE to check out what help is needed in worship, and sign yourself up any place you see a need.
Living Easter
Did you know that the Season of Easter is actually 50 days on the church calendar? How might you continue to live in the spirit of Easter?
Join Pastor Chamie in reading Eugene Peterson’s book Living the Resurrection. She will be doing weekly blog posts on the book at www.pastorchamie.com. A book club discussion will take place on Tuesday, May 23, in the Delkeskamps’ backyard garden.
Offerings & Attendance
Our Prayer
We pray that you may once again meet the Risen Christ through the Word and Sacrament ministry, and through the fellowship of this family of faith.
If you do not have a church home, we would like to invite you to worship with our Ascension family again.
All people who are baptized and believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are welcome to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
May God bless you in your worship!
Pastors Tim Delkeskamp, Julie McCain, and Steve Herder
Don’t miss another TWAA
Pericopes
This Week:
Acts 7:55-60
Psalm 31:1-5, 16-16
1 Peter 2:2-10
John 14:1-14
Next Week:
Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:8-20
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21
