DECEMBER 2020 REFLECTIONS · 2020. 12. 5. · fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” We thank God, however, that such is not the case. “But in fact, Christ has been raised form

Ascension Lutheran Church | 3801 Oakwood Avenue NW | Huntsville, AL 35810 www.ascensionhsv.org 1

DECEM BER 2020

REFLECTIONS 1 Updates

2 SW Corner

4 Elder’s Notes

6 DCM/CDC

8 Kids’ Corner

9 Birthdays

10 Stewardship

11 The Music Notes

12 Calendar

A Publication of Ascension Lutheran Church

SPECIAL WORSHIP SERVICES

Remaining Advent Opportunities December 2 - “Prayer 101” 6:30 PM and Zoom Provided

December 9 - “Prayer 201” 6:30 PM and Zoom Provided

December 16 - “Prayer 301” 6:30 PM and Zoom Provided

Christmas Eve & Day December 24 - “The Story of Redemption” 5:00 PM

Candlelight and Zoom Provided

December 25 - “Jesus, the First Fruit of Jesse’s Tree”

10:00 AM and Zoom Provided/Drive-In on FM 88.7

with Communion Offered

Gearing UP

DECEMBER REGULAR WORSHIP

December 6 - “Jesus, the Root of Jesse’s Tree” 8:00 & 10:45 Drive-In on FM 88.7 with Communion Offered 8:00 & 10:45 Zoom Service Provided 10:45 AM

December 13 - “Jesus, the Life of Jesse’s Tree” (Same as above) December 20 - “Jesse Tree - Jesus’ Family Tree (Same as above, only no

Communion)

December 27 - First Sunday after Christmas (Same as regular

Sunday schedule above)

DRIVE-IN WORSHIP

We have begun to have “drive-in” worship offered in our parking lot during both Sunday morning worship services. Communion is also offered. If you desire to be communed, have your headlights turned on and an Elder and Vicar will be around to serve you.

Monday Night Services every Monday at 6:00 PM. Covid isolation precautions in effect. Face masks are in stock.


Hi, this is Pastor Bernie.

This is my Pastor’s article for t h e D e c e m b e r , 2 0 2 0

Reflections. You will soon discover, however, that I’m

not writing about celebrating the Birth of Jesus at Christmas. It’s something of

greater importance. What could be o f g rea te r

importance than Jesus’ birth?

Of greater importance is the suf fer ing, death, and resurrection of the Son of

God. For had Jesus not been obedient to the cross and died

there, the many stories about Him in the four Gospels

would be but mere footnotes of a marvelous life of performing miracles and

speaking with great wisdom. There w ou ld be no

declaration that Jesus Christ died on the cross to save us

from sin and death. And had not His death and

burial been followed by His resurrection from the tomb,

we would have no hope of our own resurrection and our

REFLECTIONS future in Heaven with Christ. It would be as Paul wrote to the Corinthians of Jesus’ resurrection, “Had Christ not been raised from the

dead, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.”

We thank God, however, that such is not the case. “But in fact, Christ has been raised form the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by

a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, and then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he

has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (I

Corinthians 15:14-26)

All of this brings me to the beginning of this article. Since the season

of Advent begins now, just days after Thanksgiving Day, I am beginning

this article with the concluding stanzas of the closing hymn we sang at our Thanksgiving service. If you recall, the theme of the Thanksgiving

Day message was our need to give thanks to God, even though it may seem that He has deprived us of traditional blessings and has faced us

with challenging circumstances that we are reluctant to think of as blessings. Our closing hymn Thanksgiving Day brought some of these unusual moments to mind, especially in the final two verses that we

quote here. “Be not afraid to suffer loss Of all the things for which you pray, For He who faced for you the cross Will give you strength to live each

day. “Seek first God’s reign, His boundless grace, His holy name in all you do: Christ first and last in every place; All else will then be given you.”

We must be taught to give thanks regardless of what our circumstances are, such as these:

When we are economically deprived…when we suffer major disease…. when we feel terribly inconvenienced and are put

out….when loved ones are ill and dying…and we are forbidden to see them or minister to them…when we suffer major loss. Our lists

seem endless.

It’s true that opportunities to give thanks to God often seem to come at

inconvenient times for us. We do not want to acknowledge such life challenges as blessings for which to offer thanks to God.

