God tells the prophet Habakkuk: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. (Habakkuk 2:2)

Advent Lutheran Church is a beautiful, diverse, imperfect community of people following Jesus, seeking to live out the Gospel message in ways that produce love, faith and justice.

Since coming to Advent, I’ve had many conversations with people about who and what Advent is. This is one of my favorite responses. It encapsulates hundreds of hours of conversation, prayerful dreaming, and intensive visioning. This is at the core of who we are and who the Gospel calls us to be.

The question then becomes: how do we live into that identity?

There are countless ways to make manifest the Gospel. Heaven knows, there is certainly enough need and heartbreak in the world. We never lack for opportunity to sow seeds of love. But the reality is we cannot do everything, but what we can do, we can do faithfully. And when we focus on what we can do, we can invest ourselves in ways that manifest incredible results.

When the prophet Habakkuk was waiting for a message from God, the first instruction he received was to make the vision clear and plain, so that anyone passing by will know what God is about. That is our goal at Advent, to make our vision so clear that anyone who passes by will be able to say, that is a place where God is at work.

As we focus our energies and plans toward the future, the pastoral leadership, staff, council and various working groups have worked hard, taking into account survey results, conversations, community partners, neighborhood needs, strategy sessions, bible study and prayer, and have laid out a ministry plan for Fall 2018-Summer 2019. We will commit ourselves to the following overarching ministry investment areas over the course of the next 3-5 years. And in that time, will constantly reevaluate how the Holy Spirit is guiding us to live into our identity.

God has called us to serve in this time and place, in specific and life-giving ways, sharing God’s love with a world desperately in need. I am grateful that we are able to do this ministry together. I thank God for you and your labors of love, your acts of justice, and your journey of faith.

In Christ,

Pastor Danielle

Worship

The primary reason we gather as church is to praise God.

It is who we are. God is great and worthy of our praise, prayers and love. Everything we do and are flows out of this center. Our worship ministries include not only our worship services, midweek worship, and milestone ministries (i.e. baptism, weddings, funerals), but also our music and arts ministry, our ability to help shape worship leadership through seminary internships and our podcasts and home worship resources (i.e. Lenten Fast devotional series).

+ Synodical Deacons

+ Advent Chorale

+ Sunday Singers

+ Sermons & Conversations Podcast

++ Bilingual Worship and Celebration Opportunities

Spiritual Formation

Church has the unique opportunity and call to teach people how to live intentionally in the world with an awareness of God’s presence saturating every corner of our existence. 

As Lutherans, this is an essential part of our identity.  There is space within this church to bring questions and wrestle together with uncertain answers.  Under spiritual formation ministries, pastoral care and prayer ministry flourishes next to Sunday School, Confirmation, mid-week Bible Study, Adult Education and LaMP College Ministry.  Here we learn what it is to be followers of Jesus by walking with our sibling in El Salvador, Tanzania and Rock Point.  Here we support one another, not only as friends, but as disciples of Jesus in fellowship and intentional small group engagement.  Here we find our voice and put our faith in action, advocating on behalf of our neighbors in New York City and around the globe.  Spiritual Formation gives us practices and tools to live boldly, exercising our faith in ways that impact the world. 

++ Tanzania Sister Church Partnership (expansion)

++ Sunday Education for Adults (revised)

++ Sunday School (expansion)

++ Adult Faith Formation mid-week (expansion)

++ Child Faith Formation mid-week (expansion)

++4-Day After School w/Arts Enrichment (expansion)

++ Bilingual High School Communications Internship (expansion)

++ Parenting Series (new)

++ Mid-week Bible Study (new)

In Matthew 25, the disciples ask Jesus when they saw him hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned, sick or alone.  And Jesus answers, just as you we did or did not it to one of the least of these, you did it to me. There is much need in the world and in our neighborhood. It can be overwhelming. But thankfully, we do not do this alone. We have sister congregations all over the city who specialize in different areas of outreach to the community.  This allows us to focus our outreach efforts, so that, while we may not be able to do all things, the things that we are called to do, we can do well. 

Hunger Ministries

Advent has a long history of being the church that feeds people.  It is central to how we live out our faith life as a community.  As we look to building on our strengths, here is an area where we are able to live out our faith in direct service and advocacy, serving our neighbors in need.  According to FeedNYC, there are approximately 17,700 people who are food insecure in our neighborhood.  That is 13% of the population here in the Upper West Side.

+ Food Pantry

+ Community Lunch

+ Basement Ministries

+ Vaccinations *  

+ School Supplies

+ First Sunday of the Month Luncheon sponsored by Latino Ministry

++ Third Sunday of the Month Brunch and Potluck (new)

++ Advent & Trinity Community Lunch mid-week (expansion) *  

Immigration Ministries

Advent was founded as an immigrant congregation in 1897 by Germans who settled in the area.  Today, we live in a diverse and always shifting landscape that continues to be enriched and strengthened by the immigrant community.  It is central to scripture that we welcome the sojourner, immigrant and refugee.  As one congregation that worships in two languages, we continue to be a congregation that holds welcome to the immigrant, sojourner and refugee at the core of who we are.  By building on our immigration ministries, we have the opportunity to increase community engagement both to those who need services and also to those seeking to volunteer, advocate, and strengthen community bonds.   According to 2014 census data, 21.7% of residents in the Upper West Side are foreign-born. However, Advent’s current immigration ministry programing draws community participation from the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, Washington Heights, the Bronx and Queens.  The majority of Manhattan’s immigration welcome centers and services are located downtown.

+Legal Services, off-site *  

+Immigration Workshops *  

+Women’s Rights Legal Workshops *   

+Know Your Rights Training *   

+Detainee/Deportation Accompaniment *  

++IDNYC (new) *   

++New Neighbor’s Clothing Partnership (new) *  

++Support Groups (new) *  

++OSHA Training (new) *  

++ESOL classes two days a week (expansion) *  

++Immigration Policy Advocacy (expansion)

++Advocacy Actions (expansion) *   

++Counseling (expansion) *  

In addition to these ministry focus areas, we have enabling ministries such as church council, the investment team, our communications ministry, evangelism/outreach, and more that help us to implement and maintain the organizational governance and growth necessary to support these ministry focus areas.

+ Church Council

+ Property Team

+ Counters

+ Investment Team

+ Audit Team

+ Property Team

+ Budget Team

+ Communications Ministry

+ Personnel Committee

+ Mission Grant Fund

+ Evangelism/Outreach