FLEMING ISLAND – Representatives from roughly 15 different churches will descend on Grace Anglican Church on Fleming Island for a night to celebrate Advent this month.

The non-denominational Advent celebration hosted by the Jacksonville-based graduate school Institute for Worship Studies kicks off the celebration for the coming of Christ Dec. 4 with hymns, carols and scripture reading followed by a reception.

The service is intended to heighten the expectation of the coming celebration of Christmas. While the IWS Community Choir will lead the music, local musicians, pastors and community leaders will also take part.

“We do it as sort of as a gift to the community,” said Carol Shutters, IWS advancement director. “It’s something we’ve done for nine years. We do it for the Fleming Island and Orange Park communities because we think it’s important that they have an opportunity to celebrate Advent and it kind of sets the tone for the coming of Christ and helps you focus more on what the real meaning is.”

The community Advent service will serve as a benefit to Waste Not Want Not, a nonprofit food rescue organization that exists to prevent the discarding of food and other items that can be used to fight hunger and poverty.

Advent marks the beginning of the Christian calendar, and a time for Christians of every denomination and sect to come closer to God together regardless of passed divisions or disagreements.

“For me Advent is a time to grow closer to God to clear away some of the distractions of the outside world and slowly grow closer to Jesus,” said Pastor Heather Harding of Fleming Island United Methodist Church.

In the past, IWS held the event at Orange Park Presbyterian Church. This is the first year the event will be held at Grace Anglican.

However, some in the audience will undoubtedly be distracted by past divisions in the Anglican Church. The current congregation broke off from Grace Episcopal in 2006 after disagreements over the 2003 appointment of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire. Those who took a more conservative stance on social issues broke off and declared their allegiance to the Anglican Church in North America, thus the birth of Grace Anglican.

The disagreements led to a nasty split of the Grace Episcopal congregation.

Later, the congregation’s pastor, Sam Pascoe, stepped down from leadership after it was discovered he was allegedly having an affair.

“There should be reconciliation among all denominations, among all political parties, all those divisions can be healed in the love of Jesus,” Harding said, acknowledging the stress of an especially contentious election season as well as the Episcopal schism. “That’s the only thing that does heal us, that loving grace.”

IWS preferred not to acknowledge the past controversy over the Anglican Church, but said the event is supposed to bring people together.

A representative from Grace Episcopal said this was the first she had heard of the event when questioned if anyone from her congregation was going to attend the celebration event at Grace Anglican.

The Advent celebration starts at 6:30 p.m.