So, along comes some spiritual help in the form of the November 2020 Lutheran Witness. It is chock full of articles about the meaning of Holy

Communion and the spiritual blessings we receive as members of the Communion of Saints. One such blessing is the nature of that

communion. Not only do we enjoy the Real Presence of Christ our

FROM THE SW CORNER


Lord, in with and under the bread and wine, we also are

joined by faith with “all the Company of Heaven.” That

company most certainly includes our own family

members, those who have died in the true faith of Jesus, whose souls are now in that

company of Heaven. What comfort that faith provides us

when we are overcome with the loss of beloved members

of our family of faith. Perhaps the following story

from Lutheran pastor, Rev. Berthold von Schenk, who

wrote these words just after he had buried his wife, will

shed God’s Light to help us to grow from the typical ways we honor the memory of the

loving relationship we have had with her who is now

deceased.

“When we are bereft of dear ones, it is a tremendous shock. For a

time we are stunned. Not everyone can feel at once

t h e i r c o n t i n u i n g companionship. …We

must come to a sense of the continuing presence of our loved ones, and we

can do this if we realize the presence of our Living

Lord. …The Saints are part of the Church. We

worship with them. They w orsh i p the R i se n Christ face to face, while

we worship the same Risen Christ under the veil

of bread and wine at the Altar. At the Communion,

REFLECTIONS Pastor Bernard Ansorge

we are linked with Heaven, with the communion of saints, with our loved ones.

Here at the Altar, focused to a point, we find our communion with

the dead; for the Altar is the closest

m e e t i n g place between us and our Lord. That

place must be the place of closest

meeting with our dead who are in His

keeping. The Altar is the trysting place where we met our

beloved Lord. It must, therefore, also

be the trysting place where we meet our loved one for they are with the lord.

How pathetic it is to see men and women going out to the cemetery, kneeling at the mound, placing little sprays of flowers and wiping

their tears from their eyes, and knowing nothing else. How hopeless they look. O that we could take them by the hand, away from the

grave, out through the cemetery gate, in through the door of the church, and up the nave to the very Altar itself, and there put them

in touch, not with the dead body of their loved one, But with the living soul who is with Christ at the Altar…”

Is this not the comfort we yearn for when the Liturgy instructs us of the Communion of Saints, when the Celebrant intones, “Therefore with

angels and archangels and all the company of Heaven, we laud and magnify Your glorious Name, evermore praising You and

singing…..’Holy, holy, holy’”! Do not these words convey the blessed assurance of the Communion of Saints and our Hope for the

resurrection of the dead? And isn’t this just the promise we need from

our God during this blessed Season of Advent?

God be with you and keep your faith during this Advent-

tide and the Christmas Season that follows.

Love, Pastor Bernie


So What? Rick Hilst

“The LORD gives, and the LORD takes away. Blessed be

the name of the LORD.”

(Job 1:21b) “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor

demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

(Romans 8:38-39)

2020 has been a tough year,

both for us as individuals and for Ascension as a church. Since the coronavirus hit in

earnest in March, some of us have suffered the death of

family members and/or good friends. Some of us have lost

our jobs. Many of us have been working from home for months. All of us have

curtailed our social gatherings and kept our public

interactions to a minimum.

W e a r i n g m a s k s a n d maintaining social distancing has become the new normal.

All of us are tired of the

REFLECTIONS ELDER’S NOTES

current situation and more than ready to return to the way things were before.

As a church, we had just begun our Lenten services when the virus

struck. Lenten and Holy Week services quickly disappeared. Easter came and went without a whimper. When church services were finally

restarted, rules required us to wear masks and maintain social distances. Every other pew was closed, and seating was adjusted to keep members apart. Not surprisingly, church attendance dropped significantly.

Advent season is now upon us. While hope in the form of a vaccine

seems within reach, the nation and the world are facing a resurgence in the number of coronavirus cases. Across the country, more severe

shutdowns are occurring. We once again stand at the threshold of potentially difficult decisions regarding worship services just as Christmas awaits us.

As a country, we just had a bitter election, which is still being fought in

the courts. Strong divisions have accompanied the politics of this election, further adding to our frustration with the current situation.

Riots and social unrest are still happening. Emotions are still running high. Given these challenging times, it’s easy to get discouraged, to get worn down.

Despite all the adversity, we should rejoice! We have a God who loves

us. We have a God who has blessed us in so many ways. We have a God w h o g a v e

Himself up for us on the cross so that our sins

c o u l d b e forgiven, so that

we could spend e t e r n i t y i n

Heavenly bliss with Him! Think a b o u t t h a t .

Really think hard about that. Do

you know how wonderful, how

incredible that is, how unbelievably lucky we are? We

are sinners. We are not good. We

have failed God


in so many ways we can’t begin to count them. We are

so self-centered that, during times like these, we tend to

focus even more on ourselves, on how we wish

things were different. We deserve severe punishment for our actions, not great

reward! Yet, God loves us! So much! So, so much!

We need to have an attitude

more like Job. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the

Lord! So what if we have had to deal with some challenges?

