In 2002, The Rev. Lisa Fischbeck was hired to gather a congregation and launch a new Episcopal Church in Orange County, North Carolina. The result is The Episcopal Church of the Advocate, now a congregation of more than 200 souls, with a 19th century chapel and 15 acres of land in North Chapel Hill. The Advocate is a church known for its engaging liturgy, its generous hospitality, and its creative engagement with the community and world.
Lisa retired from the Advocate in the fall of 2021. In thanksgiving for her “Vicary,” the Advocate Vestry is raising funds for a project that is at once visionary and practical, The Fold and The Field.
The Field refers to the addition of a long overdue parking lot on the north side of the pond.
The Fold
The Fold, created by Szostak Designs, is located between the Pond and Merin Road and provides a place of play, private conversations, and small gatherings. Extending the Advocate’s welcome, The Fold includes a community oven where groups can gather for bread or pizza baking events. The cantilevered stone counter is designed to service the oven and also to serve as an altar for occasional small Eucharistic gatherings. The covered area is 480 square feet and each uncovered “wing” is 200 square feet.
Construction of the Fold was supplemented with volunteer labor, clearing the site, painting and staining the materials, and building the brick oven. The result is a place of beauty and invitation, a place of welcome and hospitality.