On Sunday, August 25, the Rev. Dr. Matt Lenahan shared his experience as an ELCA pastor, theologian, and Wittel Farm director with Salford Mennonite & Advent Lutheran church members, garden volunteers, and other interested individuals, speaking about “Ecotheology,” the subject of his recent doctoral thesis.  

   For information about Pastor Lenahan, please click HERE.

   Pastor Lenahan spoke about gardening as a response to God’s call to be good stewards of creation, and to provide food for the hungry in our communities. He cited several texts from the Bible as well as recent agricultural science developments – in his words, “ecotheology” – to inform and encourage the work his group does at Wittel Farm (Akron, Lancaster County, PA), and what we do in the Salford / Advent Garden.

   Please contact Jean Godsall-Myers with any questions at wittjgm@gmail.com. Pastor Lenahan's pressentation was recorded and will be made available from both the Advent and Salford church websites at a later date. 

   A Thrivent Action Team was used to support this project. 

On Saturday and Sunday, April 6-7, 2024, Advent Lutheran hosted the annual Box City Event of the Upper Montgomery Conference of the ELCA SEPA Synod to raise awareness of the unhoused and homeless in our area. More than a dozen Advent youth were among the 37 who participated in several service projects, slept outside in the cardboard Box City in Advent's parking lot, then joined Advent for the 8:30 am worship service. The event was supported by 28 adult leaders and volunteers. $2,947 was raised for Pottstown Beacon of Hope, 144 sandwiches were made for the Bread Drop Food Program, and 127 snack bags were assembled for The Welcome Church!

Summer camping season at BCC has come to an end.  Watch this space for Fall events coming up!

Youth summer camp at Bear Creek is an AMAZING God-centered, fun-filled, outdoor time for personal growth and play on a 3,000-acre property just 80 minutes away in the Pocono Mountains. Sessions are weeklong (Sunday afternoon through Friday) and is for children who have completed grades 1-12. Half-week sessions (Try Camp) are available for first-time campers who have completed grades 1-2. Contact Karen Evans for more information. 

Click HERE for more info. 

Click HERE to see a neat video (2 min, 20 sec), including at least one (and we're not sure because they go by fast, but possibly two more) of Advent's youth!

Several of Advent Youth and one adult (Pastor Mark, the on-site chaplain for Week 7) have attended Bear Creek Camp this summer.  Watch this space for Fall events coming up!

THANK YOU to our amazing Advent members!! 180 holiday gifts were delivered to the students at Martin Luther School in December. The staff employees at Gemma Services are very grateful for the gifts donated by Advent. THANK YOU for sharing your blessings, and bringing joy and hope to children facing emotional and behavioral challenges. Your generosity is much appreciated!! ~ Advent Social Ministry

During the month of November, Advent Lutheran collected Thanksgiving Meal Bags for Keystone Opportunity Center in Souderton to distribute to local families in our community. The bags contained the fixings for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner plus other holiday items. 40 bags filled to the brim with 850 lbs of food plus $960 in gift cards were donated by our generous members! The Advent Youth Group signed and decorated Thanksgiving cards for each meal bag! THANK YOU for sharing your blessings and supporting Keystone’s mission to help our neighbors!

          ~ Advent Social Ministry Team

Sunday, October 22, 2023, 3:00 to 5:00 pm, in the Parking Lot.  The event is free for all kids ages 2 through 5th grade. Grab a friend and come dressed in your favorite Halloween attire. Trick our treat to the various decorated cars and take part in pumpkin storytelling, crafts, games and activities. Enjoy an afternoon full of faith, fun and laughter! No sign up necessary to participate in these activities.

As part  of the ELCA celebrating the 10th anniversary of the annual ECLA Day of Service (10 years of Lutheran congregations joining together to serve, also known as "God's Work - Our Hands Day") on September 10, 2023, Advent hosted our second meal packing event for Rise Against Hunger. 70 volunteers (ranging from toddlers to senior citizens) worked together to pack 10,000 meals in just over an hour! Rise Against Hunger is a global movement to end hunger by “empowering communities, nourishing lives, and responding to emergencies” around the world. 

Hunger doesn’t have to exist — let’s help end it together!

After being displayed at Salford Mennonite and Advent Lutheran, this sign will be posted along Groff’s Mill Road by the three new veggie boxes added this year. It will announce a new area in the garden recognizing the Lenape who were first to steward the land.

Following the Gardening for Peace event in September of 2022, when elders from the Delaware Tribe of Indians visited Salford, this idea, which had been a dream for a number of years, was promised to come to fruition.  In 2023, three new raised beds were planted that feature native vegetable plants including tuckahoes/sunchokes and heirloom corn, beans and squash to honor the Lenape people who have stewarded the land of this area for thousands of years.

Many thanks to Thrivent Financial who provided a grant to fund these new beds.

On Monday, September 11, 2023, Advent members placed 100 pinwheels on our lawn along Landis Road. Each pinwheel represents a life lost to suicide during 2022 on Montgomery County, PA. 

September is Suicide Awareness Month.

If you or someone you care about is in a mental health crisis, call the Montgomery County Mobile Crisis office, 24/7 at 1-855-634-HOPE (4673).

The display is sponsored by the Montgomery County Suicide Prevention Task Force.