The Episcopal Church of the Advocate
where tradition, liturgy and reason meet compassion, justice and transformation
Sunday, July 7
The NC Jazz Ensemble Returns to the Advocate Chapel
4:30 PM Prelude by the NC Jazz Ensemble
5 PM Jazz Mass (with jazz quartet accompaniment)
Songs to include:
Just a Closer Walk
Down By the Riverside
Amazing Grace
When the Saints go Marching In
(Child care provided during the liturgy)
6:30 Cookout (pork butt) and a side dish potluck and water play (the baptismal pools and sprinkler will be out!)
All are welcome, all are encouraged to come!
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.
Songs to include:
This Train is Bound for Glory
Uncloudy Day
Farther Along
Wings of a Dove
I’ll Fly Away
Sunday, June 16, at 5 PM.
Come on your own, or bring a friend!
Wednesday, May 29 Ascension Eve
5:15 PM Contemplative Prayer
6 PM Holy Eucharist with Hymns for the Ascension of our Lord
7 PM House Dinner.
Sunday, June 2
9 AM Holy Eucharist with hymns and the Easter Troparian
10 AM Ascension lantern launch and Pee Wee Homes tour
11 AM Holy Eucharist with Hymns, Songs and the Easter Troparian
12:30 PM Lunch
Sunday, June 9 The Day of Pentecost
9 AM Holy Eucharist with hymns and the Easter Troparian
10 AM Beating of the Bounds
11 AM Eucharist with Hymns, Songs, the Easter Troparian
12:30 PM Festival Lunch
Here at The Church of the Advocate, instead of having a single feast day, we embrace a 10-day feast season — It starts with the Feast of the Ascension,
when Jesus ascends to God and, as recorded in First John,
there he serves there as our Advocate.
This year we will celebrate that ascension with an Ascension Eve Eucharist this Wednesday at 6 PM.
It is this Advocate Jesus, that we remember in our Advocate cross.
But there’s more. We then have a Sunday after the Ascension, which, this year, is next Sunday, June 2. And we will celebrate with a “beating of the bounds”. See more about that here.
Then comes the Day of Pentecost when we remember how the Holy Spirit descended and moved and breathed among those gathered in Jerusalem.
And moves and breathes among us still. This we will celebrate with a time of fellowship and a heavenward launching of lanterns and a festival potluck.
In all of this we remember the power and the presence of God among us as church, as people, created and beloved.
The next free talk in the series offered by Piedmont Patch features Dr. Annabel Renwick, Curator of the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants at Sarah P. Duke Gardens. Dr. Renwick’s talk will describe the design and growth of a demonstration Piedmont prairie initiated in 2014.
10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 8, 2019, at the Piedmont Patch Advocate site.
“It’s quite extraordinary to consider that three hundred years ago the terrain surrounding Durham, North Carolina would have been dominated by grassland supporting a myriad of wild flowers, grasses, and associated wildlife,” Dr. Renwick notes. She adds, “Much of this landscape has disappeared due to urbanization, farming, and forestry, and even though the population of North Carolina continues to rise, there are ways we can help create habitats for wildlife in urbanized areas.”
Dr. Renwick will describe the creation of a one-acre rendition of native grassland created with almost 100 species of wild flowers and grasses totaling 20,000 plants at Sarah P. Duke Gardens, noting the changes that have occurred over the four years since its construction.
Dr. Renwick’s work directly relates to the mission of Piedmont Patch, which is to demonstrate how to collaboratively restore native landscapes, one patch of Piedmont at a time. Our demonstration Piedmont Patch is located on the campus of the Episcopal Church of the Advocate at the intersection of Merin Road and Homestead Road in Chapel Hill. Visitors to the site are always welcome.
Learn more about Piedmont Patch at our web site: piedmontpatch.org.
June 8 Piedmont Patch Free Talk: Notes from a Small Prairie with Annabel Renwick
The next free talk in the series offered by Piedmont Patch at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 8, 2019 features Dr. Annabel Renwick, Curator of the Blomquist Garden of Native Plants at Sarah P. Duke Gardens. Dr. Renwick’s talk will describe the design and growth of a demonstration Piedmont prairie initiated at that garden in 2014 in a presentation to be held at the Piedmont Patch demonstration site, Episcopal Church of the Advocate, 8410 Merin Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27516.
