A Bilingual Congregation on South Cooper
Advent Lutheran Church stands on South Cooper Street in southern Arlington, Texas, in a part of the city shaped by long-time residents, young families, and the steady growth of Tarrant County's mid-cities corridor. The congregation's motto, "Boldly Growing in Faith, Love & Service," describes a parish that runs two Sunday worship gatherings in two languages, maintains a deep Lutheran musical tradition, and quietly staffs a food pantry and a hot-meal ministry for people experiencing homelessness.
Founded in 1976 as a mission start of the Lutheran Church in America, Advent has now entered its fiftieth year. Members marked the milestone with a Jubilee season of devotionals, the opening of a cornerstone time capsule, and visits from former pastors and musicians, including Bishop Emeritus Rev. Dr. Kevin Kanouse, who served as Advent's pastor for seventeen years before his election to lead the Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Synod.
Sunday Mornings in Two Languages
Worship at Advent centers on two distinct Sunday gatherings under one roof. At 9:30 a.m., the English-language Blended Worship service brings together organ, chancel choir, hymns, and a praise band for a service that draws on the congregation's Lutheran liturgical roots while leaving room for contemporary song. At noon, the bilingual congregation shifts into Spanish for the worship of Misión Hispana/LatinX, Iglesia Luterana Adviento, led by Rev. Concepción (Connie) Ortega. Both services include the celebration of the Lord's Supper.
Children are welcome in both worship services. Each week a Children's Time invites young worshipers forward for a short message, and worship bags are available for families with little ones in the pews. Sunday School for all ages meets between the two services at 10:45 a.m., and an adult Bible Study and Conversation gathers at the same hour. Both English and Spanish services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel.
Worship and Music
Music has long been a signature of life at Advent. The chancel choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. and sings most Sundays. A handbell choir rehearses seasonally on Tuesdays at 5:15 p.m. and rings throughout the church year. A festival choir gathers on Saturdays in the weeks leading up to special services during Advent and Lent. Children, youth, and adult instrumentalists contribute regularly, and a praise team supports the blended character of the morning service.
Hunter Birkhead, who holds a Master of Music Education in Choral Conducting from the University of Oklahoma, returned to the staff as Director of Music in 2025 after a first tenure from 2020 to 2022. He is joined by organist Ben Baldwin, a Michigan State graduate in Music Education and Clarinet Performance who also serves as organist at Ghanaian Community Presbyterian Church in Irving and maintains private clarinet and piano studios.
Misión Adviento: Faith, Familia, and Comunidad
Iglesia Luterana Adviento is an inclusive congregation where faith, family, and community come together in worship and service. The mission grew out of Rev. Connie Ortega's arrival at Advent in 2016, when she joined as a Synodically Authorized Worship Leader. Originally from Nicaragua, she holds a BA in Spanish Language, Culture, and Civilization from Cal State University San Bernardino, a Master's in Education from Concordia University-Portland, and a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. A full-time teacher at a local junior high school, she has shaped the mission around hospitality, formation, and the rhythms of Latinx family life. Worship is held each Sunday at noon, and the mission maintains its own Facebook and Instagram presence as Iglesia Luterana Adviento and @iglesialuteranaadviento.
Pastoral Leadership
Rev. Erik Rude serves as senior pastor. A Redding, California native, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Youth Ministry and Theology from Simpson University and a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2019. He previously served as senior pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Covina, California, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Ministry at Duke Divinity School.
Meg McCann joined the staff in 2023 as Director of Family Ministries, drawing on more than two decades of experience in children, youth, and adult ministry in PCUSA and United Methodist congregations across Dallas. She oversees the church's programs for children in PreK through fifth grade and youth in sixth through twelfth grade, and she coordinates the wide circle of small groups that meet throughout the week.
Rebecca McLean handles communications. A lifelong member of Advent, she holds degrees from Dallas Baptist University in Communications and Communication-Leadership.
A Lutheran Identity
Advent is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, part of the Northern Texas-Northern Louisiana Mission Area (Synod). The parish describes itself in six statements of identity: Biblical, Trinitarian, Sacramental, Liturgical, and Disciples, summed up in the Lutheran watchwords Sola Christus, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, and Sola Scriptura. Communion is open to everyone who wishes to receive it. Worship follows a gathering-hearing-receiving-sending pattern and tracks the seasons of the Church Year from Advent through Pentecost.
The mission statement reads: "To live and love like Jesus." The purpose statement names Advent as "a growing church where all are welcome and discover ways to serve."
Formation for Every Age
Sunday School at 10:45 a.m. offers classes for children, youth, and adults. A Thursday Bible Study meets at 10:00 a.m. and again at 6:30 p.m., exploring books of the Bible and The Chosen. A Women's Bible Study gathers on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 9:30 a.m. in the Adventure Center, Room 103. Men of Advent and a Church Ladies Night Out provide fellowship, and the Fun4Lunch Bunch, for those 55 and older, shares lunch at area restaurants on the third Thursday of each month. A College Ministry serves high-school graduates through their twenties, and a Widows Group meets on the second Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Serving Arlington and the World
Outreach runs deep at Advent. The Lord's Pantry, the congregation's food ministry, opens every Monday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. to serve any family in need. Tarrant Area Food Bank and Don't Forget To Feed Me help supply both food and pet needs. For more than twenty-six years, Advent has cooked a hot dinner at Arlington Life Shelter on the third Thursday of each month and packed lunch for the following day, joining more than sixty congregations and organizations that together provide three meals a day at the shelter.
Lutheran World Relief Quilters meet every Wednesday morning from 9 a.m. to noon in Luther Hall, Room 103, cutting, sewing, and tying quilts for shipment overseas. A Prayer Shawl Team gathers on the first Wednesday of each month from 1 to 3 p.m. at Morada, 2500 Woodside Drive, to knit, crochet, and loom shawls for people in need of comfort. Each year, members gather to buy Christmas gifts and groceries for sponsored families, with the quilting group providing a quilt for each, and to purchase back-to-school supplies, clothes, and shoes for local students. Blessing Bags are assembled for people on the street, and the church marks God's Work Our Hands Sunday each September with service projects across the community. The congregation also supports the work of Lutheran World Relief through its quilters and through global relief giving.
An Endowment Fund, established in 1997, awards grants to ministries that promote outreach, growth, and service to the marginalized, both locally and beyond. Grants support education, social justice, leadership development, and creative ministry models, and Advent members may also contribute through legacy giving.
A Half-Century of Pastoral Care
Advent's 50th Anniversary Jubilee has brought together former pastors and musicians for a year of remembrance. Bishop Emeritus Rev. Dr. Kevin Kanouse preached at the first anniversary worship, with former organist Darrell Crim returning as guest organist and Mark Vinciguerra sharing memories of his years at the parish. The time capsule placed in the cornerstone when the building was completed was opened, and the cornerstone itself was removed for examination before being replaced later in the year. A Music Festival brought together returning organists and directors of music including Kevin Keele, Ben Baldwin, Pr. Joel Burkholder, Noralyn Carpenter, Peyton Strouth, and Hunter Birkhead. Former pastors who returned to preach include Pr. Joel Burkholder, who served Advent from 2005 until his retirement in 2024, and Pr. John Hildner, the congregation's first Associate Pastor, ordained in 1986 at Luther Memorial Church in Madison, Wisconsin. Former Director of Music Pastor Debra Loudin-McCann wrote a Jubilee devotional for the year, walking through the Church Year from Advent through Pentecost.
Office hours at 3232 S. Cooper Street run Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Online giving is available, and recordings of past worship services are posted on the Advent Lutheran YouTube channel.