So what if we are facing a rough winter? So what if the

coronavirus claims more of our family and friends? As the final stanza of

“A Mighty Fortress” states:

The Word they still shall let remain

Nor any thanks have for it; He's by our side

upon the plain With His good gifts

and Spirit. And take they our

life, Goods, fame, child and wife,

Let these all be gone,

They yet have nothing won;

The Kingdom ours remaineth.

T h e K i n g d o m o u r s remaineth. Don’t let this

world wear you down. Heaven awaits us.

REFLECTIONS Rick Hilst

As Paul, who suffered far more than most of us will ever know, said in

describing his tribulations in Romans 8:18 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

No matter what happens in the coming months, we are blessed to have a God who cares so deeply for us. So, regardless if your Christmas

plans go awry, rejoice and be happy! Jesus loves you! Nothing can separate you from that love.


The holiday season is upon us – but it sure looks a lot

different than we have ever experienced it before. So

many of the seasonal activities we look forward to each year have been modified

or cancelled. The one constant is that no matter

how much – or how little – we celebrate, Christ is

coming!

The CDC will not host a volunteer luncheon this year.

It is not because we do not have volunteers, we do still

have volunteers, but they are working remotely (from home), or come in after hours

or on Saturdays. They still are working hard to keep our

CDC running.

The CDC staff Christmas dinner will be modified. We will provide a special meal for

our teachers during the school day.

There will not be a CDC

CDC and Sunday School Updates

REFLECTIONS DCM Carla Jo Brakhage

Christmas program. We are studying the idea of having a short video on-line for the families to view.

We are still doing the angel trees for the students and staff. Angels are

available already. They will be distributed on Thursday, December 17, so gifts need to be brought to church by Wednesday, December 16. Please

limit the cost of each gift to $10.00. Volunteers will sort the presents into the various classrooms Thursday morning, and then “Santa” (Marsha Carden’s son-in-law), Robert Pittman, will distribute the gifts, and candy

canes.

Sunday School and the Christmas program are also being modified. We will have our Christmas services on Sunday, December 20. To maintain

sufficient social distancing, we will have the service at both 8:00 and 10:45. The title of the service is “Jesse Tree: Jesus’ Family Tree. This program is very

adaptable and can include participants from the youngest to those who are young at heart. We will only

have TWO practices. Sundays, December 6 and 13. We will practice during the Sunday School hour. We are

asking for participants of all ages. Please let Carla Jo know as soon as possible if you are going to participate because parts are being assigned now. Also, she needs

to know if you are willing to be involved in one or both services that morning. In lieu of a fellowship meal

following the service, we will hand out “traditional” candy sacks to all attendees. For those children who

are participating in both services we will have Christmas activities during the Sunday School hour.

Isaiah 11:1-2 NRVS

“A shoot shall come out from the stump

of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the LORD shall rest on

him,

the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.”

As we contemplate what it means to be a member of the family of God, this year

we will concentrate on Jesus’ family tree – our family tree. We all have our memories of our Christmas trees – whether it be those of our


childhood, or decorating with our own children. How can we connect our

modern “Christmas tree,” to Jesus life, death and resurrection?

. But what did it all mean? How did it all

relate to the birth of our Savior on Christmas? This year’s Advent series may help us answer that question.

Under the theme, “God’s Family Tree,” we will follow the Advent

tradition of the “Jesse Tree,” which comes from the early centuries of the

Christian Church. From ancient times, Christians used the picture of the “stem of Jesse” to learn and ponder the

human origins of Jesus Christ and trace His genealogy. During the Middle

Ages, this pious practice grew into a mural in which Jesus’ ancestors and

Old Testament prophecies were depicted on a “family tree.”

By tracing the “roots” of Jesus, we will

see how God fulfills all of His promises in His Incarnate Son. From the Tree of

Life in the Garden of Eden to the Tree of the Cross at Calvary, we will worship our living Lord whose

continued mission is to restore His creation and to redeem us from sin.

May He comfort, enrich, and strengthen us during this blessed

Advent and Christmas season.

