History + Mission

Our History

1966 - Advent Lutheran Church met to worship for the first time in October of 1966 at the Goshen Fire Hall -founded with the support of Calvary Lutheran Church, West Chester, in anticipation of the growth of Westtown. The Rev. William Hauser graduated seminary earlier that year and started canvassing the area during a hot summer, under the guidance of Calvary’s Pastor, The Rev. Elwood Reitz.

1967 - The congregation already experienced significant growth and hosted its first Vacation Bible School. We purchased four acres of land, the location of our current facility.

1969 - Groundbreaking took place in December on our first church building, a unit that included some classroom/office space and a sanctuary that doubled as a social hall. This building later would and continues to serve as our present Christian Education/Childcare wing. 

1970 - We worshiped in our church building. Charter members, along with Pastor Hauser, were honored for their commitment and vision. These early years saw the beginning of our preschool, under the direction of Joan Harkins and Barb Fedor, and our sponsorship of Boy Scout Troop 222. These ministries continue to this day and have impacted the lives of thousands of children. 

The short-lived ministry of Pastor Owen Valentine followed Pastor Hauser’s service.

1973-1995 – The Rev. Ralph Petersen accepted the call to serve as Advent’s pastor, serving the congregation faithfully for 22 years. His ministry saw the construction of our present worship space (1980) and the construction of our social hall/gym, youth room, and commercial kitchen (1994). Stone from an abandoned barn located on RT.3, about 2 miles East of Advent, provided the facade. It was purchased at about 1/20th of the cost one might have anticipated and installed by Jon and Don Mitchell, along with Doug, Bob, and Greg Baer, who donated their labor. During Pastor Petersen’s tenure, the following accomplishments are noteworthy:

• Advent experienced strong growth in numbers and mission while sharing the Good News of the Gospel, providing many opportunities for members to grow as followers of Jesus.

• The Rev. Jo Ann Wilhelmson, a daughter of the congregation, accepted the call to serve Advent, one of six Advent members to enter ordained ministry.

• A Director of Volunteer Ministries supported the growth of lay leadership while long-range planning gave direction and focus. 

• Small group ministries touched the lives of many families and individuals of all ages as did the “Couples Club” and “Lutheran Church Women” gatherings.

• Youth ministry expanded, supported by the hiring of a part-time youth worker with age groups from elementary through college being active, enabling youth to provide the “backbone” of the congregation.

• Retreats for youth and adults created new opportunities for service, learning, fun, and relationship building. 

• A “Kids' Club” began on Wednesday evenings, during which choirs met and service projects were completed, making full use of our 1995 addition.

• Mid-week Bible study and several choices for adult education on Sunday mornings enhanced spiritual growth.

• Commitments to the wider church grew to include supporting Lutheran World Relief, and a mission congregation.

• We helped settle an immigrant family from Poland and an Amerasian family.

• Blood drives, food baskets, and the adoption of families at Christmas became part of our outreach and an ongoing tradition along with the formation of a care giving group.

• The men's softball team and Advent’s hosting of and participation in a volleyball league created community and fun.

• “FEAST” groups (Friends Eating and Sharing Together) created many lasting relationships. 

• The expanded facility enabled an ever-growing number of opportunities for social engagement.

1996-2002 - The Rev. David McGettigan, a former R.C. a priest who married and became a Lutheran pastor, served as Advent’s Pastor. During Pr. McGettigan’s tenure, the following was noteworthy:

• The acquisition of the Parish House property, including house and land, across Green Lane from Advent significantly increased Advent’s footprint.

• Advent continued to be faithful in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus, caring for our surrounding community, and providing outreach to those in need in the name of Jesus.

• Advent entered into a lasting relationship with The West Chester Community Evangelical Church, by sharing our space with them. They use Advent’s entire facility on Sunday afternoons, with a service in Chinese and a service in English, concurrent with Christian education.  Following this time, they gather for a huge, authentic Chinese dinner.  In recent years, we have partnered on ministries such as Rise Against Hunger and Christmas caroling.

• The Rev. Ed Kane followed as an intentional intern, helping the congregation look at its history and its future. During his service, the congregation offered a healing service, once per month, as part of worship on Sunday mornings. This service evolved over time and still takes place a couple of times each year.

The Rev. Bill Mueller accepted a call to serve, July 2003.  He was young and very youth-orientated, with his two boys being active in the church as well as his wife, who became Director of Music. Several noteworthy accomplishments occurred during Pr. Mueller’s tenure.

• Advent introduced its use of the ELW hymnal. 

• Participation by children in worship increased, and children's musicals and a combined communion breakfast service began, as did “Angels of Broadway,” led by Kirk and Kate Cremer.

• Advent began a “Stephen Ministry” program.

• Adult education opportunities expanded with a weekly Bible study and monthly men's Bible study breakfast. 

• The preschool program’s academics strengthened to better prepare children for kindergarten.

• We revitalized Confirmation and also expanded our relationship with Bear Creek Camp.

• We improved major property issues, including new windows, new heating, and sanctuary air conditioning, and created a new playground and outdoor chapel.

2010  - We welcomed as Interim Pastor, The Reverend Donna M. Wright. During her year with us, led Advent through an interim process to appreciate our history, understand our identity, look at its leadership, improve relationships with the wider church and establish a vision of the future. During her tenure notable accomplishments included:

• The formation of a “Praise Team,” separate from the choir, under the volunteer leadership of Jim Connor.

• Enhancements to the appearance of our facility, including new signage.

