About Us
Clergy
The Revd Canon Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff, Rector
Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff, first studied Ancient History and Philosophy before taking advanced degrees in Philosophy of Religion and Theology, studying in London Oxford and Yale where he was Research Fellow and also studied Islam and took a Degree with international Relations. After ordination, he worked on international and development issues before working for Lord Carey the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury and appointment as Senior Advisor to the World Economic Forum where he designed the Council of One Hundred Leaders West Islamic Dialogue. A former Dean of All Saints’ Cathedral Cairo he has worked extensively on interfaith matters as well as sustainable development while based in the Middle East and Europe as well as North America.
The Revd David J. Thompson, Parochial Vicar
Fr. Thompson joined the Advent staff in the summer of 2020 and previously served at Church of the Incarnation in Dallas, TX. He attended seminary at Wycliffe College in Toronto, ON and has experience in ministry to the homeless, schools, church planting, and evangelism to the unchurched. Fr. David and his wife Heather are originally from central Oklahoma. They have three school-aged children.
The Revd Ian McCormack, Priest Associate and Director of Grafton House
The Rt Revd George R. Sumner, Honorary Assistant
The Revd Jay C. James, Honorary Assistant
The Revd Dr Clarence Butler, Honorary Assistant
We remember with Thanksgiving The Rev. Thomas Adams, Honorary Assistant
Music
Mark Dwyer, Organist & Choirmaster
Mark Dwyer came to the Advent from St. Paul’s Parish, K Street, in Washington, DC, in 2007. He was formerly the Music Director at the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany, NY, and before that Associate Organist & Choirmaster here at the Advent. A Worcester native and 1985 graduate of the New England Conservatory, he studied with Yuko Hayashi, William Porter, Frank Taylor, and Charles Krigbaum. Mark has also been a faculty member and choirmaster at the annual Saint Michael’s Conference for Young People for many years. He is featured on several recordings by the Advent Choir and is the performer on a JAV recording of the Advent’s Aeolian-Skinner organ in the series “Great Organ Builders of America: A Retrospective.” Mark and his wife Cheryl have a son, Douglas.
Andrew Scanlon, Associate Organist & Choirmaster
Andrew Scanlon came to The Advent in September 2021. From 2009-2021 he was the organ professor at East Carolina University and Organist-Choirmaster at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greenville, NC. Prior to Greenville, Andrew has spent time at Duquesne University, Christ & St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church (New York), St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral (Buffalo), First Presbyterian Church (Pittsburgh), and Marquand Chapel at Yale Divinity School. His CD recording, Solemn and Celebratory, featuring the Fisk organ at St. Paul’s in Greenville, was released in 2013.
Operations
Gretchen Manning, Executive Director
Jim Singletary, Parish Administrator
Nicolas Sterner, Events and Communications Coordinator
Moses Buyondo, Sexton
Andrew de Souza, Community Supper Coordinator
Children & Family Ministry
Lauren Mojarrab, Director of Children’s Education
Lauren began working in the Advent’s family ministries in the summer of 2020. She studied Literature and Classical Education at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. Lauren grew up in Minnesota, but has lived in Boston since 2020 with her husband and two children.
Vestry (2026)
Meg Nelson, Rector’s Warden
Philip Le Quesne, People’s Warden
Ryan Taliaferro, Treasurer
Andrew Huss, Clerk
John Boyd
Maria Denslow
Jackson Humphreys
Laura Kheir
Stephanie Krein
Xander Mojarrab
Frederick Ou
Paul Roberts
Lea Rutledge
Julianne Turé
Christian Westra
The Church of the Advent was established in 1844, eleven years after the beginning of the Oxford Movement in England.
Its first home was an “upper room” of a building on Merrimack Street in the North End, near present-day Haymarket, from which the parish moved six months later to a hall at the corner of Lowell and Causeway Streets, near what is now North Station. The parish occupied this space for two years before moving in 1847 to a church on nearby Green Street.
All of these early buildings have disappeared, as have Lowell and Green Streets themselves, although their former locations can be seen on this 1842 map. (Lowell Street, unlabeled, runs perpendicular to Causeway Street just east of another now-vanished road named Leverett Street.)
In 1863 the congregation moved to a building on Bowdoin Street, now the Church of St John the Evangelist, but was soon well on the way to outgrowing the space.
In 1874 the parish bought land at the corner of Mt. Vernon and Brimmer Streets – which, as the 1842 map shows, had not even existed when the parish was founded 30 years before. This land was created from lowering the height of some Boston hills by several feet beginning in the 1850s. (Excavations in our undercroft in late 2003 unearthed several old bottles and other artifacts from the taverns that dotted Boston neighborhoods at the time.) The present building was designed in the Early English Gothic Style by Boston architect and Advent parishioner John Hubbard Sturgis in 1875 and was substantially complete by 1888.
Entering the West Doors from Brimmer Street one is struck by the grand lofty perspective culminating in the High Altar with its Caen stone reredos of 1891 – designed by Harold Peto of Peto and George in London, a gift of Isabella Stewart Gardner. The nave is, in fact, taller than its length and the space narrows at the crossing, increasing the sense of height and length.
The Great Rood suspended high above the choir steps was designed by Ralph Adams Cram in 1925 and replaced the original wrought iron choir screen.* Cram’s very first ecclesiastical commission was the credence niche in the polygonal apse wall to the right of the High Altar. Mirroring it on the left of the Altar stands the golden Aumbry or Sacrament House, dating from 1933. Near the Aumbry is a 15th century French bishop’s throne given to the parish as a memorial gift in 1871.
The Church of the Advent’s rich history is matched by an equally extensive archive of photos, documents, and artifacts, offering a vivid glimpse into the parish’s storied past. These treasures are frequently shared on our social media channels, allowing us to bring the vibrant history of our church to life and connect past generations with the present. Follow along to explore more of the Advent’s remarkable journey through time.
Use the form below for general inquiries, or scroll to find a specific contact.
For events and programming inquiries, please fill out the following form HERE
Office
Office Hours
Monday through Friday, 9am to 4:30pm
Parish Administrator
James Singletary
Phone
617-523-2377