Ascension Lutheran Church

When, on November 22, 1852, a little group of ten families organized the Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Church in the south side carpenter shop of Samuel Gabrielson – little could they foresee their act of faith would someday evolve into a big city church of ethnic diversity eventually including both Hmong and Hispanic congregations. Reverend Ole Andrewson, their non-resident pastor, helped this little congregation get started. After finally organizing in March of 1853, they acquired heir first resident pastor, Rev. J.J. Johnson. A lot on the northwest corner of Scott and Reed Streets was purchased for $150. Here the little congregation started building its first church, a frame structure, much of it with their own hands. It was completed and dedicated on January 14, 1855, with Reverend A. Scheie as pastor.



Progressive and innovative from the outset, the little church made the entire community welcome at its altar. It was to become the first Lutheran church in Wisconsin to provide services in English. By 1859, Sunday school classes were conducted in English. By January of 1904, all services were in English as well, at a time when most other Milwaukee congregations continued services in their various ethnic tongues. During the next quarter century the congregation continued to grow. Then, on December 17, 1882, the cornerstone of a new brick church was dedicated on the same site where the frame church had stood. Times were hard and, facing a deficit, member volunteers maintained the building themselves.



Rev. Gustav Stearns answered the congregation’s call in April 1899, and except for stints as a front line chaplain to WWI soldiers he would serve the congregation for the next 35 years. This was a period of phenomenal growth for the church and has been heralded as its “golden age” in terms of membership, new innovations and activities. In 1904 the Easter Sunrise Service and the three-hour Good Friday observance were initiated. It was also during Rev. Stearns’ pastorate that the rapidly growing church changed its name to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Ascension. By 1919, the church overflowed with visitors every Sunday, and so it was that once again more space was needed to accommodate them. In December of 1919 a new church site waspurchased. By April of 1922 ground was broken “on the exact spot over which the Ascension altar now stands,” and in 1923 the new edifice, at the present site on South Layton Boulevard, was dedicated. In 1931 Augustana College recognized the accomplishments of Gustav Stearns by awarding him the Doctor of Divinity degree.



Worship services in Spanish began in the early 1970s but, when the pastor of the group moved out of state, the services were discontinued. Later, in 1977, a missionary from South America, Arthur Wyse, was called to lead the Spanish ministry. In October of 1983 a group of Hmong Christians living on the south side of Milwaukee approached Ascension looking for a place to worship and conduct Bible Study. Their wish was soon granted as they began meeting at Ascension under the leadership of Youa Vang Thao. Outreach to the Hmong and Hispanic community was a focus of ministry in the 1990s, making many advances to indeed become a multicultural congregation. Even among the struggles of rebuilding, the church kept an eye toward serving the community. The Evangelism board trained small cell group leaders, crossing language and cultural barriers, to bring more emphasis on fellowship opportunities with informal cross-cultural interactions.


Today finds Ascension still anchored on the near south side of Milwaukee. The neighborhood surrounding it is diverse and densely populated, and has been identified by many as the most culturally diverse community in the city of Milwaukee. The struggle to reconcile ethnic differences that began in 1852 continues among the cultural groups that surround Ascension today. Ascension is now a multilingual congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It lives out its mission by seeking ways to meet the needs of a community of people who are diverse in language and cultural background.