REFLECTIONS Carla Jo Brakhage

The ANGELS Were Busy That Year


Headline text to go here

KIDS’ CORNER


I n those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when

Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,

who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Luke 2:1-7

Nancy Rostollan December 2 Zachary Burhans December 4 Chris Linden December 5 Amanda Damron December 8 Kristen King December 8 Sloan Holladay December 9 Sarah Heritage December 10 Rob Rosson December 12 Brian Patterson December 12 Christian Tate December 12 Shelby Schmidt December 13 Rowan Abello December 14 Ariel Burhans December 16 Dave Linden December 17 Chloe Hunt December 18 Meredith Phillips December 18 Rachel King December 21 Marion King December 23 Barbara Hurst December 23 Martin Watts December 24 Sandy Williams December 26 Domina Mwakabumbila December 26 Livia Linden December 28 Grace Engel December 28 Stella Orf December 29 Melinda Heine December 29 Adeline Mwakabumbila December 29 Paula Reyer December 30

Ascension Lutheran Church | 3801 Oakwood Avenue NW | Huntsville, AL 35810 www.ascensionhsv.org

Martin Luther said, “It is incredible how efficacious a remedy. . .praise of God . . . is in times of danger; for as soon as you begin to praise God, the evil lessens, confidence grows and calling upon God in faith follows.” It is difficult to keep our faith and hope when we are tested by trials. We may want to turn away from God in anger. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

James 1:2-3

James doesn’t say if you face trials, but whenever you face them. He assumes that we will have trials and that it is possible to profit from them. The point is not to pretend to be happy when we face pain, but to have a positive outlook (consider pure joy) because of what trials can produce in our lives. James tells us to be joyful when we meet trials. Just as exercise strengthens mu s c l e s a nd f o rg i ng strengthens iron, God allows trials to strengthen our faith. In Romans 8:28, Paul confirms this: “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Evil is prevalent in our fallen world, but God is able to turn every circumstance around for our long-range good. He continues in Romans 8:35, 39: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship of persecution or

How Will You Tell the Story?

REFLECTIONS Stewardship Thoughts Bobbie Scroggins

famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is Christ Jesus, our Lord.” Believers have always had to face hardships in many forms: persecution, illness, imprisonment, even death. God loves us and sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Jesus has already won our biggest trial. Through faith in Him, our righteous Judge, He declares us “not guilty.” Every birth is a miracle, and every child is a gift from God. But nearly 20 centuries ago, the miracle of miracles occurred. A baby was born, but He was the Son of God. The Gospels tell of the birth, but Dr. Luke, as though he were the attending physician, provides most of the details surrounding this awesome occasion, with a divine Father and a human mother. Luke’s story begins with an angel appearing to Mary, telling her the upcoming birth of her Son. Mary would conceive a child by the Holy Spirit and bear Jesus, the Son of God. Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem, the town of David. There, the child was born. Angels announced the joyous event to shepherds, who rushed to the manger. When the shepherds left, they went praising God and spreading the news: “Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11 Prayer: Father, keep our faith on Your during our trials, and grant us a steadfast faith. Amen.


Joy to the world! The Lord has come. Let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room. Let heaven and nature sing. . . When God looked down from

Heaven in the beginning ——>

He was pleased “with man to

dwell.” He came in the cool of

the evening to converse with

Adam and Eve, His perfect

beings, in His perfect creation.

How much of this can our minds

really handle? Does your thought

process skid to a stop with the

word “perfect” and get overrun

with what happened next? Does

your brain overlay that perfect

scene with all the sin and

ugliness that we know and

experience every day?

Much of our church music and

hymns reflect the sinful

condition of the world, our very

basic, human nature, and it’s no

wonder some people challenge

us to find some uplifting hymns

to sing. Christmas and Easter

hymns notwithstanding, we do

have some sad, heart-wrenching

songs.

Can you imagine that in Heaven,

we’ll have to sing some different

words because there will be no

sin or sorrow to use as themes?

REFLECTIONS Music Notes Judy Burhans

We’ll have to listen to the angels

to hear the new words and music

since they’ve been singing God’s

praises in Heaven since the

beginning of time. They’ve got

this - and so will we.

The theme of our Christmas Eve

service is “Redemption’s Story.”

While this will not be a full-blown

cantata by the choir, it will be a

service full of singing and music

and the words of prophecy fulfilled

when God sent His only Son into

this world. Imagine. . .

When God looked down from

Heaven to the earth on that night,

thousands of years after He created

it and promised a Savior to Adam

and Eve, He saw everything where

it was supposed to be. The virgin

Mary was with Joseph in the little

town of Bethlehem so that the

prophecy in Micah 5:2 would be

fulfilled:

“But you, O Beth lehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose

coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

Not only the place of His Son’s

birth was ready, but the setting

was perfect. The shepherds, the

star, the angels in the sky. And

since the time was come,

“He sent redemption to his people; He has commanded His covenant forever. Holy and awesome is His name! “

Psalm 111:9

O come and see Redemption’s story. Come see the King of Glory. The Child who’s born

today will redeem us all, Gloria in excelsis, gloria in excelsis, He

will redeem us all someday! Excerpt from “Redemption’s

Story”


DECEMBER CALENDAR

Documents

DECEMBER 2020 REFLECTIONS · 2020. 12. 5. · fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” We thank God, however, that such is not the case. “But in fact, Christ has been raised form