I remember that after I was called as pastor to Ascension 9 years ago, I asked that my installation service be held on Ascension Day Evening.  (Ascension Day is always on a Thursday, 40 days out from Easter, and 10 days before Pentecost Sunday.)  The call committee did not think a Thursday evening worship would be well attended, so we went for a Sunday instead.  This year’s Ascension Day falls on May 5.  Vicar and I will be hosting the members of the Lutheran Pastor’s Cluster at Ascension on Ascension Day.  We are planning a small worship service in the sanctuary, and then we will have some discussion about the meaning of Jesus’ ascension.  

​Our confirmation class students are full of love, hope, peace, and intelligence.  The spirit of empathy represented consistently among members of this group ministers to me.  I’m pleased about our time together.  There are three primary instructors and one secondary teacher who substitutes.  We use a model which allows me to teach three Sundays in a row.  I have been able to engage the participants over stretches of time, fostering a degree of continuity I find important.