Worship:
Saturday 6:00 PM
Sunday 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM
This Week At Ascension
Called to create opportunities for all people to become devoted followers of Christ
March 1, 2026
Grace and peace to you my sisters and brothers in Christ,
This weekend we welcome a special guest and friend, Pastor Rick Ertel, who will be preaching on John 3:1–17. You probably know at least one line from it: “For God so loved the world…” But before we get there, we meet Nicodemus — a thoughtful, religious leader who comes to Jesus at night with big questions. And Jesus says something that stops him in his tracks: “You must be born again.”
Born again. Saved.
Pastor Rick will help us explore what these words really mean — and how they show up in our everyday lives: in our parenting, our work, our struggles, our hopes, and our ordinary Tuesday afternoons.
Jesus tells Nicodemus that God didn’t send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save it. That includes you. That includes me. That includes the parts of our lives that still feel unfinished. So come ready to hear again the good news that changes everything — not with pressure, not with guilt, but with grace.
Blessings,
Click Here To View The Lenten Gazette
Adult Ed March 8:
PT’s Sabbatical
Sunday, March 8 | 10:30am | Library
On Sunday, March 8 during the 10:30 hour, I’ll be sharing about my upcoming sabbatical (April 6 – July 7). I’m looking forward to walking you through the heart behind it—the theme that will guide this season, the questions I’ll be exploring, and how I hope this time will strengthen both my own leadership and our shared life at Ascension.
I’ll also share a bit about how I plan to spend the time—personally, spiritually, and vocationally—and how this sabbatical connects to our long-term vision as a “big tent” church centered on Jesus.
I hope you’ll join us for this hour of conversation, clarity, and prayer as we prepare together for this meaningful season.
Blessings,
Adult Ed. for March 1
What Do You Want To Be Remembered For?
This workshop is sponsored by the Ascension Foundation. It will be led by Debbie Babb, who is an estate planning attorney. It will be heavily Q&A so please bring your questions.
Get closeup insights of the goings-on at Ascension. Read the pastors’ and director of operation’s reports HERE.
Children, Youth & Family Ministries Corner
by Pastor Chamie
It has been such a blessed week in Children, Youth, & Family Ministries! My heart is full.
Our middle school and high school youth were blessed with snow at Winter Camp and got to sled, build snowmen, and throw snowballs! More important was the bonding. As one youth said, “I feel like we have really grown so much closer [as a youth group].” Another youth said, “I feel closer to God.”
I really valued that our youth staff and I got time to spend with our youth without having to be the people “in charge,” per say, in that the camp led the worship services, organized sessions, and provided all the tasty meals. This meant that Spencer (aka Mr. Gottmer), James, Kaya, and I got to spend time listening, sharing, laughing, and getting to know the youth better. We simply got to be present with them and we had a special time to break into age groups and pray with them. We really want our youth to feel seen, heard, and valued for the unique, beloved people God has created them to be.
We also had a session where a camp staff leader read Romans 8:38-39 about how nothing – absolutely NOTHING – can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Then the camp staff leader started talking about unconditional love. He directed everyone to find a quiet corner where they could take their camp journals and reflect on a person who has loved them unconditionally or a person they love unconditionally. I actually had tears as I was writing in my journal. I recalled the church of my youth where I experienced such transformative unconditional love that changed the trajectory of my whole life. I wrote a prayer that our youth will feel that when they come to Ascension, that they will always know how much they are loved by God and how much the youth staff love them.
A highlight in children’s ministry this week was our first Fireside Story Time during Holden Evening Prayer. The children were dismissed to the library after the first two Holden Evening Prayer songs in the sanctuary. One of those songs is “Let My Prayer Rise Up Like Incense Before You…” When the children came and sat down on the library floor, we lit an incense stick so they could see how the smoke swirls and rises and imagine our prayers circling up to God. Then Ms. Jenelle read a sweet story called Is God Awake? In that story was an illustration of a child in a tent in their room talking to God in the night. So we let the children build little forts where they held battery operated candles and we all prayed. My heart melted when one of the children said, “This is delightful!” We pray the children experience God in a very special way during these Wednesday night story times.
