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
August 6, 2023
Grace and peace to you my family in Christ.
How do you see the world? Is it a place where God has provided everything you need or is there just not enough to go around? Do you have to compete with your neighbor for the things you need or can you collaborate and share? Do you have enough or do you need more?
Abundance and scarcity. It is a huge topic of Jesus’ teaching. Simply put: life is so much better when we realize that we have enough. We can be more at peace. More generous. We are free to know and to love our neighbors.
Jesus gives us enough. I am looking forward to talking more about this at worship this weekend!
Blessings,
Let Us Welcome New Eucharistic Ministers and Consider Training to Join Them
Please welcome Ron Rudrud, Beverly Selle and Ruth Rarick to Ascension’s Eucharistic Ministries team. Their installation will take place at the 9 AM service Aug. 13.
On Aug. 12, there will be training for the Eucharistic Ministries in Founders Hall. The class will take place from 8:30 AM until around noon. To join the class, or if you would simply like more information, please contact Pastor Steve Herder or Pastor Ron Cox (; cell 805-807-5257).
Eucharistic Ministers take the sacrament of Holy Communion from worship to share with those who are unable to come to the sanctuary. This does not take the place of pastoral visits, but supplements that ministry. By taking Communion to those who cannot worship with us, we are including them in the congregation’s worship. You are reminding them of God’s love and their congregation’s love and concern for them. Your time with them will be a continuation of the congregation’s worship.
On Sept. 9-10 – God’s Work Our Hands Sunday as well as Ascension’s anniversary celebration – we are hoping to bring Communion to as many of those who are unable to make it to in-person services as possible.
Ascension’s Eucharistic Ministry is now six years old, and has provided this special care for scores of our church family members who have been homebound or in care facilities — truly sharing God’s love.
From Senior Concerns: You’re Invited!
FREE VIRTUAL Seminar: “Legal Issues When Caring For A Loved One With Dementia…”
This seminar will answer a variety of pressing questions, including:
How do I legally manage their money, health care and well-being?
What documents are essential to avoid a conservatorship or court intervention?
How do I legally get access to their medical files and talk to their doctor? And more!
TUESDAY, AUGUST 8th – 3:00 pm via Zoom. More info and Register here:
Shining Jesus’ Light in Burure!
Thank You Pastor Julie and VBS for the opportunity to partner again. VBS went stellar this year – “Shining Jesus’ Light.” VBS offering went stellar too — “Shining Jesus’ Light in Burure” by providing power and internet access for infohut computers in Burure, Zimbabwe.
Ascension’s Gifts of Hope helped to bring electricity and the infohut to Burure several years ago. Children use the infohut computers to learn about God and the world around them, to learn traditional school subjects, and to learn about health, safety and peacebuilding. Each $5 of offering gives a day of powered-up computers with internet access and opens up a world of learning for the children in Burure.
Jesus’ Light is Shining Very Bright in Burure! Lots of little stickers were placed on the infohut model. $683.25 in VBS offering and other gifts for Burure’s infohut ministry will Shine Jesus’ Light for many days! Thank You!
Stock Up at Fair Trade Lane Sunday, August 13
Bring your shopping list… Fair Trade Lane Will Be Open August 13 from 10:10-10:55 AM. This is a great opportunity to stock up on Fair Trade favorites, including Red Barn Family Farms Cheddar Cheese, for end of summer gatherings and for back to school lunches and snacks. Chocolate bars fit easily into boxes bound for college with new or returning students. Treats made with chocolate chips are fun to enjoy with school lunches and as after school snacks.
If ordering in advance works best for you, orders for your Fair Trade favorites can be placed until 3:00 PM, Friday, August 11, 2023. Order forms are available HERE and also on Ascension’s Fair Trade webpage as well. Paper copies are available in the church office and in the blue folder at the Information Desk in the Narthex. You can also send an email to with the items you wish to order along with your name, address, phone number. Payment at the time of pick-up. We will notify you by email of confirmed pick-up date(s), time(s), and location
Effective August 1, 2023, prices for some items have changed to reflect increased product costs from our Fair Trade partners. The August 2023 form includes updated prices. Ascension Fair Trade rounds up some prices a few cents to keep things simple – we do not mark up prices for fund-raising purposes.
