About
On June 23, 1912, the Lutheran Church of the Ascension was organized in the old Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary chapel by Pastor Walton H. Greever and 36 charter members, who continued to worship there each Sunday until the sanctuary was built and dedicated a year later, on June 29, 1913. The building itself was designed in the gothic revival style by local architect James B. Urguhart and features Tiffany stained glass windows.
Having served the Eau Claire community and surrounding area for over a century, Ascension Lutheran has been led since 2013 by Reverend Jackie Utley; known to the congregation as Pastor Jackie. Pastor Jackie was the first African-American female to be ordained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in South Carolina. Having grown up in the Pentecostal tradition, she was "Lutheranized" and ordained at the neighboring Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary.