The Messenger March / April 2023

Photo Highlights

Winners:

U7 Boys Bryson Day

U8 Boys Walker Lewis

U9 Boys Billy Pope

U10 Boys Bryce Judy

U12 Boys Drew Autrey and Jage Jennings

U14 Boys Derek Aponte

U8 Girls Harper Toomes

U10 Girls Addison Schellenberg

U12 Girls Gabby Kiernan

Above: The Riverside Presbyterian Basketball League was a huge success! 480 children participated across 10 divisions and 5 gyms. Thank you to the board members: Chip Stroud (League Director), Michael Fackler (Board President), Bill Hoff, Julia Davis, Josh Edwards, Chris Eyrick, Michael Fallucco, Phil Hobbs, Katie Kidd, and Todd Vatter. and our Maness Award

Right: RPC Youth spend a weekend at Universal for Rock the Universe!

From Your Pastor

Brian Lays

Dear Riversiders:

It is never easy to say goodbye to those who are beloved to us. On March 12, we said goodbye to Josh Stafford, which I know has been difficult for many of us, myself included. Josh’s ability to play the organ is remarkable, and he certainly maximized the wonderful instrument we installed in our sanctuary not long ago. He also brought out the best in our very capable choir, which was especially difficult to see him go, having worked so closely with him.

I want to acknowledge the sadness I know many of you feel, and the uncertainly surrounding the question of who could possibly replace Josh. I understand these weighty emotions. But I also want to remind you all that our goal is not to replace Josh, but rather to find another individual who will bring their own set of unique gifts and abilities to our music ministry. With every departure, even difficult ones, there are new opportunities, and our music search committee has been thinking deeply about those opportunities as we begin our search process.

I also want to remind you of the obvious: our worship continues! As Josh was always quick to remind us, worship is about more than any one individual; worship is “the work of the people” (which is the meaning of the word liturgy). Or, I should say, the one Individual worship is about is the Triune God we know in and through Jesus Christ. So long as worship is about God, and not about us, no matter how breathtaking our spiritual gifts may be, it will always be possible to move forward.

To that end, I hope you all will make a special point to engage with our worship services throughout the remainder of Lent. The cycle of Holy Week, from Palm Sunday through Easter, is a journey with Christ that we can never travel too many times: into Jerusalem, into the temple, into the Upper Room, into Pilate’s courts, onto the cross, into the tomb, and, at last, into the Garden of Resurrection and into the empty tomb.

In worship, we participate in the profound drama of this narrative, which proclaims our salvation. We ponder the weight of sin and brokenness and confront the powers of death. We weep with Mary and marvel with the Centurion at the cross. We ponder the pregnant silence of Holy Saturday. And, at last, we are ready to receive the full measure of joy on Easter morning, and to be reminded that death does not have the last word!

It’s a journey that is relevant every single year. So join us as our worship continues—we need each and every one of you to fully participate in this story of our salvation.

Grace and peace,

Brian

Palm Sunday is April 2

Join us for Worship (Communion at 8:30 and 10:30 am services) , Lunch, and an Easter Egg Hunt!

Join Us During Holy Week

Wednesday, April 5 at 5:30 pm - Dinner Church featuring Stations of the Cross. Get a new perspective on worship at Dinner Church. On the first Wednesday of the month, join us at one table in the sanctuary for a worship service that blends liturgy, song, and food. In place of a sermon, we share a meal and discuss the scripture reading. Families are welcome, and nursery will be available for children up to kindergarten age. (Please bring a brown bag dinner for children in the nursery.) Please make a reservation for this service so we can prepare a meal for you. Scan the QR code or go to www.rpcjax.org/holyweek

Thursday, April 6 at 7:00 pm - Maundy Thursday Service - Join us as we remember the last night of Christ’s life, as we begin the journey to the cross. The word “Maundy” is derived from the Latin word “commandment,” and recalls the “new commandment” Christ gave his disciples the night before he died: love one another as I have loved you. Communion will be served. Nursery available. Service also available via live stream www.rpcjax.org/live

Friday, April 7 at 12:00 pm - Good Friday Service - Join us as we recount Christ’s passion and death, and remember all that God in Christ has done for us. This contemplative service of scripture and song is offered in conjunction with Riverside Park United Methodist Church. Service also available via live stream www.rpcjax.org/live

Sunday, April 9 at 8:30 and 10:30 am - Easter Worship - Join us for worship at 8:30 or 10:30 am to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord! Both services will contain our full choir and liturgy, and the 8:30 service will be held in the main sanctuary rather than the chancel. Communion will be served at both services. Service also available via live stream www.rpcjax.org/live

Why Do We Do What We Do?

A column to answer questions about worship from the Rev. Dr. Brian Lays

How are the hymns chosen each week?

