The Parish Council is composed of elected lay members and ordained presbyters of Advent. The Parish Council governs the administrative affairs of Advent—hiring, space, developing a budget, to list a few—and provides advice and counsel to the Rector and clergy on the direction of the church's ministry.

Ben Evans Rector’s Warden

Ben Evans
Rector’s Warden

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Ben has called DC home for the past 17 years and first came to Advent in 2016, when he met his wife, Kelly, through mutual friends attending an Advent Core Group. He has enjoyed serving the church through the Men’s Ministry and leading our Home Campaign’s Finance and Governance team. Ben is a licensed CPA and provides accounting, tax and consulting solutions to the financial services industry. He enjoys golf, running, cooking with Kelly, taking his son and daughter, Will and Virginia (Ginny), to the park and exploring new restaurants. Ben, Kelly, and their children live in Upper Northwest DC.

 
Angie De GrootPeople’s Warden

Angie De Groot

People’s Warden

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Angie moved to DC in 2005 and has been a part of Advent since 2013. Previously, she and her husband David attended Advent's sister churches on Capitol Hill and in Northern Virginia. Angie works at a research and analysis non-profit, where she focuses on homeland security and emergency management issues. She is a generalist at heart and has found too many things she loves about DC; in no particular order, these include walkable neighborhoods, grand public spaces, and the opportunity to discuss public policy with friends day and night. She dreams of a world where all is made right. Angie and David have two children, Georgia and John, and live in Petworth.


 

Janicia Moore

Secretary

Janicia has lived in Washington, DC since 2009 and the Takoma neighborhood since 2016. She began attending Advent in 2022 after passing by the church one Sunday morning and noticing the welcome signs. She enjoys serving the church as a Welcome Team co-leader and a Children’s Ministry volunteer with the preschool class. Janicia is a marketing consultant, supporting federal health agencies with email strategy. She loves spending time with her godchildren (two of whom attend Advent), watching the latest Marvel movie, Advent’s summer supper clubs. Advent has given her such a beautiful community to belong to — her goal is to help others experience the same connection to God’s people at Advent.

 

Drew Hauge
Treasurer (Appointed Officer)

Drew has lived in Washington, DC since 2009 and began attending Advent in 2012. He met his wife Kimberly (KC) at Advent, first getting to know her at one of Advent's annual retreats. Drew and KC were married in 2015 and moved to the Petworth neighborhood of DC shortly thereafter. During his time at Advent, Drew has co-led two small groups and served on a number of ministries including men's ministry, children's ministry, HUGS, and operations. Drew works in forensic accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner.  During his free time Drew loves playing with his kids Luka and Alex, hiking, bicycling, exploring DC, and playing and designing board games.

 
Jeannie Rose Barksdale Councilperson At-Large

Jeannie Rose Barksdale
Councilperson At-Large

Jeannie Rose hails from the other Washington, but moved to DC with her husband Nate for her in-house counsel job at International Justice Mission in 2016. With little time to plug into church community before their first child was due to be born, they dove into Advent their first week in town. (How else would they have a care calendar when the baby came?) Three care calendars later (Chase, b. 2016, Estella, b. 2018, and Haven b. 2020), they remain committed to Advent and its vision of seeking the flourishing of this city - in part, through opening their Mt. Pleasant home, "Xenophilia," to as many people as possible.

 

Peter Boersma

Assistant Treasurer

Peter moved to DC in 2018 and quickly started attending Church of the Advent, along with his wife, Rebecca. Since then he has led the Welcome Team, and been involved with the Refugee Support Ministry, Operations Team, and multiple Core Groups. Peter works as an epidemiologist within the federal government. He enjoys camping, exploring the city, trying to fix their house, and spending time with friends.

 

Bill Coglianese

Councilperson At-Large

Bill has been in the DC area since 2011 and at Church of the Advent since 2012. Over that span, he and his wife Nicole have worshiped with Advent in at least five different locations, lived in three different neighborhoods (from Mount Vernon Triangle to Takoma Park to Bethesda), and have been part of terrific Core Groups in each. Bill has also enjoyed pretending to be a musician with the Advent music ministry. He works for a large law firm, specializing in written advocacy. Bill and Nicole spend their nights and weekends trying to keep up with their two wonderful daughters, Evelyn and Harper, and their benevolent mutt Arlo.


 

 

Catie Kawchak Byers

Councilperson At-Large

Catie began attending Advent in 2011, shortly after moving to Washington, DC, to pursue a career on Capitol Hill. During her time at Advent, Catie has served as a Core Group leader, an Altar Guild leader, and a Children’s Ministry teacher. In 2022, she and her husband, Jared, were married by Pastor Tommy. As new parents, they are currently navigating the joys and challenges of raising their sweet daughter, Susanna Grace. Beyond her church involvement, Catie enjoys neighborhood walks with her pup Emmy Lou and hosting friends for good food, engaging conversations, and spirited game nights at their home in Northwest DC. 

 

Justin Johnson

Councilperson At-Large

Justin has lived in the DC area since 2004, marrying his wife Erika here in 2007, moving to Petworth in 2010, and raising their three kids who are now 14, 12, and 10. Justin and his family came to Advent in 2022 and he has helped lead the Trail Life troop at Advent for the last two years, and also serves on the Welcome and Production Teams. Justin works in national security, having spent time working on Capitol Hill, at a think tank, in the Pentagon, and now at a defense tech firm. He enjoys spending time with his kids, biking, reading, being outside in the city or country, and watching DC United games.