Ascension
is a desert oasis,
a place to stop and refresh
your spirit, mind, and body,
thus giving you the energy
to comfortably continue
your journey through life.

    The church is situated on six acres of flat desert land at the base of Mummy Mountain, featuring a pentagonal shaped sanctuary, topped with a spire rising 140 feet in the sky.

     Designed to suit the needs of a growing congregation, the overall future plan includes a Sunday School wing which would curve from the sanctuary, with provision for classrooms, offices, choir practice room, and a social meeting hall.  The Nave is flanked on three sides by balconies for the choir, pipe organ, and overflow audiences, and rises to a height of 54 feet to the ceiling pentagon skylight, which acts as the base to the exterior spire. 

    
  The interior walls of the church are finished with a desert sand texture. The exterior finish is off-white plaster with marble chips. The floors of the Nave are completely carpeted.

  Window frames have been given a textured pattern, and along with the spire are painted deep blue trimmed with gold.  

The Choir

   The choir members sit together with their families during Sunday worship, and at an appointed time leave their pews to assemble in the music area, to make their spirit filled musical presentations, and then return to their seats. There is no division between choir members and the rest of the congregation. 

Youth Story time

The Steeple

     At first glance, from ground level, the Ascension steeple appears as a cross at the top of a metal tower.

     From an aerial view, the cross is atop the center of a stained glass pentagon. The increasingly smaller horizontal metal pieces of the tower actually form stars within the pentagon.

     This is just a part of the Frank Lloyd Wright design of this church.

The Pipe Organ

We are privileged to have one of the finest pipe organ installations in the state of Arizona.  The contract for the instrument was awarded to the M.P. Möller company of Hagerstown, Maryland in 1961 for the sum of $52,900 and was installed simultaneously with the construction of the church, being completed in 1964.  The inaugural concert was given by  Sue Lombardi, organist of Ascension at the time. (click here for more information about the organ)

SANCTUARY SKYLIGHT WINDOW

     Situated above the cross behind the altar in the Sanctuary is the Dove window.  Within this window, the stars represent God the Father’s creation of the universe. The empty cross represents Christ, his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension into Heaven. The Dove represents the Holy Spirit, and the faith that He works in our hearts. The Triangle represents the Holy Trinity and our belief in the Triune God. The fifth design, the Tongues of Fire, represent Pentecost, and the spreading of God’s word in every language. 

The four large stained glass windows at the sides of the sanctuary each have a dark blue cross in the background enhanced by bright yellow glass.  These four crosses coordinate with the large cross in the altar area reminding us that this is a Christian worship center.

    The BAPTISM WINDOW has a conch—like seashell with drops of water coming from it, reminding us of how water is touched on peoples’ heads in the name of the Triune God.  In that very simple event, God does profound things.  He claims us and names us and adopts us into his family, the church.  He gives us the gifts of faith and salvation.  The cross in the background reminds us that in Holy Baptism we are connected to the One who suffered and died on our behalf.

The TRINITY WINDOW features three equal, intertwined rings in red.  The three rings represent God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  We believe in one God who expresses himself as creator, savior, and faith builder.  The rings are endless, reminding us that God is endless and eternal.  The cross in the background points to the special work of the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ.

The SCRIPTURE WINDOW, showing an open book, is a reminder that the Bible is the written word of God.  The open Bible acts as a cradle that holds the living word, Jesus Christ, who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of our faith life.  The cross in the background points to the good news of the gospel that through the suffering, death, and resurrection of his son, God accepts us, loves us, forgives us, and grants us eternal life.

The COMMUNION WINDOW is adorned with grapes, stalks of wheat, and a chalice.  Wheat is harvested and ground into flour, which is then used to make the bread of which Jesus says, “This is my body.”  Grapes are used to make the wine of which Jesus says, “This is my blood.”  The chalice reminds us that as we eat the bread and drink the wine together, Christ comes within us and links himself to us in a Holy Communion.  The cross in the background reminds us that as we participate in the Lord’s Supper, we remember His suffering and death for us, and we are forgiven and our faith is strengthened.

    The plan for the fully developed Ascension Lutheran Church campus is based on three elemental geometric forms:  the pentagon, the circle and the straight line. The pentagon is singularly adapted to serve as the basic form for a church.  It is closely related in geometric structure to the five-pointed star -- the star of Bethlehem, or traditionally the "Epiphany" star, as may be noticed in the star in the ceiling.  Practically, the form provides wall surfaces that converge on the worship center, allowing a large central area with excellent visual and acoustical characteristics.

    The circle traditionally symbolizes infinity or eternity, having neither a  beginning nor an end.  The straight line has been symbolically associated with extension, projection, direction and achieved purpose.  

COLUMBARIUM DEDICATION   The word “columbarium” is derived from the Latin word, “columba” meaning dove.  The “dovecote”, or nesting area, is made up of many niches where doves make their nests.  The Ascension columbarium is an arrangement of recessed niches to hold cremation urns containing the remains of those who have died in Christ.   On Ash Wednesday the language of the liturgy includes these words from scripture… Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.   The cremation process returns our bodies to dust.   Many are familiar with the rural tradition of the cemetery located alongside the church building.   The columbarium enables us to preserve the spirit of this valuable tradition as well with the Ascension communion of saints including both those who are alive and those who have died in the faith.

ASCENSION’S FIRST MEMORIAL GARDEN SCULPTURE  was dedicated on Ascension Sunday, May 12, 2002.  This graceful work of art, sculpted by local artist Jon DeCelles from white marble with silver-grey veins, sits on a boulder especially selected to serve as its pedestal.  Titled “Ascension”, the work symbolizes Christ ascending into Heaven and serves as a reminder that our loved ones have also ascended into Heaven to be with God for eternity.  The piece was commissioned as a memorial for Tom Doench  by the Doench family.  For more detail about the installation of this statue, click here.

         Thanks for taking the Ascension tour with us, today! We’re glad you are here.  We love our church and all that it represents.  It would be our greatest pleasure to have you personally visit our desert oasis on a regular basis.    

       There is so much going on at Ascension, and we would be blessed with your participation and assistance in our journey in faith.