Opportunities for Service and Fellowship at Ascension

THE FOLLOWING OPPORTUNITIES EXIST FOR SERVICE AND FELLOWSHIP AT ASCENSION. PLEASE CONSIDER SHARING YOUR TIME, FAITH, AND ABILITIES WITH OTHERS.

WORSHIP

Choirs for all ages

Lay Reader

Communion Assistant

Usher

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Sunday School Teacher

FAMILY Program Teacher/Helper

Sunday School Substitute Teacher

(FAMILY is on Wednesday Evenings)

Vacation Bible School

Youth Group

Music Leader for Sunday School

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE AND FELLOWSHIP

Church Council and Committees

Church Serving Groups (i.e. funerals)

Visitation (new/inactive members)

WELCA (Women of the ELCA)

Visitation (nursing home/shut-ins)

Bible Study Circles

Knit Sweaters for Layettes

Sunday Morning Coffee Servers

Quilting

Men's Dartball League

Provide Transportation to Worship

Prayer Partners for Confirmands

Camping

Ascension FRIENDS

Altar Guild

Lefse Making

Time and Talent Bazaar

Property and Grounds Upkeep

Prayer Groups

Worship

CHOIRS are available for all ages. They rehearse on Wednesday evenings during the school year and provide worship through music at church services. Any member or guest of a member is welcome. Contact the Church Office at 373-3408.
COMMUNION ASSISTANTS, LAY READERS, and USHERS: Any confirmed member can help at these tasks. Ushers are often assisted by younger family members as well. There is a meeting once a year for orientation. You can be scheduled for the service you regularly attend and for the tie period you are in Albert Lea. Contact the Church Office at 373-3408.

Christian Education

SUNDAY SCHOOL for all ages meets between services during the school year. Any confirmed member willing to share and teach their faith can volunteer. You can teach every Sunday, team teach, teach half a year, etc.
THE FAMILY PROGRAM for children in Kindergarten through 6th Grade meets Wednesday evenings during the school year. Teachers and people willing to help with meals are needed.
A MUSIC LEADER for the Sunday School is also needed.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL meets for one week during the summer.
Contact Mary Shallock at 377-8579 or the Church Office at 373-3408 if you are interested.

Church Council and Committees

The Church Council and Committees meet once a month, usually the third Monday evening. It is possible to be on a Committee and not the Council. The Council and Committees are involved in making decisions related to different aspects of church life and church governance.

Church Serving Groups

Everyone is assigned to a serving group. If a funeral or other special event is being held at Ascension, you may be asked to help serve or bring a cake. You will be contacted when the need arises.

Newsletter Assembly Volunteers

Once a month, Janet needs help at the Church Office to assemble the newsletter, attach labels, etc. Anyone can help. This is usually done the last Thursday of the month at 8:30 a.m. Contact Janet by calling the Church Office at 373-3408 if you have any questions.

Property and Grounds Upkeep

There are some occasional situations where the church needs help with painting, cleaning, office help, etc. The need for help will be mentioned in the church newsletter or bulletin. Work will be coordinated through the Church Office.

Visitation

There are a number of opportunities for visitation. Visitation is needed for new members and inactive members. There is also a need for visitation of people who are confined to their homes, in the hospital, or in nursing homes. People who are grieving also need visitation.
Contact Jane Samuelson, our Parish Nurse, at 373-3356 or call the Church Office at 373-3408, if you are in need of visitation, know someone who is in need, or are willing to help.
People with limited mobility may consider doing visitation over the telephone.

Provide Transportation to Worship

Some members are able to attend worship but are unable to drive. If you need a ride, know of someone who needs one, or can help, please contact Parish Nurse Jane Samuelson at 373-3356 or call the Church Office at 373-3408.

Ascension WELCA (Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)

All women of the church are members of WELCA and others interested can participate. The purpose of WELCA is to promote fellowship, service, study of God's word, and prayer among all women of Ascension.
BIBLE STUDY CIRCLES are scheduled at various times as listed in the monthly newsletter and Sunday bulletins. Women can feel free to attend the circle which best fits their schedule. Circles generally meet the second Tuesday of each month.
WELCA also has several general gatherings each year such as a summer picnic and Christmas potluck. Caroline Sorenson is the current President of Ascension WELCA. She may be contacted at 373-8930.

Time and Talent Bazaar

This is part of WELCA and is their main fund raiser. It is held the first Saturday on November with meetings in September and October to plan the event. Anyone interested in the bazaar is welcome to help. Please note the information on lefse making which is done prior to the bazaar. Contact Caroline Sorenson at 373-8930 or Joan Anderson at 373-7098 if interested in the bazaar and Alice Jensen at 373-1828 if interested in lefse making.
The money raised at the bazaar funds various internal and external projects of the church.

