Collaboratively written by Pastor Debra Jimenez, pastor at Ascension Lutheran Church in Ogden, Utah and Deacon Mary Stoneback, Synod Minister for Strategic Communications and Events

On the corner of 1100 and Washington in Ogden, Utah, ministry isn’t just talked about—it’s lived. Ascension Lutheran Church sits at 1105 N. Washington Blvd, rooted in worship and relationship, with neighbor-partnerships that have helped this corner become a visible point of care in the community. Ascension’s corner is unique in its proximity of mission. Kidz Town Head Start & Daycare notes in its location listing that it is “located behind the Ascension Lutheran Church.” And nearby, Family Promise of Ogden has been growing its presence and capacity to support families with children experiencing homelessness toward shelter and stability.

But corners like this don’t become a “campus of care” by accident. They become what they are because people keep listening—showing up, building trust, and taking the next faithful step when a need becomes clear. That’s why you can’t really tell the story of this place without telling the story of its leaders, members, and neighbors.

I had planned to capture Ascension’s ministry and outreach in its entirety, but a COVID outbreak prevented me from visiting the congregation, Family Promise, and point persons connected to Kidz Town. Instead, I was able to share coffee and cookies with Pastor Debra Jimenez and her family.

Debra is navigating an unexpected medical ailment that has left her in deep pain and uncertain of next steps—just months before Easter Sunday, when she plans (and still hopes) to retire. As she spoke about Christ and the people she loves, I kept thinking about how renewal so often begins: by listening close to the lived reality of the moment. That’s what I was afforded in that time and space. And it echoes what the ELCA Innovation Lab names as a starting posture for the church: to “innovate with empathy, design with equity, and truly listen to where the Holy Spirit is calling us next.”

Pastor Debra shared a moment of discernment that helped shape this story on the ground. She had been walking and praying—not on land that already held Family Promise, but on space where the congregation was being led to imagine what could be. In that prayer, she sensed a clear invitation: you have land. And from that prompting came a next faithful step—Ascension and its leaders inviting Family Promise of Ogden to build there.

That kind of partnership has also been felt in the behind-the-scenes work of maintaining the campus itself. Long-standing water damage finally required major repairs—work that included a new roof and exterior repairs, updated sprinklers and rock barriers, and a resurfaced parking lot. And Ascension did not do that alone. As Debra put it, help also came from myHometown Ogden, which “provided the equipment and physical labor to complete the landscaping work that would have been impossible on our own.” myHometown Ogden describes itself as a neighborhood-centered initiative involving the city, local religious institutions, and residents—neighbors working alongside neighbors for the common good.

Debra named the depth of relationships Ascension has fostered with their Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) neighbors—relationships that have become a steady channel for shared service. “They have routinely partnered with us to create Blessing Bags,” she said, bags filled with small food items, socks, toiletries, and encouraging messages. Congregation members then take those bags and share them with unhoused neighbors—an outward sign of a simple truth: compassion is more credible when it shows up in hands and feet. (The ELCA also offers guidance for care-bags as one practical way to accompany neighbors experiencing homelessness.) Those relationships have not stayed small. Debra shared that this partnership also led to a 5K Fun Run/Walk to raise funds and awareness for Family Promise of Ogden—another example of how relationship can become momentum, and momentum can become hope with a calendar date.

As Ascension and Family Promise built the relationships necessary for welcoming a new neighbor onto shared ground, Debra said they worked deliberately to find common language—language rooted in the same vision from different callings. “Ultimately, each in our own way are working to build a stronger and healthy community,” she reflected. “The families and children who walk through our respective doors will encounter safe environments where they will encounter love, encouragement, and provided tools to create strong healthy families.” Years from now, she prays, those families will be contributing to the community, and “the children will remember being fed both physically and spiritually.” And then Debra said what leaders who have watched long-term ministry unfold often say best: “There isn’t a price that can be placed on this type of investment… It is truly a response to the Holy Spirit’s invitation.”

Debra’s pastoral story is one of listening and accompanying. The Rocky Mountain Synod announced her installation at Ascension in March 2021. Before Ascension, she served her first call at Trinity Lutheran Church in Hobbs, New Mexico, and she also brought decades of experience in Human Resources—skills she now recognizes as deeply pastoral: listening carefully, building trust, and helping people walk through change.

As she prepares to retire, Debra’s gratitude widens to include the saints who said yes long before she arrived—especially those whose generosity made room for the “next faithful step” in the first place. She shared a recent conversation with Orv and Ann Engelby, in their home, about what is taking place with Family Promise and the land their family had been instrumental in purchasing nearly 30 years ago. Orv—then in hospice care—responded with a bright, unforgettable affirmation: “We should have bought more land!” Debra laughed as she told it, but the joy carried something deeper: “That’s it, I believe. Keep listening, keep investing, keep trusting that the Holy Spirit is active and speaking…We may not see clearly now, but we can live generously, trusting in God’s purpose and vision.”

And that brings the story back to where Debra is now, personally. “I did not envision these last few weeks ever happening,” she told me. She thought she had done all the right things to care for herself and to have an active, constructive close to her time with Ascension. Instead, she said, she is “nearly flat on my back much of the time,” being taught by the Spirit to accept being cared for.

“There is no way I’ll ever adequately express what it means to be loved so completely by the people God brought me here to love,” she said. Each morning, she wakes to texted prayers and words of encouragement. She is being fed beautiful meals. She has been supported by visits in the hospital and at home. “Ascension was filled with ministers before I came,” she said, “and they continue to minister to me now.”

Her prayer for Ascension is simple and spacious: that they will continue listening and reaching out; that they will strengthen their care for one another; and that they will widen their circles of friendship to include the new people God continues to send. “Say yes to those God sends your way,” Debra urged. “Invest in making space for new ways of being and worshiping and learning from one another.”

That is the story holding steady on one corner in Ogden: a community still showing up, neighbors still partnering, and a pastor still hoping—because God is always at work.

Keep scrolling to learn more about the corner of care.