Worship:
Saturday 6 PM
Sunday 9 and 10:30 AM
This Week At Ascension
Called to create opportunities for all people to become devoted followers of Christ
March 2, 2025
Grace and peace to you our sisters and brothers in Christ,
If you have been on the Epiphany journey with us you know that we have been talking about living wisely and well as followers of Christ. You also may have picked up through our posts and “teasers” that there is a surprise coming this weekend in worship.
What is that surprise?
Come on… if I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise.
I can tell you it is about living boldly. Followers of Jesus have always been called to have courage. Whether it’s simply leaving our comfort zone or speaking a prophetic word, we are called to trust that when we take what feels like a risk for the sake of Jesus and the gospel, He will use it to build His kingdom.
It’s going to be fun this weekend in worship. See you there.
Blessings,
Ash Wednesday and Lenten Services are Here
Ash Wednesday is on March 5. Come to either morning chapel at 8:45 AM or evening worship at 7 PM to receive the Imposition of Ashes and Holy Communion.
We will join together in Pederson Hall (the gym) for Soup Suppers at 6 PM Wednesdays throughout Lent, beginning Ash Wednesday. Soup Suppers will also give us opportunities to discuss our Lenten reading, Liturgy of the Ordinary. (Bookmarks with a reading plan are now available.) Jenelle Smith will be leading a table group at soup suppers for young adults. Pastor Chamie will be leading a parents’ group during the school day. If you are interested in being a leader or would like help connecting with a group, call the office.
Find a group to share with, or read on your own. And make a plan to be here Wednesdays through Lent, for services including the much-loved Holden Evening Prayer liturgy.
Click Here to View/Download The Lenten Schedule
Adult Ed This Weekend, March 2, 10:30 AM, Library
Pastor Chamie will talk about Lent
This Sunday Pastor Chamie will be teaching about the history of Lent and the different spiritual practices and worship rhythms of the season. She will also share Ascension’s Lent schedule and opportunities as we journey together towards Easter.
Coming up in Adult Ed:
Financial Ministry
with ELCA Regional Gift Planner Lisa Higginbotham
Sunday, March 9, 2025, 10:30 AM in the Library
We are so appreciative of the generosity that flows through each of you toward Ascension Lutheran. We know that many of our members have considered our congregation in their estate planning. There are many new and tax efficient ways to give to our loved ones and our beloved organizations.
Lisa Higginbotham, our ELCA Regional Gift Planner, will be joining us on Sunday, March 9, to share best practices that can be taken back to your existing financial team. Her focus will be on easily applied practices that will complement your existing planning.
Please join us for the message of financial ministry and how we can have an even greater impact in our intentions of planned giving.
Presented by our Ascension Lutheran Foundation. Sunday, March 9 at 10:30 AM in the Library.
Pray for Our Youth and Chaperones at Winter Camp This Weekend!
We have 27 middle school and high school youth attending winter camp this weekend, Friday, February 28 to Sunday, March 2 at El Camino Pines Bible Camp in Frazier Park! Chaperones are youth director Jen Avalos and her husband River, Jeff Hengst, who is also driving the Ascension bus, and Pastor Chamie. Pray that it be an amazing time of deepening their faith and building greater connections as friends and faith community.
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY HIGHLIGHTS:
- Children can attend Sunday school at any time! We have Sunday school during the 9:00 AM worship following children’s time for children ages 3 through 6th grade (nursery care is also provided during this time). We have nursery care with Sunday school for 0’s to 4-year-old’s during the 10:30 worship service.
- Join the new Children’s Choir during Lent!!! Starting this Sunday!!! Children’s choir will take place from 10:10 to 10:30 AM in the music room (which is located just off of the church nursery/extended care room) every Sunday from March 2 through April 6. Children’s Choir is for children age 4ish to upper elementary. They will be singing “Jesus Loves Me” on Sunday, April 13, at the 9:00 AM service. Many thanks to Kari Keit for taking the lead on this!
- Special service project happening on Sunday, March 16 – children are invited during and after Sunday school to pack kits for Friends of Fieldworkers.
- Special “Jesus Experience” during 9:00 AM Sunday school on April 6 as children learn all about Holy Week and Easter and get prepared for the special upcoming services.
- Sunday, April 13, Palm Sunday – a definite “don’t miss” for families! The children’s choir will sing during the 9:00 worship. Everyone will get to wave palms. And then there is the tomato sale and petting zoo from 10:00 AM to noon in the garden. And a special Jerusalem donkey named Chloe will be at the petting zoo.
