I’m New to Advent

 

What you see when you arrive:  Coming down Michigan Road you’ll see a white tower and a white church on the west side of the road.  The driveway is called Bennett Parkway (named after the family that sold us the land). The entrance to the church is on the north side of Bennett Parkway.  General parking is straight ahead.  The main entrance to the sanctuary, our place of worship, is on the west side of the building.  The doors are purple (the color of the Advent season).  The weekday church office entrance is a single white door, the first one on right as you enter the parking lot and the most southerly door of the building.  The educational wing can be entered through the white doors to the west of the main sanctuary doors.  They are, so to speak, straight north of the parking lot. 

 

If you want to do a drop off in the rain or if you need handicap access, there is a driveway that circles the church building.  On the northeast side of the church is a covered driveway and an entrance with purple doors.  There are wheelchairs and walkers available as you enter, so if you need this kind of assistance, please feel free to use them.  Upon entering the building through these doors, the sanctuary will be to the left and down a hallway, the fellowship hall to the right. 

 

Entering the Narthex leading to the Sanctuary: As you approach the sanctuary to the church, please enter through the right-hand set of double doors.  The leads you into the narthex.  The narthex area is the “hub” of the congregation’s life, where people meet and greet and where information about the church is distributed. Feel free to introduce yourself to Pastor Fiene, most especially if you come from another Lutheran Church in the Missouri Synod and desire to partake of the Lord’s Supper.  (We celebrate the Lord’s Supper on in the 8:15 a.m. service the first and third Sundays of the month and at the 10:45 a.m. service on the second and fourth Sunday of the month – and in both on the fifth Sunday.)  Most Sundays you will find a member-family of the congregation greeting friends and visitors at the entrance.  We have a guest book on the center table of the narthex for visitors.  If you have time before or after service, please register your name and address.  (We also have red-covered record-of-fellowship books in the pews where you can register your attendance.) You will find ushers standing at the entrance to the sanctuary (the worship space), They will have bulletins – worship folders - that convey information about the hymns and liturgy that we will be using for the day. (If you would like to know the activities and announcements of the congregation for the week, these are located on the center table in the narthex. You can also find a host of other informational materials in this area as well.)  Our sanctuary has seating in three general areas.  There are no assigned seats.  The best acoustics are in the center of the sanctuary, about halfway down the aisle. Hymnals are placed in the pews.  (The hymns will also be posted on the hymn boards up on the wall in the front of the sanctuary.)

 

The Worship Service:  You will find more information about the reasons for the way we worship on our web site under “Worship.”  Advent is a liturgical congregation, that is to say, we use forms and orders of worship that strive to adequately reflect the glory of God, forms and orders that have been used by the Christian Church throughout time.  We take our worship seriously, so our service it is both joyful AND spiritually substantial.  Our pipe organ greatly aids our humble singing and our skilled choir always brings the best we can muster out of the gifts that God has given to us.  Most often we follow an order of worship that is found in our hymnal.  If we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, there will be a processional with a crucifer at the beginning of service and at the end of the service.  (Our members have the custom of facing the cross as it enters and leaves the sanctuary.) 

 

Holy Communion is reserved for those who have been properly instructed in the doctrine and teachings of Holy Scriptures.  Those who are members of a church body that is not in doctrinal agreement (or in communion fellowship) with the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod can be admitted to the Lord’s Supper if they attend an instructional class on the basic teachings of Christianity (called “ Form of Faith”) and become members of Advent.  If anyone is a member of another congregation in the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, we ask that he/she announce a desire to receive at the Lord’s Table to our pastor prior to communing.  All communicants are asked to register their attendance at the Lord’s Table in the Record of Fellowship located in the pews. 

 

Approaching the Altar:  An usher will invite you to approach the altar down the central aisle.  Communicants take their places from inside to outside, from the inside of the communion rail (closest to the center steps) filling to the right or left, depending upon which side of the church their seating is located.  Once both elements have been received, communicants may return to their seat by exiting down the side aisles (There is no need to wait for a dismissal – this will come at the very end of the distribution). 

 

At the End of Service:  There is no ushering out of church.  Once the last bell sounds upon the end of the final hymn, you are free to exit the sanctuary.  The presiding pastor will greet our worshippers at the center door exit.  If you are attending first service (8:15 a.m.) you are invited to join us for food, drinks and fellowship in the fellowship hall (down the hallway to the north of the narthex), which is then followed by the Adult Bible Study and Sunday School hour for children and youth (from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.)  If you attend our late service, feel free to seek an opportunity to greet Pastor Fiene or request a personal meeting with him after service.  He will be most willing to talk to you about personal matters or about involvement in our church. 

 

We hope this overview will help you to understand a little more about our spiritual life as a congregation and make you feel a little more “at home” when you come to Advent Evangelical Lutheran Church for the first time. 

 

“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.” Psalm 95:6

 

God’s richest blessings – and welcome in advance! 

 

 

Pastor Fiene 

 

A Little About Advent

Advent Evangelical Lutheran Church is a member of the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod. The LC-MS is the second largest body of Lutherans in North America and has over 2.4 million baptized members. Advent was founded in 1993. It has over 650 members and continues to grow.

Join us for Worship and Education!

Service times:

Sundays at 8:15 and 10:45

Bible Study and Sunday School: 9:30-10:30

Special Services on Holidays, and during Advent and Lent

Staff serving you at Advent:

John W. Fiene, Pastor

Albert Keller, Assisting Pastor

Danielle E. Reher, Deaconess

Debalyn Trewartha, Preschool Director

Carol Pata, Office Manager

Phil Spray, Director of Music

Phil Lehman, Organist

Len Pata, Custodian

Contact us: Advent Evangelical Lutheran Church

11250 N. Michigan Rd. Zionsville, IN 46077

Ph: 317-873-6318

Fax: 317-873-6369

Web site: www.adventlutheran.org