MONTHLY MESSENGER February 2017 Lenten Worship This year the worship committee plans to try an earlier service time. Wednesday Lenten services will begin at 6:30 PM. We hope by making this change more families with young children will be able to attend. Ash Wednesday is March 1 st. Please join us as we review the passion of our Lord. Ashes on Ash Wednesday Many Christian churches use ashes to make the sign of the cross on the foreheads or hands of worshippers. This practice has a long and rich history, going back to the earliest day of Christianity. We also recall that Old Testament believers like Job humbly cried out, I repent in dust and ashes. Placing ashes on the forehead or hand is a powerful outward sign of inner repentance. Ascension plans to offer this meaningful rite to all who worship on Ash Wednesday. During the service those who would like to participate will be invited to come forward. The pastors will then use ashes from our Palm Sunday branches to make the sign of the cross. Worshippers of all ages are welcome to participate. Lenten Meals This year we will offer only one Lenten meal. It will be on Ash Wednesday. Dinner will be served from 5:00 until 6:00 PM. Please join us for this wonderful fellowship opportunity. Congregational Meeting - January 29th On January 29th our building committee will present a set of updated plans to the members of Ascension. Please join us at 10:00 AM in the sanctuary to listen to the report and share your ideas. As time permits updates on other areas of ministry will be given. Mission Festival On Sunday, March 5 th, Philip Janisch will share a message from God s word with us in both services. During the Bible hour Philip will also share observations from his vicar experience in Salem, Oregon. We plan to organize a special fellowship time between the services. Please watch the weekly news for more details.
MONTHLY MESSENGER Page 2 Ministry Student Tuition Assistance Opportunity Out of love for our Lord, we are to pray for, encourage, and support those who preach and teach the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They may be serving close to home or far away, but all are working for the expansion of His kingdom. These messengers from God are entrusted with His words which have eternal significance. We are also to help identify, encourage and train those who want to preach and teach the good news. This is an opportunity for all of us to participate in spreading the Word. We can start by encouraging children and young adults to consider being messengers of the gospel and praying for more workers. Providing financial assistance and praying for the students and the schools that train them are other ways that we can show our support. Currently, Ascension has two members who are preparing for full time service in the ministry. Philip Janisch is in his senior year at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. Ben Melott is a Junior at Martin Luther College preparing for the teaching ministry. On two upcoming Sundays, February 5th and 12th, we will be collecting a special offering to help these students with their tuition costs. If you would like to participate in this financial show of support, please use the other box on your offering envelope and indicate Tuition Assistance Fund. May God bless these students and our support for them, to His glory! Treasurer s Report 7-1-16 Balance $(34,532) Offerings $143,848 Other Receipts $ 81,015 Expenses $238,567 12-31-16 Balance $(48,236) Sunday Snacks It s wonderful to enjoy coffee and snacks during our Fellowship hour. Thank you to all who have already brought snacks this year. Please consider taking a turn bringing snacks on one of the following upcoming Sundays: February 19th, March 5th, or March 12th. There are also many open Sundays in April and May. You can find more detailed information on the sign up sheet in the Fellowship Hall.
MONTHLY MESSENGER Page 3 St. Croix Youth Mission Trips - Summer 2017 Last year Pastor Roloff, Maria and Kayla went to the WELS Youth Rally in Colorado. This year all confirmed through 12th Grade youth are invited to consider 4 different mission trip options to grow in service and share Christ: St. Joseph, MI (June 19-23) Led by Pastor Roloff and Pastor Koch Bus trip to Michigan LHS and camping out there while canvassing for local churches Tour of Luther Prep in Watertown, WI on the way and beach-time on Lake Michigan Return-trip Ferry across Lake Michigan Approximate Cost: $150 for bus seat, extra for food and activities Utah and Colorado (June 26-July 3) Led by Pastor Matt Hennig Youth and leaders travel by bus or van to Utah and Colorado Outreach work for local congregations along with service projects. Includes some Spanish outreach in Denver Mt. Rushmore, mountain hike, white-water rafting Approximate cost: $300 New York City (July 6-11) led by Pastors Flunker & Bourman, local congregational leaders 4 6 Spanish Speakers Work with art in the park outreach event Approximate cost: $400+ for airfare, food, activities, etc. Puerto Rico (July 11-18) Led by Pastors Satorius and Flunker 4 6 Spanish speakers with basketball and instructional skills Christian basketball camp for kids Approximate cost: $400+ for airfare, food, activities, etc. See Pastor Roloff for registration forms and more details!