- Sunday, April 20, Easter services at 7:00, 9:00, and 11:00 AM. Another “don’t miss” day! Easter breakfast will be served in the gym during the morning by our youth. An Easter egg hunt will take place between the 9 & 11 AM services.
Saint Patrick’s Day Special Service March 15
Mark your calendars for March 15 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 Irish stew cooked by none other than Nancy and Pastor Chamie Delkeskamp, followed by Irish cookies and ice cream for dessert.
Please sign up for the stew and dessert so they will be able to tell how much to make!
Let’s Read Together for Lent
We will be doing a special series based on the book Liturgy of the Ordinary. Wednesday evening services during Lent will have a reflection about the book. We encourage you to purchase the book and read it on your own as you follow the reading plan. (CLICK HERE TO VIEW/DOWNLOAD the reading plan.)
Better yet, find a friend or a group to discuss the book together. At the back of the book, you will find reflection questions for every chapter as well as spiritual practices.
Soup suppers are one place where people might choose to talk about the book. Jenelle Smith will be leading a table group at soup suppers for young adults. Pastor Chamie will be leading a parents’ group during the school day. If you are interested in being a leader or would like help in connecting with a group, call the church office.
Here is the publisher’s summary:
“In the overlooked moments and routines of our day, we can become aware of God’s presence in surprising ways. How do we embrace the sacred in the ordinary and the ordinary in the sacred? Framed around one ordinary day, this book explores daily life through the lens of liturgy, small practices, and habits that form us. Each chapter looks at something — making the bed, brushing her teeth, losing her keys — that the author does every day. Drawing from the diversity of her life as a campus minister, Anglican priest, friend, wife, and mother, Tish Harrison Warren opens up a practical theology of the everyday. Each activity is related to a spiritual practice as well as an aspect of our Sunday worship. Come and discover the holiness of your every day.”
The book is available on Amazon, Thriftbooks, Barnes & Noble, Christianbook.com and other outlets.
COOKIES NEEDED!
The Library Committee is once again offering cookies following our Wednesday evening Lenten services and we’re looking for help. If you are interested in contributing three dozen cookies or more on any of the six Wednesdays in Lent, please contact Dolores Ledbetter at (805)716-3045 or the church office.
Book Club Notes
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.
April: Symphony of Secrets, by Brendan Slocumb
May: Horse by Geraldine Brooks
June: Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea
Books should be available at Libby, local library, Amazon or Thriftbooks.
We need to upgrade our sanctuary’s sound system.
Can you help?
Maybe you noticed just before Christmas that we completed phase 1 of a 2-phase sound upgrade. (with a vision of a 3rd phase in the future) Thanks to a few generous families, we were able to purchase 6 new digital wireless headsets and 6 handheld microphones. I hope that you have noticed that the range of these new microphones is much better and the sound is much richer for the pastors, musicians and kids in chapel!
Phase 2 will involve:
- – Switching to “in-your-ear monitors” from the large stage monitors we currently have on the floor
- – A new custom fabricated drum cage- which will be much more sound-proof and much more aesthetically pleasing than the current one.
- – A new sound mixing board which will give us more inputs and provide more flexibility with adding musicians and voices.
The overall effect this upgrade will have is that the chancel will look much cleaner, transitioning from the 9am service to the 10:30 service will take much less time, the sound at the 10:30 will be much improved, and our school musicals will have more ability to amplify the actors’ voices!
The good news: Not only have we covered the cost of phase 1, but we have also raised 38-48k of the 68k we need to complete phase 2. We would really love to be able to raise this money and purchase this equipment as soon as possible. Maybe we could even get some of this equipment in time for Easter?!
Might you prayerfully consider going above and beyond your regular giving to help us get to the finish line?
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact or email me!
Pastor Tim
Sermons On the Go
Sometimes it is impossible to make it to church, so here is a new option for listening to our pastors’ great sermons on the go: Solid Food – Ascension Sermon Podcast is now available. Follow the show on Spotify or Apple Podcasts (if you listen to pods on another platform, let us know!), and find it on our website, too. Check it out.
Spotify
Apple Podcast
Alcto Website:
Fair Trade Lane Celebrates Green This Month – Join Us!
If months of the year were matched with colors, we think March would be green. Plants in the garden and out in nature are waking up, giving us lots of spring green brightness. And of course, there’s St. Patrick’s Day gatherings & celebrations featuring green sweet & savory treats. Green is also a way of making and growing things using methods respecting & sustaining the environment. Fair Trade is built on “being green” with its Key Principle #10:
Everyone’s invited to Fair Trade Lane this month to pick up your Fair Trade favorites – all “green” in the way they’re grown & produced and some even “greener” like Green Tea, Green Tea with Mint & Jasmine Green Tea. And let’s not forget a fan favorite – Dark Chocolate Mint Crunch Bars – all dressed up with a bit o’ green.
