Ascension Lutheran Church to celebrate 75 years Sunday – Baltimore Sun

Ascension Lutheran Church, in Towson, will celebrate its 75th anniversary Sunday.

A festive worship service dedicated to the ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven will commemorate the event, according to a news release from the church.

"The whole reason the church was founded and is called Ascension is because it was founded [on] the 40th day after Easter," or Ascension Day, church volunteer Diane Kohan said.

The Christian holiday commemorates Jesus Christ's ascension to heaven according to ecumenical Christian belief, Kohan said.

The church traces its beginnings to 1941 when a small group of people met in a home on York Road, gathering regularly for worship, according to the church's website.

The Towson church opened on its namesake day on May 14, 1942.

Construction started on the present sanctuary in July 1949 with a formal dedication on June 4, 1950. In June 1959, the church added an education wing and a nursery school to better serve the community.

Bishop William Gohl, of the Maryland-Delaware Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, will be the guest preacher for the 10 a.m. celebratory service. Ascension's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Nancy Kraft, will preside over the service.

The church's senior and junior choirs will perform a specially commissioned "Ascension Prayer" anthem from composer Thomas Keesecker for the occasion, according to the news release.

"We're just going to celebrate the time we've had in Towson," Kohan said.

A free, catered lunch of small dinner rolls, tuna, chicken salad, fresh fruit and vegetables, and an anniversary cake will follow the service.

The church is located at 7601 York Road, near Towson University. Parking is available on York Road, across from the church building.

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Ascension Lutheran Church to celebrate 75 years Sunday - Baltimore Sun