We have Fireside Story Time the next four Wednesdays through March 25 and encourage your children to attend even if it is just one week. Next week, March 4, we will be reading a true story about a pastor who is blind and her guide dog who helps her at church. Church member Aimee Semeleng will have the dog she is training as a guide dog with her in the library and the children will get to meet him and say a prayer of blessing over him as he is soon leaving for his “graduate school” to be partnered with someone who needs his assistance.
Please hold our children, youth, and families in your prayers.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Chamie
Fireside Story Time
Saint Patrick’s Day Special Service March 7
Mark your calendars for March 7 at 6 PM. That’s when Nancy Lee and Country Spirit will be honoring St. Patrick’s Day with an Irish-themed worship service that will be grand indeed, from pipes to poetry and lots of special music.
Following the service, we’ll have the famous Irish stew cooked by none other than Nancy and Pastor Chamie Delkeskamp, followed by Irish shortbread cookies and Bailey’s ice cream for dessert.
Please sign up HERE for the stew and dessert so they will be able to tell how much to make!
Cookie Time!
The Library Committee will need cookies for each remaining Wedneday: March 4, March 11, March 18, March 25.
Please call Dolores Ledbetter if you can provide cookies for one or more of the dates above (805) 716-3045 and (805) 750-7646.
March on Fair Trade Lane – Join Us!
As the saying goes, the month of March comes in like a lion or a lamb and then goes out opposite of the way it came in. Well, when we placed our order this week with our partner, Equal Exchange, we experienced the lion & the lamb all at the same time.
Our friends at Equal Exchange got the lion — many inches of snow & blizzard conditions (two back-to-back doses of the wintry stuff) closed the HQ & shut down the warehouse in West Bridgewater, MA.
We got the lamb — sunny skies & temperatures so warm we had to add cold-pack shipping to our order to keep the delicious chocolate bars cool in transit to us. We chuckled a bit at this strange turn of events… but our friends in MA weren’t so amused.
We’re looking forward to March on Fair Trade Lane – shelves stocked with your favorites, Red Barn Cheddar cheese chillin’ out in the refrigerator, a few surprises of the non-edible kind to help welcome Spring, and four opportunities to meet & greet you!
MONTHLY GATHERING FOR MEN & FOR WOMEN
“Fish in the Sand” (formerly “Bibles & Brew” and “Word & Wine”)
These gatherings are open to men and women of all ages in the One Ascension community – and you can join anytime – and bring friends!
The monthly men’s ministry gathering, newly named “Fish in the Sand,” had a great time together in Pastor Tim’s backyard last week. In March, the men will meet on Tuesday, March 3, 7:00 PM, at The Sofa Guy on T.O. Blvd.
The women (Word & Wine) will meet on Tuesday, March 24, 7:00 PM, at The Sofa Guy.
For questions about men’s ministry, contact Pastor Tim at or Pastor Chamie at .
Grief Workshop
Reclaim Your Energy: An Introduction to Grief Coaching
Monday, March 2, 7:00 PM, Ascension Library
Feeling drained or weighed down for reasons you can’t quite name? Every loss that didn’t get space to be felt; ended relationships, transitions, dreams that shifted, takes up residence in your body and drains your energy. Join Pastor Erin Martinson, Associate Certified Coach (ACC, ICF), for an introduction to EMBody Wisdom grief coaching. Discover what you might be carrying and how releasing unprocessed grief can help you reclaim your capacity for the life you’re actually living. Sign up here.
New Member Class
Would you like to take another step in your spiritual journey with God and our church? If so, we would like to invite you to be a part of our next New Member class, Sunday, March 15, from 12-2:30 PM in the church Library. Lunch will be provided.
The class focuses on the basics of the Christian faith and on the ministry of Ascension. There will be an opportunity to ask any questions that you might have and to get to know others. To RSVP or with questions, please call the church office at (805) 495-0406 or email .
