05/13/2026
May 17, 2026 Whiteside UMC
Ascension Sunday Year A
Greetings
What is Ascension Sunday? Well in the United Methodist Church we see Ascension Sunday through the eyes of Father Wesley and this is what the church says on their official website.
For many, Ascension Day will go relatively unnoticed. Forty days after Easter is just another day with many of us in our ordinary routines. The event it celebrates, however, is an important episode in the life of Jesus that the church has regarded highly through the years.
Luke tells the story of Jesus' ascension both at the end of his gospel (Luke 24:50-53) and the beginning of his writing about the early church (Acts 1:9-11).
Our creeds affirm the Ascension as a central doctrine of the Christian faith. The Apostles' Creed reads, "he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty." The Nicene Creed similarly states, "he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father."
Centuries later, our United Methodist forebear, John Wesley, emphasized the day by including it as one of three non-Sunday holy day observances included in his Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America—a forerunner of our Book of Worship. The other two are Good Friday and Christmas.
Wesley also retained language about the Ascension as part of the Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church, which he edited from the Church of England. Echoing the creeds, Article III states, "he ascended into Heaven, and there sitteth until he return to judge all men at the last day."
Charles Wesley, John's brother and hymn writer of the early Methodist movement, published a pamphlet of seven Hymns for Ascension Day in 1746 and several more hymns on the Ascension that appear in other volumes of his work.
Today, many United Methodist congregations recognize Jesus' ascension during regular worship services on Ascension Sunday, the Sunday immediately following Ascension Day.
"Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise"
Interestingly, we have no sermons on Ascension Day from John Wesley, and his Explanatory Notes on the New Testament offer no commentary on the account of the Ascension in Acts and little on the verses in Luke. Most of what we know about the Wesleys' teaching on the Ascension comes from Charles's hymns.
Our United Methodist Hymnal contains a Charles Wesley hymn titled "Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise" (312). The lyrics for this hymn, an adaptation of Charles's "Hymn for Ascension-Day" published in Hymns and Sacred Poems (1739), offer insight into the importance of this day.
Charles begins acknowledging the Ascension as both the ending of Jesus's physical presence on Earth and his return to his rightful place in heaven.
Hail the day that sees him rise, Ravish'd from our wishful eyes; Christ awhile to mortals giv'n, Re-ascends his native heav'n!
Our United Methodist worship resources explain, "The language of Ascension is, primarily, language of enthronement. It is Jesus ascending to his full authority."
John Wesley included Ascension Day in the Sunday Service, because it "marked not just something about Jesus or the church, but about the scope of salvation for the whole universe," the worship resources continue. Jesus "ascended to heaven to assume the fullness of his reign."
In verse 2, Charles Wesley expands on the theme of enthronement.
There the pompous triumph waits, "Lift your heads, eternal gates, Wide unfold the radiant scene, Take the King of Glory in!"
As we sing these lyrics, we worship Jesus who "sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty." We acknowledge Jesus in his role as Lord over all the earth.
As Jesus ascends to his throne, however, he does not abandon us. Verse 3 of "Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise," which is adapted from verse 4 of Wesley's original text, reminds us that Jesus is not leaving us alone. Wesley writes,
Him tho' highest heaven receives, Still he loves the earth he leaves; Tho' returning to his throne, Still he calls mankind his own.
Jesus' connection to Earth and humanity remains. He is not absent, but continues to love and claim us.
The hymn concludes in The United Methodist Hymnal (Wesley wrote 10 verses) with a description of Jesus's humanity being received into the realm of God. Jesus ascends to his rightful throne bearing the scars of the crucifixion.
See! He lifts his hands above! See! He shews the prints of love! Hark! His gracious lips bestow Blessings on his church below!
The Ascension affirms that we as the church are also accepted into heaven with Jesus (see Ephesians 2:6).
An important celebration
While much of the world may see Ascension Day as just another Thursday, United Methodists can celebrate. With John and Charles Wesley, we remember that Jesus ascended to heaven where he took his rightful throne as Lord of the whole earth. Though he is not bodily present, he continues to love us, and longs to receive us into the presence of God to dwell with him throughout eternity.
Source
Wesley, Charles. "Hymn for Ascension-Day." Hymns and Sacred Poems (London: Strahan, 1739), p. 211-13. Accessed through The Center for Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition, Duke Divinity School.
