An Uber ride can lead to an interesting conversation.

I would like to second what Pastor Mike said about the conference that we attended last week. There was a permeating Joy that went throughout the conference. There were lots of hugs, laugher and a noticeable absence of concerned conversations about the state of things in the church.

I was asked that question numerous times Sunday morning after Pastor Goltl, Cyndy, and I returned from the Best Practices in Ministry conference in Phoenix, AZ. I settled on one answer. The happiness of the people at the conference.

The Ascension Grade school has passed the fire marshal’s inspection and has received the certificate of occupancy from the city.

I know that lots of people gamble and perhaps they are just fine and can take it or leave it. But I can also see how easily I could slip down this slippery slope. This isn’t an anti-gambling video but just an observation that I made about myself.

Over the past 65 years of Ascension’s history the congregation has had the typical practice of offering Holy communion on the first and third Sundays of the month. And as we look forward to the coming years of our life together as a congregation, I would like you to consider changing this pattern to every week. We could still use the fifth Sundays of the month for our non-communion Matins service, but for the months with only 4 Sundays imagine if we gathered around our Lord’s Table each week.

We want affirmation for a job well done. Recognition for when we had to carry more than our fair share. Thanks in various forms. A trophy when we sacrifice for the sake of the team. A public deposit into our emotional well-being bank.   We yearn for praise.   The Bible bursts our bubble.

I can remember as a kid that shopping with adults was not one of my favorite activities. They took far too long, and I know that I was not always the fun kid to have on a shopping trip.

The tooth ache wouldn’t leave, and I was out of town.   You know that pain. Like a great-uncle on the 100th re-telling of the African safari where he almost got gored. That pain. Only everyone’s left the room.