Monday Morning Devotional
February 23, 2026
by Susanne Hopkins
CLICK HERE TO READ/DOWNLOAD
Adventures in Rome! A “Vacation Bible School Experience”
Monday, June 29 – Thursday, July 2, 9:00 AM to Noon
*with Grandparents’ Sunday on June 28
We are inviting children who have completed TK through 5th grade to “journey to Rome” with us this summer! The Bible will come to life right before your eyes! In “Rome,” everyone gets to explore first-hand the culture of the Apostle Paul’s world and how he came to know Jesus. Children will experience the trials, victories, and celebrations of this unique Bible hero. Early Bird Registration is $60 if signed up by May 1. Youth and adult volunteers are needed to make this an amazing week; please let our Children’s Ministry Director, Jenelle Smith, if you are able to volunteer at .
*We know that many grandparents love to have their grandchildren at VBS, so this year we are adding a special “Grandparents’ Sunday” where you can come to either the 9:00 or 10:30 AM service for a special blessing of grandparents and a special grandparent/grandchild activity on that day. REGISTER HERE PAY HERE
Scholarship Applications Now Available
Attention Students and Families: Applications for scholarships are now available through our Ascension Foundation. To request a scholarship, visit the scholaraship page on the Ascension Foundation website HERE.
or pick up a scholarship packet in a rack in the Ascension office hallway. The deadline for completed applications is April 24, including two letters of recommendation.
Many thanks to our Foundation and to the Ascension families whose generosity makes these scholarships possible.
Soup Supper Thank You!
Thanks to our Global Ministries Team for serving our soup supper as we focused on our friends in Ukraine. Join the GMT in their next meeting Wednesday, March 4, at 4 PM in the Bethlehem Room.
Light and Hope
As we complete our monthly benevolence toward humanitarian assistance for Ukraine,
eight of these powerful generators are on their way to Father Nicolai at the Logos Center in Kotsiubynske. The Logos Center provides shelter and care for Internally Displaced People in Ukraine as well as soldiers who are recovering from their injuries.
This is one way we are helping to bring power and light to Ukraine, thanks to your support.
Light changes everything!
We’re Looking for a Few Good Snacks
Attention 10:30 Sunday worship-goers: the after-service hospitality team is looking for more volunteers to bring snacks. Details and signup HERE.
Pastor Chamie and Jessica Placas-Hengst are excited about Camp Discovery for Summer 2026! Sign up here.
Dear Church Family,
I am so happy to announce that Camp Discovery (formerly the school’s “Staycation”) is now a summer camp open to the whole Ascension Community – church and school!
I am so excited that Jessica Placas-Hengst is leading this program (she’s incredible). If you don’t know her, she is a long-time faithful church member who goes to the 10:30 worship service where her husband plays in the band and she is mom to the awesome Owen and Kate. She is the new director of the school’s extended care program.
I am so excited to partner with her this summer. Ms. Jenelle and I will both be involved with Camp Discovery. I will be leading weekly Camp Discovery chapel every Wednesday under our giant oak tree on the back side of our campus. In the midst of Camp Discovery, Ms. Jenelle and I will be leading a “Vacation Bible School”* week Monday, June 29 to Thursday, July 2.
You can choose to either do just VBS only from 9:00 to noon (and register with the church; registration opens January 22) or do the full day Camp Discovery.
It is going to be a fantastic summer!
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Chamie
*The VBS Week theme is “Adventures in Rome” and your children will get to learn about the apostle Paul’s adventures in the New Testament as they “travel to Rome.”
Lenten Gazette
How you might experience a meaningful Lent:
We pray that Lent will be a deeply meaningful season for you. Our Lent theme for 2026 is “God Makes Beautiful Things.”
Lent begins in the dust. We come marked by ashes, honesty, and need, trusting the God who does not turn away from what is broken. Throughout this season, we journey with Jesus as God meets people in their wilderness, thirst, blindness, loneliness, and even death itself. Again and again, we discover that God’s work is not to avoid the hard places of life, but to enter them—making beauty, healing, and hope where we least expect it.
From dust to living water, from dry bones to new breath, from the cross to the empty tomb, we witness a God who is always creating, restoring, and transforming. Holy Week carries us through love poured out and life laid down, until Easter morning proclaims the final word: God makes beautiful things out of death. This is the promise that shapes our faith, our lives, and our hope.
Worship each weekend.
Read the daily devotional, Pauses for Lent: 40 Words for 40 Days by Trevor Hudson. This daily devotion includes a “word of the day,” a scripture, and a brief reflection that can be read in 5 minutes. It also has a simple “daily practice.” The Wednesday Lenten preachers will be reflecting on a word from this book.