Following her year of service, the congregation hired Pr. Ralph Peterson. Beginning January 2011, while in retirement, he led Sunday worship and Confirmation class while providing emergency pastoral care. He was available to serve only part-time, and during that time our Secretary, Peggy Schmied, helped hold everything together.

Our Mission Continues…

After presiding at worship on Sunday, November 6, 2011, The Reverend Christopher J. Franz accepted the unanimous call to be our pastor. He began serving Advent in January 2012. His service continues to this day, with a renewed focus on our mission to worship, invite, nurture and serve. New leadership followed in worship and music, with the hiring of Jamie Wunder. We later hired a new Administrator, Jenn Miller, and our preschool and childcare hired a new director, Alexandra Carden. (Alexandra had volunteered for our preschool several years while her daughter attended, and afterward.) Since Pastor Chris’ service began, the following accomplishments point to the present vitality of our mission, now enjoying a stronger financial foundation, attributable to the generosity of our members.

Worship

• Projecting the entire service on a screen transformed worship, enabling worshipers of all ages, including guests, to more fully participate. A new soundboard improved sound quality. 

• The quality and diversity of Music in Worship grew through increased staff support of our Praise Team and Bell Choir. Doug Kline now more regularly shares his talents as our associate organist.

• A new “Lord’s Supper” stained glass window, patterned after Di Vinci’s version, enriched our sanctuary in memory of a charter member, Luther Rife.

• A two-year renewal of our worship space, completed in 2019, included new pews/seating, new hardwood floor for the chancel, new glass/oak sanctuary entrance doors, the installation of a 9-rank pipe organ that came from a church in Michigan, and a complete repainting and floor refurbishment.

• We began the use of cantors to lead congregational singing, with Claire Yarrison serving as Cantor since the fall of 2021 at our early service.

• Pastor Chris began leading 2 worship services each month at the Freedom Village retirement community and on occasion at Maris Grove and Whitehorse Village.

• An Eagle Scout project renewed our outdoor chapel.

• Our tech-savvy administrator, Jenn Miller, helped us enhance in-person worship with the addition of online worship opportunities, helping Advent better connect members and the community.  

• A music window, given in memory of charter members Rollin Baer, Steve Fedor, and Shirley Schillenger, and a new stained glass pendant window for our Narthex, given in memory of Ted Carl, based on Isaiah 40, will soon further enhance our worship space.

• Attendance at Advent grew by more than 40% since 2011, before the effects of Covid.

Invite  

• We welcomed many more community groups, with our social hall/gym becoming somewhat of a community center. Our parking lot even serves as a bus transfer station for the West Chester Area School District (WCASD).

• We expanded and redeveloped our website, making it more accessible and inviting.

• Our pastor knocked on more than 10,000 doors, joined the WC Rotary, and became a reader at Penn Wood Elementary School.

• An Eagle Scout project eliminated water ponding issues at our main entrance walkway. A second Eagle Scout project added a hardscape area with a bench and replaced “river rock” with more attractive surrounds to existing lighting fixtures.

• The installation and maintenance of perennial gardens surrounding the church and parish house property provided an attractive appearance and benefited the environment.

• The main charge sign received a more attractive roof and new facia.

Nurture

• Annual retreats to Wildwood, Camp Tuscarora, and Bear Creek Camp invigorated youth ministry.

• Participation in ELCA Youth Gatherings continued.

• Moving our early service to 9 AM strengthened our Sunday School and enabled children to worship with their parents at the start of the service before heading to Sunday School.

• We added a new Care and Connections ministry team and a book readers club.

• Our Weekly Thursday AM Bible study became a joint ministry with Willistown United Methodist Church and occasionally we shared worship.

Serve

• We began to participate in the Annual ASP Mission Trip, making homes warmer, safer, and drier in the Appalachian region of our country each summer. This mission trip includes youth through senior citizens, now in partnership with St. Simon and Jude R.C. Church.

• A Girl Scout project launched a new Community Garden to grow fresh vegetables for the West Chester Food Cupboard, in addition to the non-perishable food we donate.

• We now partner with “Rise Against Hunger,” paying for and assembling 10,000 meals, twice each year, for some of the most impoverished people around the world. 

• We launched a Before and After School Care program, serving Penn Wood Elementary School and our preschool, with busing provided by the WCASD.

• We replaced nearly all our lighting with LED lighting fixtures, greatly reducing electricity consumption, and we added a paper recycling bin.

Our mission continues, despite COVID, as Advent continues to make Christ known and welcome new members, who add vibrancy and bring new energy and ideas.  

After celebrating 50 years of history, we determined all of our flat roofs (multiple layers) needed to be removed and replaced.  A greener PVC material and new siding was selected and installed in 2021, funded by the Under This Roof Campaign.  Advent is embracing our future as the Under This Roof Campaign also enabled further investments in our mission. We significantly exceeded the campaign's $300,000 goal and the following is being/was accomplished:

Improving our appearance from 352. A leaning electrical box was addressed with new supports An Eagle Scout Project will soon relandscape the area; painting the box and moving crosses, (The preschool is funding replacement windows/siding and memorials will fund a new LED backlit sign mounted to our building.)

Capital improvements. The Sanctuary HVAC was replaced and the main restrooms were renovated along with several smaller projects.

Strengthening Youth Ministry. We have secured funding to hire a part-time youth minister.

Electronic Sign. We are contracting for a new electronic main sign, using the existing structure.

Ending our $2,500 monthly mortgage payment sooner. In 2004, our mortgage grew to $500,000. Additional payments toward principal, beginning in 2012 and the UTR campaign mean this debt will be paid off in 2025!