Volunteer Opportunities
Found House
Found House is a non-profit located in Walnut Hills that provides services for homeless families. They provide temporary housing and help families find permanent housing. Found House has been a ministry of Church of the Advent for over 15 years. Three times a year, Advent volunteers help by providing two meals for 20 people.
Contact: Judy Caldwell, hey2006jude@yahoo.com
Acolytes
Acolytes help bring the light of Christ into the church as the service begins and back out into the world at its conclusion. They arrive about 15 minutes before the service begins, wear a robe, and process through the congregation to the altar with the Priest and Deacon. Learning the process does not take long, and this can be a great ministry for children, youth, or young adults to be part of.
Contact: Cameron Mickey, cmickey9999@gmail.com
Lay Eucharistic Ministers
Volunteers in this ministry can help provide communion, usually holding the chalice. We are hoping this ministry can expand, as it is rewarding and essential for communion to continue when we only have one clergy member available at a service.
Requirements: A combination of in-person training with Dan and Diocesan classes — mostly online or via Zoom — is required. You must also be a confirmed member or have been received by the Bishop in the Episcopal Church to become a Lay Eucharistic Minister.
Contact: Dan Carlson, dcarlson@adventcincy.org
Altar Guild
The Altar Guild is a critical ministry of the church, allowing the lay people to take on a key role in the preparation of the altar, the Sanctuary, and the vessels of the worshiping community. Liturgy begins and ends with the work of the Altar Guild; they prepare the worship space and they clear it away at the end. When you are scheduled to serve, you will be asked to arrive early, by 9:30am, to prepare the altar and Sanctuary for the 10am service. After the service, you will help put away the vessels. The Altar Guild also helps prepare for special services throughout the year, like Holy Week.
Contact: Ginger Rubin, ginger.rubin54@gmail.com
Frederick Douglass School Library Time
Frederick Douglass School is the neighborhood elementary school in Walnut Hills, and volunteers read with first graders as part of a ministry started several years ago by Advent and other area churches. Young students come to the library and sit to listen to a story, then choose a book and read to, or are helped in reading with, a volunteer. Thirty minutes per class means about 90 minutes in a morning for volunteers. One goal of the program is to practice library etiquette, since many of our kids go to the Walnut Hills Library after school. If school-time doesn't work with your schedule, you can still participate by regularly praying for this ministry.
Contact: Geoff Sutton or JoAnn Morse, joann@sutton-consulting.com
Media
Volunteering with the media team can mean helping with special projects or helping to stream and record the Sunday service. The media team's special projects include creating the weekly sermon podcast, working with Dan and other staff members to create our zines, and creating videos that Advent publishes on social media or our website. You don't need previous experience in this area to volunteer — Jacob will catch you up to speed!
Contact: Jacob Taylor, jtaylor@adventcincy.org
Bread Guild
The Bread Guild is a group of members that bakes the communion bread. To volunteer with this committee, all you need to do is bake bread following the recipe provided and bring it to church for your assigned date. There are no meetings to attend, and bread bakers rotate throughout the year — many hands make light work!
Contact: Kim Taylor, kimtaylor2@gmail.com
Lectors and Intercessors
Both of these roles involve reading during the 10am service. The Lector reads two of the scriptures for the day, while the Intercessor reads the responsive Prayers of the People. When you volunteer in this ministry, you will provide your availability to our parish administrator, Maaike Chertock, and she will create a schedule of readers for a few months, so you know in advance when you are scheduled to read. The week before you read, you will get a copy of the readings emailed to you so you can be familiar with them. Maaike will also leave a paper copy of the readings for you to pick up Sunday morning. When the time comes in the service, you'll walk up to the lectern with the eagle and read from there. Fun fact: on the Sunday you read, your name will be featured in the bulletin!
Contact: Maaike Chertock, mchertock@adventcincy.org
Sunday Snacks
We are blessed to have beautiful spaces to spend time with each other following services, and having snacks there makes that time even better. Our Sunday Snacks volunteers bring treats for parishioners to enjoy together, and can provide whatever variety of foods they like — the spread doesn't have to be complex. Our parish administrator, Maaike Chertock, schedules the snack volunteers, usually about once a month depending on your schedule and how many volunteers we have. Volunteers usually leave the service a bit early to set up the snacks, and there are plates and serving utensils available in the communal kitchen for easy set-up.
Contact: Maaike Chertock, mchertock@adventcincy.org
Children's Ministry
Volunteering in the children's ministry usually involves spending a Sunday morning working with the children and our Minister for Land Justice and Family Support, Megan. The commitment is for about an hour and a half, starting at 9:20 and ending when the service concludes. Volunteers help support the Bible lesson that Megan has planned, plus any activities that are planned for the morning.
Requirements: Before volunteering with children, you will need to complete Safe Church training, an online training from the Episcopal Church about working with children and youth.
Contact: Megan Suttman, msuttman@adventcincy.org
Hospitality
The hospitality committee is a layperson-led committee focused on welcoming everyone who walks into the doors of Church of the Advent by greeting new visitors and nurturing relationships within the existing congregation. We believe that hospitality is a practice of Christian discipleship — welcoming the stranger and inviting people to become deeply involved in the life of the church, caring for each other spiritually and emotionally. Committee members work together to create consistent policies for welcoming new people to COTA and for congregational care, in addition to reaching out to individual members. Examples of the type of work include meeting new visitors for coffee, creating "Welcome to COTA" materials and experiences, checking in on a member who has been absent, and creating opportunities for deeper connections among COTA members.
Contact: Sid Khullar, skhullar@outlook.com
Grants Committee
Volunteering with the Grants Committee involves talking up Advent! If you love to sing the praises of our church, this could be a great role for you. They apply for different grants to help fund Advent's ministries, such as the Open Door pantry, arts, and garden. This committee involves time researching and writing grant applications on your own, and occasional meetings to set goals and collaborate with other committee members.
Contact: Stacey Purcell, stacy.n.purcell@gmail.com
Stewardship Committee
The stewardship committee's main role is to plan the stewardship campaign in the fall, but because stewardship is a year-round effort, they also help keep the church informed about how the gifts of time, talent, and treasure are being used. The committee coordinates the volunteer time tracker and the gifts of time spotlights throughout the year, plans the church's participation in the FreeStore Foodbank's Hunger Walk, and helps set goals for stewardship with the help of the finance committee and vestry. Volunteering with this committee involves some meetings, planning of the events, and sharing stories about ways people are contributing to Advent.
Contact: Stacey Purcell, stacy.n.purcell@gmail.com
Facilities Committee
The facilities committee keeps the physical building running smoothly. They coordinate any repairs that need to be made within the church and work with the vestry to plan routine maintenance. This committee also provides input on the church's annual budget. If you have experience in building upkeep, or would like to learn more about it, this could be a great place for you! The facilities committee meets monthly, virtually or in person.
Contact: Tom Cunningham, tom_cunningham@fuse.net