Lefse Making

When Fall arrives our thoughts turn to the annual Ascension Time and Talent Bazaar and this means lefse time again. Lefse is a large part of the bazaar and requires many workers. In past years we have had wonderful cooperation from members of our congregation, so it becomes a good time , too.
We usually work Wednesdays and thursdays, the two middle weeks in October. Wednesday mornings is potato preparation which involves peeling, cooking, mashing and mixing. We refrigerate the potato mixture overnight and Thursday mornings we roll, bake, and package the lefse. It is then frozen until the day of the bazaar, which is always the first Saturday in November.
We sell approximately 125 dozen lefse. It is a lot of work, but very rewarding to have such a large group working on this project. We would like to encourage anyone interested in helping to come and join us. There will be a job for you! For further information, contact Alice Jensen at 373-1828.

Sunday Morning Coffee Servers

Coffee is served in Carlsen Hall between Worship Services during the school year, and after the Worship Service on Sundays during the summer.
People are needed to help prepare the coffee and food items. A sign up sheet is available in Carlsen Hall during Coffee Hour. You can help out once or twice to get familiar with the kitchen.

Quilting

The Ascension Quilting Group meets in Carlsen Hall at 1:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. We quilt September and October. After the Lutheran World Relief Van arrives in late October, we take a break until January. We then quilt until the end of May, when the Lutheran World Relief Van arrives again. We do not quilt during the simmer months.
We are a small group and would encourage others who are able to come and join us. You do not have to be an excellent seamstress to do our type of quilting. We enjoy a lot of good fellowship as we work.
In 2003, we gave the Crime victim's Crisis Center five children's quilts and 55 adult quilts to Lutheran World Relief. With a fe ore workers we could do more. The quilts are so badly needed throughout the world.
For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Julie Riemer at 373-3335.

Aebleskiver Supper

Aebleskiver is a Danish delicacy and every year a group of people put together an Aebleskiver Supper at Ascension as a social event. There is some preparation and selling tickets prior to the event and the day of the supper people decorate Carlsen Hall and prepare the meal. The work is shared by many people and is a good time of fellowship.
The Aebleskiver Supper is usually in March or April. for more information, contact Marilyn Danielsen at 373-0518.

Men's Dartball League

Dartball is a game combining darts and baseball. The dart lands on spots which can be hits, outs, etc. The league is comprised of teams from various churches in the area and meets on Monday evenings during the winter months.
Dartball is a combination of friendly competition, fellowship, and fun. Contact Barry Coughin at 373-5536 if you are interested in joining the team.

Prayer Groups

The Ascension Prayer Groups provide prayer support for the concerns brought to their attention. If you would like to be prayed for, or have a concern that you would like to have prayers for, please contact Parish Nurse Jane Samuelson at 373-3356.
Anyone is welcome to participate in the Prayer Groups. We only ask that you be willing to pray seriously and persistently and pass the prayer request on to the next person in your Prayer Group

Prayer Partners for Confirmands

In the Fall, members of the church are asked to make a conscious commitment to pray for one of of our confirmation students throughout the year. this can be done anonymously if you wish. Details on this opportunity will be available in the monthly newsletter and Sunday bulletin.

Altar Guild

The Altar Guild takes care of the altar and chancel area and does preparation and clean up for serving communion. Volunteers are needed and welcome. There are about six meetings a year. and several of these are work meetings to prepare for special times such as Christmas and Easter. The Altar Guild is mostly women, but men are welcome. Help is especially needed with the paraments. for more information contact Doris Guenthner at 373-2688 or Julie Riemer at 373-2225.

Layettes, School Kits, Health Kits, Sewing Kits

Supplies are put together in the form of layettes, school kits, health kits, and sewing kits. Through Lutheran World Relief, they are supplied to people in need throughout the world. There are specific items needed for the layettes and various kits, such as toiletries, blankets, and sweaters. The layettes can include sweaters that members of the congregation knit.
Details on the items needed are included in the Ascension WELCA Handbook listing of Stewardship Projects.
For more information, contact Julie Riemer at 373-2225 or Sharon Anderson at 373-1568.

Ascension Friends

This is an informal group that meets occasionally throughout the year. The meetings are during the day and might include a speaker, activity, meal, program, or other fellowship.
It is not necessary to formally join the group, simply watch the monthly newsletter or Sunday bulletin for details and come for an enjoyable time.
Special gatherings are sometimes held in conjunction with other churches and anyone who is a member or friend of a member of Ascension is welcome.