Meet Our Beekeeper Saturday at 10 AM

Posted on June 19, 2018June 19, 2018 by Lisa

Meet Our Beekeeper

June 23 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Free

In honor of National Pollinator Week (June 18-24, 2018), the Piedmont Patch Beekeeper, Gillian Hadden, will be on site to introduce folks to the honeybees living in the hive beside the pond where volunteers have planted over 1000 native grasses and wildflowers. She’ll demonstrate her equipment, show us how the bees are doing (Spoiler alert – They are making honey!), and talk a bit about what honeybees and native pollinators need to thrive. Gillian tells us that she became interested in beekeeping after learning about the difficulties these (and native) pollinators are facing. All ages are welcome.

Summer Discussion on The Sermon on the Mount, Sundays at 10 AM

Posted on June 14, 2018June 14, 2018 by Lisa

Through the summer, Sarah McGiverin and Paul Marvin will be leading a discussion of the Sermon on the Mount. We will meet Sunday mornings before the Eucharist, 10:00 – 10:50.

Each week we’ll read a portion of the sermon and discuss it together.

Whether you’re an old pro at Bible studies or you’re brand new to the Sermon on the Mount, you are invited to join in the study.

Blue Grass Mass Sunday at 11 AM

Posted on June 13, 2018June 19, 2018 by Lisa

Sing and stomp along as the Advocate Acoustics lead us in a Blue Grass Mass this Sunday.
Blue Grass music is indigenous to the southeastern united states. It’s popularity in our region is reflected in numbers festivals held each year, from MerleFest to the Union Grove Old Time Fiddlers Convention. So twice a year or so The Advocate brings this musical style to our worship. Now part of our intended “Traditioned Innovation” liturgy, Sundays at 11 AM.

Songs to include:
Jesus is On The Mainline
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
Let The Mystery Be
Farther Along
I Have Found The Way
I’ll Fly Away

Sunday, June 17, at 11 AM.
Come on your own, or bring a friend!

Pee Wee Homes and Piedmont Patch Each Awarded Grants This Season

Posted on June 6, 2018June 6, 2018 by Lisa

The Advocate’s two collaborative efforts, the Pee Wee Homes and the Piedmont Patch, have each been awarded grants this month.

The Pee Wee Homes at the Advocate has been awarded a $10,000 from the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina’s Mission Endowment Fund. This grant will allow us to meet the anticipated increased expenses of the project due to the particularities of our site, significantly the large oak trees. It will also help pay for building materials. Total budget for the project’s three homes and infrastructure now expected to be $160,000.

The Piedmont Patch at the Advocate is the recent recipient of a grant from the local New Hope Audubon Chapter, providing 10 bird boxes for bluebirds and nuthatches on the Advocate site. Visitors can see the new boxes in the from yard of the Advocate, and also north of the pond. In the fall, the New Hope Audubon Chapter will also donate and plant some shrubs and bushes to further invite these birds to find their homes with us.

We are so very grateful for this good support of our efforts to create an hospitable site for all.

Study of Hebrew Scripture Starting in September

Posted on May 28, 2018May 28, 2018 by Lisa

Have you ever wanted to study the wonderful, diverse and rich Hebrew Scriptures more deeply, but you’ve found the cost or time commitment of some programs prohibitive? Beginning in September, the Rev. Lera Tyler is offering a nine-month study of the Hebrew Scripture, using as text: Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Fortress Press, Second Edition 2014) by John J. Collins.

Participants will meet at the Advocate weekly to study and reflect on the stories, poetry, and teachings of the Pentateuch, the Prophets, Psalms, Wisdom literature, and consider their relevance to us now.

If you are interested in exploring the possibility, please contact Lera Tyler. <lera.tyler@gmail.com>.

Reconstructing The Gospel: A Poor Peoples Campaign Conversation

Posted on May 12, 2018 by Lisa

The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival begins 40 Days of Nonviolent Direct Action to stir the conscience of our country.

During these six weeks, The Advocate will offer a reading group for those interested in sustaining our analysis of whiteness and deepening our understanding of Christianity’s role in the history of American racism.

We will read local theologian Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove’s new book, Reconstructing The Gospel: Finding Freedom From Slaveholder Religion.

Two copies are available on loan from the Advocate library.
We will discuss the book on Wednesday nights from 7:15-8:15 (except June 13, which is. Reader’s Roundtable night). More info to come!

Seeing White: Teachable Moments in Eastertide

Posted on May 5, 2018May 22, 2018 by Lisa

[A Teachable Moment takes place Sundays, 10:10 – 10:50 AM in The Advocate House.]

In this season of Easter, as we move within the extraordinary reality of resurrection, we will have a six-part series of Teachable Moments that we hope will renew our minds and inspire the work of our hands.

Many in our community hunger for a greater understanding of race as well as meaningful action toward racial equity. Mindful of this, a group of Advocates will be guiding us through a historical, political, and theological perspective on race, with a specific focus on the construction of whiteness. We will do so, in part, through listening to a podcast series entitled “Seeing White,” which is produced by Scene On Radio, a podcast from Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies.

