The People of the Advocate are those who find a home in the community, the worship, and the fellowship of the Episcopal Church of the Advocate.
We are young and old, pre-school and in school, employed and jobless and retired. We live in rented apartments, mortgaged houses, group homes, prison, assisted living, and Alzheimer’s units. A few actually own their homes. We are partnered, single, married, divorced. We have one-parent households and two-parent households, and many of our children are adopted. Most of us have a good sense of humor, but we are sensitive to when something is not funny. Many love to sing; some don’t. Some like to cook, some like to garden, some are delightfully crafty. Many are passionate about making the world a better place, and connect that passion with God’s call. Some of us can say the Creed because it expresses fully what we believe; others have a hard time with most of it. Some were raised in the Episcopal Church, but most come from other Christian traditions, or from no religious tradition at all; quite a number have practiced some form of Buddhism. Most come because we love the way we worship God together. Some come because we want to raise our children among others who share our values, others because we want our children to know and be loved by a people who are diverse; some just come because we like the community and the food. Most are really glad to have found a place where our social values and our faith can come together; some are just grateful to have found a church where we are truly welcome.
All of us have found something at the Advocate that draws us here, that draws us together. It has something to do with the way we face each other, with the way we sing, with the way we care about each other and the world in which we live, with the way we gather at the altar with bread and wine, and at the table with vegetarian fare, week after week, year after year. It has to do with Jesus.
