Advent Lutheran Church Marks a Century on East Market Street in York, PA
For a hundred years, Advent Lutheran Church has stood on East Market Street in the Old East York neighborhood of York, Pennsylvania, just off the Market Street exit of Interstate 83. The congregation marked its centennial in 2026 with the banner "Celebrating 100 Years of God's Work, Our Hands, 1926-2026" and an ongoing rhythm of three Sunday services, a full music program, and ministries that reach from the corner of Market and Manheim to partner churches in Tanzania, Central America, Indonesia, and South Africa.
Advent is a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), specifically the Lower Susquehanna Synod. The congregation describes itself as "a community of believers, diverse in background but one in Christ, sharing and teaching the good news of Jesus Christ to all people." The senior pastor is the Rev. Dr. Bradley Dayett, who grew up on a small farm in south-central Pennsylvania, holds degrees from Penn State, the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, and has served as an ELCA pastor for nearly thirty years. Joining him is the Rev. Andrew Berdahl, associate pastor, a Muhlenberg College graduate and former Captain in the PA Army National Guard Chaplain Corps who serves as Dean of the York Conference.
Three Sunday Services, Two Traditions
Advent offers two styles of Sunday worship. The traditional services are held at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM, while a contemporary service led by the Praise Band begins at 11:15 AM. The 8:30 AM traditional service is livestreamed on YouTube and archived weekly for those who cannot attend in person. Ushers are posted at the Sanctuary doors to greet visitors and hand out a paper bulletin that walks worshipers through the service. "Quiet busy bags" with activities sit at each door for children, and a fully staffed nursery is available for children under four.
Worship follows the four-fold pattern of Gathering, Word, Meal, and Sending drawn from Evangelical Lutheran Worship. During the children's chat, young worshipers are invited to the front steps for a brief conversation with the pastor about the day's message. Children who have not yet made their First Communion are welcome to come forward during communion for a pastoral blessing.
The Advent of the Christ Triptych
The Sanctuary is anchored by a large three-panel oil painting titled "The Advent of the Christ," created in 1946 by Alfred James Tulk, a London-born artist who studied at Oberlin and Yale. The painting was presented to the congregation by John Lowry Ruth and interprets the second coming of Christ in the aftermath of the Second World War. Tulk's center panel depicts a ruined cathedral, a destroyed business, the shambles of a home, and the captive woman of suffering, with four angels bringing the trumpet call of God, the Word of God, the empty cross, and the anchor of Christian hope. The side panels turn to a world of peace, showing the church offering the Lord's Supper and the family at the center of future generations. The painting gave the sanctuary its visual identity and gave Advent its name.
Music Is at the Heart of Worship
Music Ministry Director Sammi Blevins describes music as "at the heart of Advent's worship" and "a vital and rich part of our congregation," and the church backs that up with ensembles for nearly every age and skill level.
The Adult Choir, open to teens and adults, performs multiple times a month and draws on a repertoire that ranges from Handel to contemporary composers. No music-reading or audition is required. The Youth Choir serves children ages three through fifth grade, teaching them the basics of standing, watching the director, and singing with dynamics; the group performs about once a month. The Handbell Ensemble, open to anyone in sixth grade and above, rings three octaves of handbells for Sunday services and welcomes beginners. The Praise Band leads the monthly Contemporary Worship Service, playing anything from contemporary Christian music to gospel classics. Organist Kevin Smith anchors the traditional liturgy on the church's three-manual Moller pipe organ, which was dedicated on May 22, 1955.
Children, Youth, and Family Ministry
Advent invests deeply in its youngest members. Sunday School meets between services at 9:45 AM. The Family and Children's Ministry, directed by Catherine Ross, runs the Advent Family Festival, the Easter Egg Hunt at Camp Friendly Acres, and Vacation Bible School. Vacation Bible School 2026 is scheduled for July 12 through 16, 6:00 to 8:15 PM.
The Youth Ministry, directed by Paula Rineer, organizes three age groups. Young Adventurers gathers second through fifth graders once a month for service projects, game nights, and overnights. The Youth Group for grades six through eight meets one to two times a month for fellowship, service, and leadership, and helps plan Youth Sunday and the children's Easter Egg Hunt. Senior High Youth Group, for grades nine through twelve, attends synod events, takes a summer mission trip, and travels to Winterfest each January for a weekend of fun and faith formation.
Small Groups Around Every Corner
Advent's midweek calendar is busy. The Brown Baggers meet on the second and fourth Tuesday from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM for a bring-your-own-lunch and games gathering. The Advent Book Club gathers on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 PM, with a daytime meeting added the same day at 1:00 PM. Joy in the Morning, a book group, meets on the first and third Monday from September through May. Ladies Shares and Prayers gathers monthly. Prayers and Stitches works with yarn and thread, knitting prayer shawls, sewing warm-up blankets for the homeless, creating baby angel buntings for families suffering early infant loss, and crocheting Love Hearts distributed by a chaplain at UPMC.
Other recurring groups include the Advent Quilters (first Wednesday morning and following Monday evening), Men's Bible Study (second Saturday at 8:00 AM in Fellowship Hall), the Leisure Group (monthly lunch out), Advent Crafters (second Sunday afternoon), and Unbinding the Gospel, a weekly Wednesday-evening Bible study the pastors have invited the congregation to join.