“It’s quite extraordinary to consider that three hundred years ago the terrain surrounding Durham, North Carolina would have been dominated by grassland supporting a myriad of wild flowers, grasses, and associated wildlife,” Dr. Renwick notes. She adds, “Much of this landscape has disappeared due to urbanization, farming, and forestry, and even though the population of North Carolina continues to rise, there are ways we can help create habitats for wildlife in urbanized areas.”
Dr. Renwick will describe the creation of a one-acre rendition of native grassland created with almost 100 species of wild flowers and grasses totaling 20,000 plants at Sarah P. Duke Gardens, noting the changes that have occurred over the four years since its construction.
Dr. Renwick’s work directly relates to the mission of Piedmont Patch, which is to demonstrate how to collaboratively restore native landscapes, one patch of Piedmont at a time. Our demonstration Piedmont Patch is located on the campus of the Episcopal Church of the Advocate at the intersection of Merin Road and Homestead Road in Chapel Hill. Visitors to the site are always welcome.
Learn more about Piedmont Patch at our web site: piedmontpatch.org.
Monday, May 27
4 PM – 6 PM
Come Join Us!
Will Parker is a children’s songwriter and teaching artist who writes and performs music for “kids ages 1-100.” During Will’s whimsical and interactive shows, he plays guitar and harmonica and sings original songs that engage the audience in singing, dancing, and imaginative play.
Will holds both a Master of Arts in Teaching and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Trinity University and served as theatre director at KIPP University Prep High School for four years before leaping into life as a full-time musician, touring the country playing shows at libraries, schools, daycares, museums, churches, camps and festivals. Now a student at Yale Divinity School, Will tours in the summers. The Advocate concert will be the first of his 2019 tour.
The concert will be held in the Advocate Chapel, a lovingly restored and welcoming 19th century wooden church in north Chapel Hill. Hot dogs and veggie dogs will be served rom the grill outside following the show.
Note: Costs have been covered by a gift.
This concert is free and open to the public.
All Neighbors Near and Far Are Welcome!
When: MONDAY, MAY 27, 2019
Where: Church of the Advocate
8410 Merin Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Time: 4 PM – 6 PMT
The Prequel: Saturday, April 6
9 AM – Noon Site Stewardship morning: Come help get our ground ready for the Pee Wee Homes residents and for Holy Week and Easter. Many hands make light work!
Palm Sunday, April 14
+ Procession with Palms and Holy Eucharist. Gather at the Advocate Pond at 10:00 AM for the blessing of the palms, and flowers or branches brought from home. Procession followed by Holy Eucharist in the Chapel.
Monday of Holy Week, April 15
+ Tenebrae at 7 PM. We move into Holy Week with this service of growing darkness, readings and song. Music led by a visiting schola from Raleigh.
Tuesday of Holy Week, April 16
+ Holy Eucharist at 5:30 PM
Wednesday of Holy Week, April 17
+ Holy Eucharist at 5:30 PM
Maundy Thursday, April 18
+ Dinner fellowship (food provided), Foot-washing and Table Eucharist. Bishop Sam Rodman will offer the homily. In the Fleming Lodge at Camp New Hope. 6:30 PM. (Camp New Hope is on NC86, 3 miles north of the I40 – NC86 interchange)
Good Friday, April 19
+ The Way of the Cross/ Via Dolorosa. In Spanish and English. Beginning at 12 noon. Acompáñenos en peregrinaje desde la Alcaldia de Carrboro hasta el Cementerio Viejo (Beginning at Carrboro Town Hall, winding through Carrboro, and ending at the Old Cemetery. Through downtown Carrboro. Meet at Carrboro Town Hall. (no dogs, please). Note: Due to weather condition we will walk the Way of the Cross in the Advocate Chapel this year.
+ The Good Friday Liturgy, with hymns, prayers, and the Passion from the Gospel of John. 6 PM in the Advocate Chapel.
+ The Wake. 7 PM – 9 PM. Gather with other friends of Jesus for a simple supper and to reminisce about his life and the experiences you have shared with him. Come on the hour or on the half hour and stay for any, or all, of the Wake.