Rather than attempt a reading group or a free-wheeling conversation on such a complex and sensitive topic, we will invite folks to listen to a specific episode of this series prior to the TM. These podcast episodes are short (usually about 30 minutes), and they provide excellent historical perspective alongside frank reflections and friendly conversations. We expect listening to this series will be a convenient and doable way for us all to share a frame of reference as we think together.

In addition to these TM’s, we are also planning informal dinners and movie screenings to offer more opportunities, and different spaces, for folks to talk and hang out.

Next Sunday (May 13th) we will be focusing our conversation on the final episode in the Scene On Radio podcast series ‘Seeing White.’ That is episode 14, ‘Transformation.’

You can access all episodes at the website http://podcast.cdsporch.org/seeing-white/ or through whatever podcast app you use. If there are any questions about how to access podcasts, please email CharlesRousseau10@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Horticulture as Therapy: A Piedmont Patch Event, Saturday, May 19

Posted on May 5, 2018May 22, 2018 by Lisa

HORTICULTURE AS THERAPY
Featuring Amy Brightwood
Saturday, May 19, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
At The Episcopal Church of the Advocate, 8410 Merin Road, Chapel Hill

The Piedmont Patch Collaborative announces “Horticulture as Therapy,” on Saturday, May 19 from 10:00 am to 12:00 p.m. at The Episcopal Church of the Advocate located at 8410 Merin Road in Chapel Hill. The program, featuring Amy Brightwood, will provide an overview of the demonstrated benefits of gardening to promote individual mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, and intellectual well-being. The long-standing Horticultural Therapy program at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill has worked with groups of all ages, including patients suffering from brain damage, teenagers with eating disorders, and seniors suffering from senile dementia.

Amy Brightwood is completing the final stages of her training as a Horticultural Therapist with an internship at the North Carolina Botanical Garden. She will offer an introduction to the many benefits of Horticultural Therapy in general, and describe the teacher training program that she developed at Glenwood Elementary School in Chapel Hill. After her presentation, there will be a demonstration of potting native wildflowers and culinary herbs that will beautify sunny decks and patios while also serving as food sources for pollinators. The first 30 people to register for the talk via e-mail will receive a free native wildflower to use in the creation of their own container gardens.

“Bacteria in the soil emit substances that generate the brain chemicals that lift depression. Basically, there’s a biochemical reason gardening makes us happy,” said Catherine Bollinger, Volunteer Botanical Consultant for Piedmont Patch. “This program will help participants value gardening as a wellness activity.”

The Piedmont Patch is a collaboration of the Episcopal Church of the Advocate in Chapel Hill and various groups that promote the value and importance of native species, including the North Carolina Botanical Garden and the New Hope chapter of the Audubon Society. It promotes the restoration of native landscapes on private and public properties, one patch of Piedmont at a time. This event is one of a series of free quarterly educational events; there are also hands-on experiences like the recent Planting Day on April 14, that are planned to engage interested persons at any level of experience. For updates, follow the Piedmont Patch Collaborative on Facebook.

$48K and we’ll be debt free!

Posted on April 30, 2018June 6, 2018 by Lisa

The story of Advocate Loans and Debt
In 2013, The Advocate was at the peak of our campaign to worship on the land. We had raised the funds to buy the land and to move what would become The Advocate Chapel, and we still needed to restore the chapel and to get the site up to code for use by a church (parking lot, sewer, pond repair, etc. etc.). We had raised a lot of money (over $1.7 million), but not enough. So we took out two loans:

A $180,000 loan from an anonymous individual loaner. This is the loan that we paid off in January 2018, after a lot of hard work and generosity from Advocates and friends, including a final $20,000 from the loaner!
A $150,000 loan from the North Carolina Episcopal Church Foundation. This loan was taken out in 2013, to be paid at 2% interest over 10 years, ending in 2023.
For 5 years, the $15,000 a year and the 2% interest were budgeted in the Advocate’s Annual Budget. Since January, 2018, though, we have begun to accelerate the payments, knowing that the sooner we pay off this loan, the sooner we can use that $15,000 a year to augment our life and ministry instead.

When we had $50,000 left to go, a generous friend offered to match any gift given, up to $20,000, in time for the Advocate’s 15th Anniversary celebration, September 21, 2018. This would result in $40,000 bringing us closer to paying off our entire debt!

This is, quite frankly, stunning.
As of June 1, we have raised $2000 toward that $20,000. We have $18,000 more to raise by September 21!

If you think you can help, checks should be designated for “Debt Relief” and written to The Episcopal Church of the Advocate (or ECOTA) and sent to 8410 Merin Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27516.

Thank you!

Pee Wee Homes Groundbreaking, Sunday, May 6, Rain or Shine at 12:30 PM!

Posted on April 29, 2018May 22, 2018 by Lisa

The Episcopal Church of the Advocate invites all to join us to take part in groundbreaking activities for the building of three Pee Wee Homes on the church’s property.