Looking forward to meeting & greeting you on Fair Trade Lane! Invite friends to come and check out Fair Trade Lane too!
Cakes and Treats Needed Sept. 10!
We’ll have another cake/treat walk this year at our Rally Sunday/60th Anniversary of the School Celebration. We need you! Can you make/buy cakes or other treats? Spread the word, and sign up HERE.
We are also looking for items we can borrow for the day:
- pop-ups
- large lawn games
- large fans with misters attached
Please call the office if you are willing to lend any of these items.
A Special Occasion
Mark your calendars for September 10, when Ascension will celebrate our church’s 75th and our school’s 60th anniversaries! Rally Sunday is also God’s Work Our Hands Sunday, and we will have opportunities to serve our community and the world, including this: all are invited to bring a bag of groceries to worship as a gift for our Friday Food Pantry. More info. to come.
Book Club
The Ascension Book Club meets the 3rd Thursday of the month at 1:30 in the Bethlehem Room, in the office building. The group chooses books based on members’ interest and discussion is led by one of the members. Books vary from popular novels to nonfiction. Please feel free to join us–we are a friendly group.
Upcoming books:
Aug 17 “A Woman of No Importance “ by Sonia Purnell
Sept 21 “Act One” by Moss Hart
Oct 19 “The Great Alone” by Kristen Hannah
Nov 16 “A City of Promise” by Beverly Swerling
Dec 14. “Christmas by the Book” by Anne Marie Ryan
In November we will choose books for the next few months. We are open to suggestions. Books should be available by Libby, local library, Amazon or thriftbooks.
LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE!
Ann Lane
Women’s Bible Study Groups of Recent Years – Join Us!
If you’ve attended Women’s Monday Morning Bible Study before, we hope you’ll come back to our family again. And if you’ve never been a part of WMMBS, we hope this year will be your year to join us. We’re about 50 women strong (we meet in small groups) and we’re united by our love for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, our yearning to learn more about His will and His way and our care for each other.
The book of Acts is the focus of our study that begins Monday, Sept. 11, and continues Mondays through May 6, 2024. This year’s morning study will center on Warren W. Wiersbe’s two-book series on Acts, “Be Dynamic” and “Be Daring.” Cost is $30, payable at registration, and includes the two books.
The Thursday evening Zoom group (contingent on at least five participants) will also study Acts, but will use N.T. Wright’s single-book study, “N.T. Wright for Everybody: Acts.” Registration is required, but no payment as each participant will purchase her own book through Christianbook.com or Amazon ($8.99 or $9.45 respectively).
Sign-ups for both are on now — and end Aug. 13 (registration deadline).
Want to register and/or ask questions? We’ll have a table on the patio after the 9 AM Sunday service Aug. 6 and 13. Please come by; we’d love a chat.
Online registration/payment is also available through Aug. 13 on our website, ALCTO.org and HERE for Monday Morning and HERE for Thursday Evening Zoom.
IRIS Presents Art Show Depicting Refugee Journey
Crossings, painter Katharine Gould’s collection of artwork depicting the refugee journey, will be feted with a special showing benefitting the Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Service (IRIS) August 26, 10 AM-3 PM in Los Angeles.
“I have always been drawn to and affected by human flight, in all its forms,” the artist explains in IRIS promotional materials. “Flight from fear to safety, from isolation to intimacy, from anger to love, and from horror of the unknown.”
Proceeds from the show support IRIS’ general operations fund, providing refugee resettlement and pro-bono immigration legal services.
The address is 840 Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles, 90027. Free parking is under the building.
In Need Of Prayer
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:
Isaiah 55:1-5
Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:13-21
Next Week:
1 Kings 19:9-18
Psalm 85:8-13
Romans 10:5-15
Matthew 14:22-23
