Church of the Advent

Our vision for Advent is to be a biblically faithful, dynamically growing, spiritually healthy and exciting church, reaching out to the community through the love of Christ Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit

What We Believe:

1.  The core statement of our faith is outlined in the Nicene Creed.

2. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain all things necessary to salvation and are the rule and ultimate standard of faith. No one is required to accept as an article of faith anything that is not plainly taught in Holy Scripture.

3.  We can have a right relationship with God only through the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and not through our own works or merits.

How We Worship:

The celebration of the Lord’s Supper is the central act of our corporate worship, and Holy Communion is offered at both of our Sunday worship services. In this celebration of the Lord’s Supper, we exalt the risen Christ and seek His all powerful, life-changing presence. 

The 8:00 a.m. worship service is a quiet service with no music. The 10:00 a.m. service is a choral service. The music at Advent is a blend of traditional hymns and contemporary praise and worship songs. 

During the week, we celebrate Morning Prayer which includes Psalms and Canticles of Praise, readings from the scripture, and petitions and thanksgiving. Morning Prayer is held at 9:00 a.m. Monday through Thursday.

Our Relationship to the Larger Church:

Advent is a parish in the Episcopal Church in the United States, which is part of the world wide Anglican Communion.  In recent years, the relationship between the Episcopal Church in the United States and the larger provinces of the Anglican Communion has become strained over matters of scriptural interpretation and the historic faith.  In our desire to maintain the bonds of unity with the wider Anglican Communion, Advent requested that Bishop Mark Hollingsworth, the Bishop of Ohio, delegate oversight to a bishop whose theological perspective was closer to that of Advent.  Bishop Hollingsworth graciously requested that Bishop Edward Little of Northern Indiana provide Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight to Advent in December of 2006.  The relationship between the two bishops is founded in collegial respect, common faith and infallible trust.  The relationship between Advent and Bishops Hollingsworth and Little is a model of how the church can face controversial issues with mutual respect and Christian charity.