Holy Saturday, April 20
+The Holy Saturday Liturgy at 10AM in the Advocate Chapel. Gather in the Chapel for this brief liturgy of readings, reflection and prayers.
10:30 AM Rehearsal and preparations for The Great Vigil.
Saturday Night, April 20
+ The Great Vigil of Easter with Renewal of Baptismal Vows. This is our first liturgy of Easter, when we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord in the darkness of night. (As you are able, please bring a bell, horn or whistle to accompany the Paschal Shout). In the Advocate Chapel. Starting at 8 PM.
Easter Day, April 21
+ 9 AM Holy Eucharist in the Chapel.
+ 10 AM Festival Brunch (As you are able, bring a festive dish to share. Kids bring a basket for an Easter Egg hunt).
+ 11 AM Holy Eucharist with baptism by the Pond. Bring your own chairs or blanket to sit upon.
Weather updates will be posted as needed.
Contemplative Prayer Retreat
The Contemplative Prayer Groups of Church of the Advocate and Church of the Holy Family will be hosting their annual contemplative prayer retreat at Avila Retreat Center in Durham on August 2-4, 2019. While the focus of the retreat is contemplative prayer, the retreat is truly for anyone who would like a few days of quiet reflection.
Registration is $195 per person, which covers two nights lodging in a private room as well as Friday supper through Sunday breakfast.
Registration is open now and closes June 1.
For more information, please contact Paul Marvin at pmarvin@nc.rr.com or 919.451.2843.
| I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.… from the Book of Common Prayer Ash Wednesday liturgy.
Sundays in Lent For the Season of Lent, we will have more silence in worship and we invite you to consider taking off your shoes when you enter the Chapel, as a way to acknowledge that you have entered a sacred space and time. If you wish to kneel, we invite you to bring a pillow from home, or to kneel on the floor. The liturgy each Sunday will begin with a penitential rite. For the weekly schedule on Sundays and Wednesdays, visit TheAdvocateChurch.org
Ash Wednesday, March 6. The House Dinner throughout the Season of Lent will happen on Thursdays at 7. As usual, please let Charles Rousseau <charlesrousseau10@gmail.com> know if you plan to be there. See more about these occasions for fellowship and community here.
Saturday, April 6 Site Stewardship Day. We will plant and mulch around the Pee wee Homes, clear up the winter accumulations and make ready for Holy Week and Easter ahead. 9 AM – noon. Other Notes for Lent
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This Lent, The Episcopal Church of the Advocate invites our neighbors and friends, known and unknown, to participate in the ancient practice of prayer and reflection called the Stations of the Cross, around the Advocate Pond. Traditionally, the fourteen stations mark different events on the path that Jesus walked through the city of Jerusalem on the day of his death, from the house of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, where he was condemned to die, to the hill at Golgatha, where he was crucified. At each station, participants pause for a reading from scripture, a prayer, and a time of meditation.
From early times, each of the fourteen stations has been marked by a Roman numeral. At The Advocate, we have localized the stations by using discarded railroad spikes from the nearby tracks for the numerals, and affixing them to reclaimed local barn boards.
A booklet of the fourteen stations, with prayer and scripture readings, as well as an olive wood cross to carry as you go, are available in a box under the well house roof. There is also a booklet of a children’s version of the stations. The first station is just to the east of the altar (towards the railroad tracks), and the stations proceed counterclockwise around the pond, ending with the fourteenth station just to the west of the altar.
The Stations may be walked and prayed at any time by any one. All are welcome.
Lenten Study on Wednesday Nights at 7 PM: 
The Teachable Moment in Lent. Sunday morning at 10:10. Exploring The Cross and the Lynching Tree. “The cross and the lynching tree are separated by nearly 2,000 years. One is the universal symbol of Christian faith; the other is the quintessential symbol of black oppression in America. Though both are symbols of death, one represents a message of hope and salvation, while the other signifies the negation of that message by white supremacy.” James Cone, a founder and leader of black liberation theology, introduces “The Cross and the Lynching Tree” with these provocative words.
Stations of the Cross Around the Advocate Pond