MONTHLY MESSENGER Page 4 Preschool News After a couple of weeks of very cold weather, we are finally able to enjoy our recesses outside. We are getting better at the routine of getting dressed for the outdoors and are having fun once we get out there. We enjoyed the winter weather indoors as well. We added color to snow using colored salt water. We also talked about how salt melts snow and the ice. We saw that first hand in our experiment with big ice cubes and sea salt. We were very excited when the ice started to melt and there were puddles of water on the trays. We of course made snowmen a couple of times we also made snowflakes to decorate our room. In the hall you will see our attempts at making icicles. We liked using eye droppers to put dots of water onto paint at the top of the aluminum foil and then watching it run down the foil to make the icicles. We also had fun learning about the continent of Antarctica. We watched a video on icebergs and then made an iceberg. We learned that the scientists there hold on to ropes to go from building to building so they don t get blown away. One day we used yarn to go from our room to the restrooms and back again pretending that we were in Antarctica. Our unit on Antarctica wouldn t have been complete without making a penguin. They were given a black cup and then had feathers, sequins, pom-poms, paper, and ribbon to make their own penguin. They turned out very cute. We have been learning about the miracles of Jesus. How he healed the eyes of a blind man named Bartimaeus so he could see again. How he fed over 5,000 people with a little boy s lunch. How he brought a little girl back to life. And how he healed ten men of leprosy. We have also been learning about Jesus parables in Chapel. We had ten families visit us during the Open House on Sunday, January 22 nd. Over half have returned registration forms for next year. God has blessed us with the opportunity to share the Gospel with these families. We have a Family Game Night scheduled for Friday, February 10 th, starting at 6:30. Everyone is invited to attend and meet our school families. Ms.Mays Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6
MONTHLY MESSENGER Page 5 Forgiveness through Jesus God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people s sins against them. 2 Corinthians 5:19 February holds the day that often makes or breaks relationships: Valentine s Day! It s a day of engagement rings, flowers, dinners, and the hope for returned affections. For all the happiness of Valentine s Day, it s also bittersweet. For every happy or newly engaged or blissfully married couple, you can find someone who is sadly alone, someone who longs to be loved, someone going through a devastating break-up. No wonder the game is, He loves me He loves me not. Imagine if the pressure of Valentine s Day was off. Imagine there was no doubt about how that special someone felt about you. Imagine that person did what the Bible says, Love keeps no record of wrongs. We have to imagine, because our experience is that human love is conditional. It is usually based on how people look, or what they have, or how they treat us. As a result, we are led to think that God is the same. We think that he loves us if we re lovable. We assume that he loves us if we show our love to him. The truth is that God loves us not because of who we are or amazing love by what he has done for us: God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people s sins against them. Honestly, we have to admit that there are all kinds of sins on our record before God. Our attempts at love throughout life failures, breakups, lies, adulteries, divorces all are an astonishing record of wrong. God ought to oppose us. But in amazing love, God doesn t count our sins against us. That means that he doesn t keep a record of all our actions, thoughts and words that violate his holy will. God doesn t keep a record of our sins because of Jesus. God took all our sins, the sins of everyone, and charged them to his Son. In our place Jesus willingly and lovingly suffered the punishment of death that we and all people deserved. This is the great love that God has for us for you! Through Jesus Christ, our relationship with God is restored and by faith in Jesus we will enjoy the blessing of his love forever. In our relationship with God, it s not He loves me He loves me not. In Christ, it is always, He loves me He loves me He loves me.