Fair Trade Lane: Thursday, March 13 (2:30-4 PM) & Sunday, March 16 (8:30-9 & 10-10:30 AM)
We look forward to meeting & greeting you on Fair Trade Lane!
One Ascension Hiking Ministry – March Hikes
(No hikes are scheduled for February)
Saturday, March 8, Power Hike, 8:00 AM, Los Padres Trail, Thousand Oaks
Led by Julie Herder, Yvonne Zoetewey, & Pastor Chamie
For those age 16+ who are regular hikers… or who exercise and want to be hikers
We will gather at the parking lot where Moorpark Road dead ends south of the 101. Then together we will do the 4-mile Los Padres loop. This is a moderate hike. There is some elevation gain and loss. Part of the path is narrow and part of it is wide. Make sure to wear sturdy shoes and bring a water bottle.
Thursday, March 13, Full Moon Hike, 6:30 PM, California Lutheran University
Led by Pastor Chamie & Dr. Charlotte Miranda
For the entire family… children, youth, young adults, and/or older adults – the hike is short (up to the cross at California Lutheran University), but please note that it is steep near the cross and not stroller or wheel friendly
Gather at 6:30 PM at the end of Mount Clef Road past the CLU swimming pool & sports fields (there is street parking along Mount Clef as well as side streets off of Mount Clef). We will hike up to the cross together to watch the sun set and the moon rise. The moon is scheduled to rise at 6:58 PM.
We will do a song, scripture reading, devotion, and prayer at the cross. Then we will hike down. The whole excursion will take approximately an hour. Please note that it is a wide, dirt trail and the final ascent is steep. Parents must keep an eye on their children. Bring a flashlight for the way down. We love full moon hiking – it’s quite magical!
Mark Your Calendar!
Tomato Sale,Garden Festival, and PETTING ZOO!
Friday, April 11, 2:30 to 4:30 for ECC & Ascension School Families
Sunday, April 13, 10:00 AM to noon for EVERYONE – Church, School, & Community
The children and youth of Ascension Lutheran Church & School are once again growing tomato plants. All proceeds from the sale of the tomato plants goes to support outdoor/garden campus programs. There will be other garden goodies as well. On the day of the school-only sale, bunnies will be the featured animal. On the day of the Sunday sale, everyone is invited to come to the Ascension garden* after worship to check out all the plants for purchase, tour the garden area, peek in the beautiful new greenhouse, and enjoy a petting zoo.
*The Ascension Garden is located at the far end of the big parking lot where the “bungalow” – the small modular building – sits. Go down the ramp to the right of the bungalow to discover a wonder of plants and goodness!
New Classes Springing from “Bible & Blue Zones” Class
Rev Fit & Rev Well Walk
The 4-week Bible & Blue Zones class led by Pastor Chamie concludes February 6. The class has been exploring the intersection of faith and scripture with nine key attributes of people living long and healthy lives. These attributes include things like going to worship, having purpose, managing stress, eating lots of fresh foods, and moving your body every day. As part of Bible & Blue Zones, church member Dianne Beck shared about the exercise ministry certificate she earned right prior to Covid. Now she hopes to provide the following classes and is looking for input for the best days and times:
What is a Rev Fit Class?
Rev Fit classes are foundationally based upon God’s word, always beginning with a God-centered intention and Bible passage, followed by a warm-up, movement that involves cardio, strength, and flexibility, and then ending with a longer cool-down time that includes guided prayer and meditation on the beginning intention and Bible passage. The classes are designed for all fitness levels, showing modifications for different levels. Class times range from approximately 40 – 60 minutes.
What is a Rev Well Walk?
Similar to the Rev Fit class, each walk begins with a God-centered intention and Bible reading, then some questions to contemplate or talk about with a friend during the walk. The walk ends with a cool down stretch and prayer.
Location:
Rev Fit – Ascension Lutheran Church (Room to be announced)
Rev Walk – a local park, probably Conejo Creek by the Thousand Oaks Library
Instructor: Dianne Beck (Certified Revelation Wellness Fitness Instructor)
Email me anytime with questions or feedback: beckdianne713@gmail.com
What days/times work best for you? Complete This Survey: CLICK HERE.
In Case You Missed It…
In Need of Prayer
Click here for this week’s Prayer List
Top of Page
Pericopes
This Week
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
Luke 9:28-43
Next Week
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2,9-16
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13
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