Reaching Out in the York Area
Christ calls Advent to serve others in its own community and throughout the world, and the congregation takes that call seriously. The church supports the York County Food Pantry, Catholic Harvest Food Pantry, Our Daily Bread, Advent Soup Angels, the York Conference of Lutheran Tutors, Phineas Davis Elementary School, and Hannah Penn School through donations of time, money, and goods. A "Night to Smile" Prom Pop-Up Shop accepts used prom dresses, blazers, and suits to outfit students who could not otherwise afford them.
Members also serve on lay visitation teams. The Homebound Visitation group brings communion to shut-in members, and the Lay Hospital Visitation team assists pastors with hospital visits. A Cancer Support Group meets monthly at the church.
A Global Reach
Advent's global outreach stretches across four continents. The Fair Trade Ministry sells coffee, teas, cocoa, chocolate bars, and olive oil every other Sunday, with proceeds returned to small farming communities for hygiene, education, and medical care. The congregation supports the Ipinda School in Tanzania and is in partnership with the Konde Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, which has more than 125,000 members, seven church districts, 160 pastors, and nearly 200 evangelists serving more than 100 congregations.
Additional mission partners include Stephen Deal, an ELCA missionary working with the AMMPARO strategy to support migrants and refugees in Central America and Mexico; the Rev. Jeffrey Truscott, an ELCA pastor teaching liturgy and homiletics in Indonesia; and the Rev. Alexis LaChapelle, country coordinator for the Young Adults Global Mission (YAGM) program in South Africa.
Camp Friendly Acres
Camp Friendly Acres is Advent's church camp, and it is woven into nearly every season of congregational life. The Senior High youth group retreats and overnights there. The Easter Egg Hunt takes place on its grounds. A volunteer mowing team keeps the property up through the warmer months. Marilyn Oesterich, who serves on the church council, also serves as the council's liaison to the camp.
Holy Week, Christmas, and the Church Year
Advent observes the seasons of the church year with a full round of special services. Lent opens with an Ash Wednesday evening service and continues with brief Wednesday-evening gatherings through Palm Sunday. Holy Week includes Palm Sunday, a Maundy Thursday service that ends with the Stripping of the Altar, an evening Good Friday gathering, and the Easter Vigil on Saturday. On Easter morning the congregation gathers at 6:30 AM in the Meditation Garden on N. Manheim Street for the Easter Dawn Service and outdoor communion, then returns for triumphant services at 8:30 and 11:00 AM.
The Advent and Christmas season opens with the Hanging of the Greens service on the first Sunday of Advent, a quiet healing service called Blue Christmas for those walking through difficult days, a Children's Christmas Eve Service at 4:00 PM in Fellowship Hall, a Christmas Eve Word and Sacrament service at 8:00 PM, and Lessons and Carols at 11:00 PM on Christmas Eve.
Sacraments and Beliefs
Advent practices the two Lutheran sacraments. Baptism, understood as being "sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever," is typically held during Sunday morning worship and witnessed by the congregation, although the church teaches that anyone can be baptized at any age. Communion is offered to anyone who has been baptized in any Christian denomination; rows are dismissed individually by the ushers, the pastor gives the wafer, and a communion assistant offers a tray with wine (light color) or grape juice (dark color). Children who have not yet been through First Communion class are welcome to come forward for a blessing.
At the beginning of each service the congregation practices group Confession, hearing the pastor pronounce absolution as from God. The Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, and Lord's Prayer are prayed together. The Order of Service walks worshipers through the Gathering, the Word, the Meal, and the Sending, with each section drawn from Evangelical Lutheran Worship.
Serving Inside the Church
A volunteer Serving Our Church program organizes the ministries that keep Sunday worship running. The Usher Team greets and guides the congregation. The Altar Guild sets the altar paraments and communion elements. Youth Acolytes assist during worship. The Funeral Reception Team hosts receptions following funerals. The Coffee Social provides weekly refreshments after each service.
A Note on the Hundredth Year
Advent's history began on Easter 1924, when Lutheran Sunday schools were first conducted in the school buildings of Elmwood and East York under the York County Lutheran Conference. The congregations assembled in their new Chapel of the Advent on December 14, 1924. The Advent Lutheran Church was formally organized as a regular congregation on May 23, 1926, with fourteen founding members. Ground was broken for a new church at the corner of Market and Manheim in September 1940, and a three-manual Moller pipe organ was dedicated in 1955. The pastoral wall of the church now bears the names of every pastor who has served Advent since then.
Visiting Advent
Visitors are welcome at any service. Parking is available at the church, and the building sits just off the Market Street exit of Interstate 83. Ushers will hand you a bulletin and walk you through the order of service. Children of any age are welcome in worship, with busy bags, nursery care for the under-fours, and a children's chat during the sermon. Sunday School begins at 9:45 AM. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Friday from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Giving is available online, and a complete calendar of upcoming events, Bible studies, choir rehearsals, and small-group meetings can be subscribed to in Google Calendar, Outlook, or Apple Calendar.
After a hundred years in Old East York, Advent Lutheran Church is still shaped by the same conviction that has guided it since 1926: that a community of believers, diverse in background but one in Christ, has good news to share, in worship on Sunday morning and in every corner of the world it can reach.