Attend Soup Suppers at 6:00 PM on Wednesday Mar 4, 11, 18, and 25.
Attend Holden Evening Prayer in the sanctuary after Soup Supper on Mar 4, 11, 18, and 25. Join us for this beloved yearly tradition that includes peaceful, beautiful music and candlelit prayers. Children are invited to join parents for the opening music of Holden Evening Prayer in the sanctuary and then they will go with Ms. Jenelle or Pastor Chamie to the Library for Fireside Story Time, a quiet activity, and their own peaceful candlelit prayer time with battery-operated candles. (see below)
This year for children ages 4 through 5th grade, we have a special Sunday school series that will run from Sun, Feb 22 to Sun, Mar 29 @ both 9:00 and 10:30 services.
This year we are also offering “Fireside Story Time” on Wednesday nights in the Library during Holden Evening Prayer (7:00 to 7:45 PM). The nursery is available for those under 4 years old and will feature Lent stories and crafts for the littles.
Sunday confirmation and high school youth group will have special activities during the season and we invite all youth to come to Soup Suppers for conversations around the table led by members of our Youth Council.
Observe Holy Week with Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday Services.
Celebrate Easter with us on April 5! He is risen! He is risen indeed! Sunrise service in the garden at 7:00 AM. Traditional service in the sanctuary at 9:00 AM. Contemporary service in the sanctuary at 11:00 AM. Butterfly release on the playground at 10:30 AM. Easter breakfast served by the youth from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM in Pederson Hall.
Click Here For Downlable/Printable Copy of The Lenten Gazette
Lenten Pauses
This Lenten season, our One Ascension family is reading Trevor Hudson’s book, Pauses for Lent: 40 Words for 40 Days.
We are invited to take a pause and know we are with God — to focus on a word of the day, a brief reading, and a daily practice. We will dig deeper into these during our Holden Evening Prayer services (remember: 6:00 PM Soup Suppers, 7:00 PM Services and Fireside Story Time for Children).
You will also see reminders of our daily focuses from the book in this newsletter and on social media.
Lenten Highlights
Soup Suppers
Wednesdays, 6:00 PM
Mar 4, 11, 18, and 25.
$7 per person (children 3 and under free)
Holden Evening Prayer
Wednesdays, 7:00 PM
Mar 4, 11, 18, and 25.
Fireside Story Time for Children
Wednesdays, 7:00 PM
Mar 4, 11, 18, and 25.
Wednesday Holden Evening Prayer Services:
March 4: Pastor Ken Caudill
March 11: Pastor Ron Cox
March 18: Pastor Jen Witten
March 25: Pastor Rick Ertell
Holy Week
Palm Sunday
Sunday, March 29
Worship @ 9:00 and 10:30 AM
As we remember Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey, you can come pet a donkey after worship as part of our petting zoo and annual tomato sale. The garden is a prominent location during Holy Week, so you can begin the week with worship and time at our campus garden.
Maundy Thursday
Thursday, April 2
8:45 AM School Chapel (church members welcome to attend)
7:00 PM Service in the Sanctuary
We will remember the Last Supper and share Holy Communion with fresh unleavened bread made by our youth.
Good Friday
Friday, April 3
11:15 AM School Chapel (church members welcome to attend) – this is a tenebrae service (we extinguish the candles as we hear the last words of Christ on the cross) and then conclude with singing “Easter Hallelujah”
7:00 PM Service in the Sanctuary – this year our chancel choir will be singing an amazing cantata themed around the Stations of the Cross
Holy Saturday
Saturday, April 4, 6:00 PM
We will begin in the sanctuary as we long for the light and then end in the garden, remembering how the women met Jesus in the garden on Easter morning.
Easter Sunday
Sunday, April 5, 7:00, 9:00, & 11:00 AM
Come celebrate the God who makes beautiful things out of dust – and conquers death! We will celebrate new life in Christ with a butterfly release on the playground at 10:30 AM.
Easter breakfast served by the youth from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM in Pederson Hall.
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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, Chamie Delkeskamp, and Steve Herder