[AccessD] ADO OpenRecordest with Update

Is it possible to have an ADO openrecordset ("sql_string") where the
sql_string is an UPDATE statement? I see examples with SELECTs but no
Update.

We are getting error 3219 Invalid Operation
  
 mySql = "UPDATE MyTable SET item_ref_date = Now()
  WHERE item_id = 16;"

Thanks

jack