In Sickness and In Health
Melanie and Jon's Advent Story

•
September 14, 2026

4 Minute Read

When we moved to the Melbourne area in 1993 our son was finishing the fifth grade.

As lifelong Lutherans, Jon and I knew one of our first priorities was to find a warm, welcoming church home with an active youth group. After our first visit to Advent, Pastor Jake Knoedler visited us at the hotel we were staying in and wanted to know more about us. From that conversation he helped us to feel welcomed to the community and to Advent. Advent was a small church then but already was generously reaching out and serving the community and the Advent family.

Two years after we moved to the area and joined Advent, I had a severe medical situation with a recovery of over a year. The Advent family supported us with prayers, cards, calls, meals, visits and love.

It meant so much to our family to feel the love of our church family. 

As a long time member I have had the privilege to be a part of and witness the hearts and hands of members and friends of Advent step in and serve Advent and our community with their time, offerings and talents. Through the generosity of Advent friends and members, Advent has done, and continues to do, wonderful things to make a difference in people’s lives.

I learned generosity from my parents. They were wonderful examples of being generous with their time, talents and giving to the church and to the community. Our family were farmers and we had a big family with six children. Our home farm has been in our family for over 100 years. We had dairy cows, fields of crops and big gardens. We worked together and we shared the bounty of vegetables from our gardens and the fruits from our trees with our church family, community and those in need. In those days most of the farmers in the area had immigrants who would come in the summer to work in the fields. We would post a sign by the road that they were welcome to come and take fruit from our trees and vegetables from the gardens.

After my father passed away and my mother could no longer live alone on the farm she moved to an assisted living facility and had a one-bedroom apartment. Coming from a five-bedroom farmhouse there was a lot of furniture and accessories that would not be able to go with her. We discussed having an auction sale or garage sale but my mother said to give it all to the church for the church’s annual rummage sale. Mom said the Lord had blessed her with it and now it was time for it to be a blessing to new families and the church would be good stewards of the money it received from the sale. Another beautiful lesson in generosity.

We have been faithful givers to Advent for over three decades. In that time, we have seen Advent be faithful in shining the light of Christ in our worship, within the Advent family and into our community. Advent has been committed and faithful in growing ministry outreach, care and service to members and the community.

I hope that Advent continues to be committed and faithful in serving the Lord within the congregation, surrounding areas, Brevard County and beyond. I hope that people in our community will be drawn to Advent to see it as a place to be open and accepting to all, focused on the word of God and pouring His love, grace, mercy, peace and generosity to our church family, our community and beyond.


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From this Collection: Discipleship In Action
September 13, 2026 • 1 Minute Read
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God’s Work. Our Hands. This weekend we participated alongside ELCA Lutherans across the country in a time of service, focusing on the daily call to love and serve our neighbor. Together, we brought coins to the local laundromats, helping people with the expense of washing clothes (Average cost per load is between 2-5 dollars, and can be up to $8!) We prepared, cooked, and distributed meals to the Cocoa Veterans Village The Faith Builders and Senior Youth Group made Ham and Cheese and PB&J sandwiches for Matthew’s Hope You can view the full gallery of photos by clicking the button below:God's Work Our Hands Photos More about the day from our denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: “God’s work. Our hands.” is the ELCA’s annual day of service. It is a blessed opportunity for all our congregations to celebrate who we are as a church, engaging in projects and activities that explore our convictions as Lutherans: that all life in Jesus flows from a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. The ELCA is one church, freed in Christ to love and serve our neighbor every day.
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September 14, 2026 • 3 Minute Read
In Sickness and In Health
When we moved to the Melbourne area in 1993 our son was finishing the fifth grade. As lifelong Lutherans, Jon and I knew one of our first priorities was to find a warm, welcoming church home with an active youth group. After our first visit to Advent, Pastor Jake Knoedler visited us at the hotel we were staying in and wanted to know more about us. From that conversation he helped us to feel welcomed to the community and to Advent. Advent was a small church then but already was generously reaching out and serving the community and the Advent family. Two years after we moved to the area and joined Advent, I had a severe medical situation with a recovery of over a year. The Advent family supported us with prayers, cards, calls, meals, visits and love. It meant so much to our family to feel the love of our church family. As a long time member I have had the privilege to be a part of and witness the hearts and hands of members and friends of Advent step in and serve Advent and our community with their time, offerings and talents. Through the generosity of Advent friends and members, Advent has done, and continues to do, wonderful things to make a difference in people’s lives. I learned generosity from my parents. They were wonderful examples of being generous with their time, talents and giving to the church and to the community. Our family were farmers and we had a big family with six children. Our home farm has been in our family for over 100 years. We had dairy cows, fields of crops and big gardens. We worked together and we shared the bounty of vegetables from our gardens and the fruits from our trees with our church family, community and those in need. In those days most of the farmers in the area had immigrants who would come in the summer to work in the fields. We would post a sign by the road that they were welcome to come and take fruit from our trees and vegetables from the gardens. After my father passed away and my mother could no longer live alone on the farm she moved to an assisted living facility and had a one-bedroom apartment. Coming from a five-bedroom farmhouse there was a lot of furniture and accessories that would not be able to go with her. We discussed having an auction sale or garage sale but my mother said to give it all to the church for the church’s annual rummage sale. Mom said the Lord had blessed her with it and now it was time for it to be a blessing to new families and the church would be good stewards of the money it received from the sale. Another beautiful lesson in generosity. We have been faithful givers to Advent for over three decades. In that time, we have seen Advent be faithful in shining the light of Christ in our worship, within the Advent family and into our community. Advent has been committed and faithful in growing ministry outreach, care and service to members and the community. I hope that Advent continues to be committed and faithful in serving the Lord within the congregation, surrounding areas, Brevard County and beyond. I hope that people in our community will be drawn to Advent to see it as a place to be open and accepting to all, focused on the word of God and pouring His love, grace, mercy, peace and generosity to our church family, our community and beyond.
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“Dollar Bill” is a familiar face, happily greeting those who walk into Advent on a Sunday morning. But how did he get that nickname? And how did he learn to be so generous? Check out the video to hear more from Bill and Tammy!