Church of the Advent

University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2007

Collection Overview

Title:	Church of the Advent
Date range:	1886-2005
Creator:	Church of the Advent (Pawtucket, R.I.)
Extent:	14 box(es) (8.5 linear feet)
Abstract:	The records in this collection reflect the activities and administration of the Church of the Advent, Pawtucket RI. The Church of the Advent was established in 1886 as an Episcopal Mission and was established as a parish in 1887; the church was consecrated in 1890. The church remained active until the 1970s and a steady decline in membership caused the church to close in 2005. The small number of remaining parishioners joined the Church of the Good Shepherd.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Mss. Gr. 175

Scope & content

These records document the religious, administrative, and social activities of Church of the Advent and includes the document of consecration, church registers of services, births, marriages, and deaths, documents relating to the 100th anniversary event and special events in the parish, church registers, minutes of meetings of parish vestry and committees, financial and parochial reports. These records also include a collection of photographs consisting mainly of the parish rectors and church groupings. The records date from 1886-2005 but other than the church registers, there are gaps in the records. Also in the collection are micro cassette tapes of oral histories collected from parishioners as a history project in 2005.

Arrangement

After processing, the records were organized into five series as follows:

• 1. Subject, 1890-2005
• 2. Registers, 1886-2005
• 3. Clerk's Files, 1981-1992
• 4. History Project, 2005
• 5. Photographs, bulk 1915-1980s

Historical Information

In 1877 a group of German immigrants desired a Christian education for their children and set up a church school through the Society of Friends
in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island. With the aid of a member of a Litany Society, Mr. Thomas J. Battey, The Lincoln Street Bible School
opened on December 2, 1877 at No. 24 Lincoln St. The school prospered under the direction of two librarians, eight teachers and Brown University
student, Fred J. Walton. Walton acted as superintendent to the school.

In May 1880 a patron, Mrs. Harriet Read Armstrong suggested that the church school became affiliated with St. Paul's Episcopal Church
and its Rector, Emory H. Porter took charge. The transfer took place on Advent and the church school's name became the Episcopal Mission of the Advent
. In 1884 the Mission was allowed to meet in the vacant Taylor’s Store
located at Pawtucket Ave. and Main St. until the store space was rented. The Mission then met at the Pidge Avenue School
for a brief time until John L. Ross leased his land for free on the condition that the congregants secured funding to build a permanent chapel. The chapel was built on the corner of Pawtucket and Trenton St. and held its first service in December of 1884.

Rev. Porter of St. Paul's continued to minister to the flourishing Mission but it became apparent that a parish organization needed to be formed. Rev. Porter secured the services of Rev. Spink to minister to the Mission and a vestry was formed 1887. Two years later Rev. Spink left. In 1891 Rev. Porter left St. Paul's and the Episcopal Mission of the Advent was without a rector. That same year the Mission bought the land from Mr. Ross. By 1894 more pews were added to the chapel, a parish house was built and the Mission became incorporated as the Church of the Advent. Pledges were secured to hire a full time rector and Rev. Asalph Swift Wicks answered the call in 1895. Rev. Wicks left in 1898 to become the rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd
. Rev. James Ernest Barbour received the call in 1899. That year the church building was expanded and consecrated by Bishop McVicker. The Church continued to grow steadily and rectory was added in 1912. A year later Mrs. Harriet Read Armstrong, "the real founder of our church" died. In 1915 new additions were made and the church building was electrified. The now Cannon F. J. Walton from St. Paul's Cathedral
in
Boston MA was a speaker at the rededication.

Long time parishioner and Deaconess Florence P. Jones married Rev. Barbour in 1917 but died after only a few years of marriage. In 1923 a sexton was appointed and in 1927 an assistant was appointed to handle the work of the busy church. Rev. Barbour died on August 25 1928. He was succeeded by Rev. Seelye Bryant who remained with the church until 1935. Afterward a succession of rectors lead the church; Rev. Harold Lawrence Sweet (1935-1940), Rev. James Murchison Duncan (1940-1943), Rev. Harold Redevers Carter (1943-1968). The migration of people to the suburbs affected the parish membership and its numbers began to decline. After Rev. Carter’s retirement, Rev. Hall provided services for a time. Canon Arthur Fenton Roebuck rector of St. Paul’s took charge of the parish until 1972 until Canon Clifford Westhorp served as priest in charge and then as rector. Under his leadership, Canon Westhorp began an intensive outreach program to attract congregants into the church. Including creating a welcome pamphlet for the Geneva Plaza housing complex which had been build for low income elderly persons next to the church. The parish continued to be diligent and active in maintaining the buildings, fund raising, and charity work of the church but demographic change was not on its side. The numbers remained stagnant and then in the 1990s began to decline steadily. In 1988, shortly after his 50th wedding anniversary, Canon Westhorp resigned as rector and moved to
Tennessee with his wife, Dorothy. The Vestry hired a consultant that year to find a new priest to lead the parish. While a search began for a full time rector, a Father Hastings ministered to the parish. Much of the work of the parish administration fell to the senior warden, Ray Stephenson and the vestry. In 1998 Judith Mitchell answered the call to be rector of Church of the Advent and remained until May 5th 2002. The Church of the Advent was dissolved on Advent Sunday, 2005 and its remaining parishioners were welcomed into the Church of the Good Shepherd
.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Open for research.
Use of the materials:
Preferred citation:	Records of the Church of the Advent, Mss. Gr. 175, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The initial deposit of records to the University of Rhode Island Library Special Collections Unit took place in 2004. Addition records were transferred between 2005 and 2007.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Sarina R. Wyant.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Sarina R. Wyant on 2007 November 05, updated by Hailie D. Posey on 2009 August 19, updated by Mark Dionne on2020 April 4
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

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Inventory

Oral History Recordings, 2005
1 folder; 19 micro cassette tapes box(es)
(1" linear feet)

Contains 19 micro cassette tapes of interviews by URI history students of parishioners of the Church of the Advent. A list of the interviewers is included.

Arrangement:

The tapes are in one folder and are labeled by the interviewee name.

Container

Description

Date

Box 11, Folder 5

Avery, Gary. Tape 1

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Bouchard, Mike and Janice. Tape 2

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Cherico, Vincent. Tape 3

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Drake, Rev. Jo-Ann. Tape 3

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Duhaine, Alfred. Tape 4

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Goff, Doris Cook. Tape 17

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Hallstrom, [elder?]. Tape 6

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Hallstrom, Christopher [Chip?] and Diane. Tape 6

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Hallstrom, Christopher [Chip?]. Tape 7

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Harrison, Mark and Christie with children. Tape 8

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Keiser, Carol. Tape 9

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Keiser, Raymond. Tape 10

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Lewis, Doris and Everett. Tape 11

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Minkins, Beatrice. Tape 12

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Mitchell, Rev. Judy. Tape 13

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Newel, Ilene Black. Tape 14

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Olbrych, Kathy. Tape 15

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Pelletier, Deacon Ann. Tape 16

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Spencer, Melba Towl. Tape 17

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Stephenson, Raymond. Tape 18

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Sylvester, Rosa. Tapes 17 and 19

2005 Apr 10

Box 11, Folder 5

Taft, Florence. Tape 17

2005 Apr 10