Joe Iovino works for UMC.org at United Methodist Communications. Contact him by email.
This story was first published on May 22, 2017 and it was updated May 11, 2023.
I hope you now know a little more about Ascension Sunday
Yours in Christ
Bro Scotty
Events for the Month of May
• May 3rd Fifth Sunday of Easter
• May 3rd District Gathering
• May 5th Cinco de Mayo
• May 6th National Nurse Day
• May 7th National Day of Prayer
• May 10th Sixth Sunday of Easter
• May 10th Mother’s Day
• May 14th Ascension of the Lord
• May 17th Ascension of the Lord Sunday
• May 24th Pentecost
• May 24th Aldersgate Day
• May 24th Heritage Sunday
• May 25th Memorial Day
• May 31st Trinity Sunday
• May 31st Peace with Justice Sunday
I do want us to keep in mind that through it all God is still in control. Here we go again it seems as of right now we are back at our beautiful Midland Road campus on the outskirts of Shelbyville. As of now we are able to see all the smiling faces and hearing the people talking with each other. For those not joining us in person please continue to take advantage of the chat feature in the Facebook stream to say “Hi” to me and to your friends. We will have worship in some form every week as long as I am able to serve. But for now, we are continuing in person worship.
Traditional Apostles creed will be used in our worship celebrations. During the service I will line out the Creed, as the early church did, with me reading a line and you repeating that line. I have included the Traditional Creed below:
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord:
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;*
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic** church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen
*Traditional use of this creed includes these words: “He descended into hell.”
**universal
And if you are wondering we had 11 people in person last week and 34 online views. We are still serving God and are still living out our call to ministry. I invite you to share the link with your friends and family so we can continue to be a presence for God from our church in the world. I look forward to our times of worship this coming week. As we look forward to where God is leading us, we are entering a time of continued celebration.
It was good to hear from some of you this week. As we continue to worship, I am posting the Scriptures for the Ascension Sunday Year A. I hope to hear from each of you as you sign in to the message.
I have been asked several times online and in private how people can donate to the ministries that we have and help us continue to grow. I ask you to be purposeful in donating to the ministries of this Church. I am thankful and excited to see that God is working in and moving you to help be a part of our growth. To answer that question, I say that at this time the only way to donate is by mail. You could mail your contributions to:
Whiteside UMC
%Gwen Dehne
279 Mullins Chapel Rd
Shelbyville, Tennessee 37160
Scriptures for Sunday May 17, 2026
Psalter Psalm 68
Old Testament Isaiah 45:1-7
Epistle Lesson Acts 1:6-14
1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11
Lesson John 17:1-11
Prayer List Whiteside UMC 5/17/26
Penny Barns
Brad Bergmann
Cindy Birdsong
Charles Birdwell
Allice Bonds
Francis Bonds
Connie Bobo
John Brewer
Christopher Campbell
Marie Cartwright
Frank Cartwright
Judi Cartwright
Ann Childers
John Christie
Kelly Clark and family
LA
Marie Collins
Ray Collins
Cathy Crossman
Dude Crowder
Lindsey Dehne
Lily Dehne
Bonnie Eblen
Betty Farrar
Adam Faulk
Linuya Fralix
Rhonda Garrard
John Gentry
Ann Gibson
Nichol Hall
Debbie Hammerstein
Lisa Harvey
Gay Irwin
Catherine Jackson
Mack Jackson
Spencer Jackson
Lynn Kelley
Cordell Lavvorn
Richard Lavvorn
Darlene Lipford
Lori Lovins
Kris Martin
Kathy Mason
Tonya McAdams
Mike McDow
Dorothy McWhorter
Randy Mealer
Krista Meeks
Tina Montgomery
Tina Neeley
Clayton Norman
Diane Parker
Donna Pitts
Josh Raggio
Bonnie Raymond
Ella Russell
Schools
Berl Shavers
Judi Shephard
Bill Simmons
Corinne Smith
Wilma Smith
Elizabeth Sorrells
Kathryn Sorrells
Jerry Summers
Jana Swann
Kim Taylor
Milo Turner
Travelers
Amanda Underwood
Visitors
Sandy Walton
Danny Watterson
Carl Willis
Martin Wilson
Kathryn York
Lee York
Unemployed
Unspoken
Youth of the world
Bedford County