Since the early church, singing has been an integral part of worship. The book of Colossians admonishes Christians: “let the word of God dwell in you richly… and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.” Hymn singing is one of the core acts of worship, which we engage at the beginning, middle, and end of a service. Music generally is a form of both praise and prayer, but most of all, singing furthers the proclamation of the word, and equips us to “let the word of God dwell in us richly.”

The starting point for choosing hymns is the core message of the day, or the central theme of the service as drawn from the day’s biblical texts. It is our hope that as we plan worship, the hymns we choose resonate with and more deeply illuminate the word “read and proclaimed,” that is, the scripture lessons and sermon. As you sing the hymns, pay close attention to the words—you’ll be amazed at the overlap with the scripture texts. Hymn writers are saturated with scripture, and it is often possible to find multiple allusions to scripture—sometimes ten or fifteen, sometimes more—in any given hymn.

The opening and closing hymns are typically more upbeat. The first hymn, which follows the Call to Worship, is meant to offer a sense of praise and adoration as worship begins. The final hymn, which follows the pastoral prayer, is meant to energize the congregation to be sent forth into the world to put into practice the word of God that has been proclaimed in worship. The middle hymn, meanwhile, is often quieter and more contemplative, as it is meant to set the stage for listening to God’s word through the scripture and sermon.

The challenge associated with selecting hymns, of course, is the question of people’s various preferences. All of us have favorite hymns, of course, and all of us have hymns we don’t really like. Whatever the words of a given hymn, its tune makes a difference in creating resonance and making a mark upon our hearts.

Of course, there are those who mostly prefer to sing “old favorites,” and there are those who tire of singing hymns by “old dead guys.” While we generally know a good hymn when we hear it (Be Thou My Vision and How Great Thou Art are favorites for a reason), our preferences vary substantially, though we tend to think everyone else likes the same hymns we do.

So, as a general principle, as we plan worship, we try to select from a wide variety of hymns, thinking first of all about the extent to which the words are relevant to the service’s message, but also considering which beloved hymns we might include to both move our minds and stir our souls. In the end, it’s a delicate dance, but a delight for those of us with the privilege of preparing for the weekly worship of our God!

Books to Share

RPC has a “Little Free Library” outside the sanctuary on Post Street. We are looking for anyone who wishes to donate books to it. For over a year, our neighbors have loved using this little library and our books continue to disappear. So if you are cleaning out your bookshelves or you want to “declutter” your life, drop you books of in the church office. Your books will find a new home for one of our neighbors.

Thank You From Pastor Dana

I am still swooning from the overflow of love and support poured out for my ordination and installation service and reception on Sunday, March 5th. Thank you to the people who brought food and for those who helped with the superb reception in Bittinger Hall. Thank you to Josh and to the choir for showing up and for serenading us in worship for the second time that day! Thank you to everyone who participated in the event, whether from the pew, from the front, or from a distance, you truly are visible and viable expressions of God’s steadfast love!

I’m grateful to be back home, where my journey began, because there’s no place like Riverside. Let’s keep walking together to discover what lies beyond the yellow brick road.

- The Rev. Dana Riley

Welcome to Dana Riley RPC Women’s Retreat

at Marywood at the beginning of March

A group of 20 women met at Marywood Retreat Center on Saturday, March 4 for a retreat based on the Lenten theme, Seeking: honest questions for deeper faith. Emily Heeg and Pastor Lauren Scott led participants through experiences and discussions that addressed questions of faith. Several women also spent the night and enjoyed time around a bonfire on Saturday evening and a worship service on the river on Sunday morning.

“It was such a joy to attend the Riverside women's retreat that I am already looking forward to next year's retreat! The whole event was extremely well put together and deeply meaningful, in addition to also being a glorious encounter with the Divine. I am new to RPC and was hoping to meet some new people and make some new friends, too - mission accomplished! Thank you for such a lovely experience!”

- The Rev. Dr. Cynthia M. Benz

“This retreat felt really special. It was a joy to lead the retreat with Lauren Scott. We both enjoyed working with the Lenten materials that the church is using from A Sanctified Art to explore the theme of Seeking: honest questions for deeper faith. The group of women from Riverside and Woodlawn Presbyterian were so happy to be together and simply enjoyed spending time with each other as well as exploring the retreat theme through scripture, poetry, art and more.”

- Emily Heeg

Field Days Were a Blast!

Each spring, RPC hosts Field Days at three different local elementary schools (Central Riverside, Fishweir, and West Riverside). RPC and CEW (Children’s Enrichment Workshop) volunteers, school staff, parents, grandparents, and Riverside High School athletes worked together to facilitate games and activities on each school’s campus playground March 2, 9, and 10 for students in grades K through 5. We provided games for children to play, such as tug-a-war, sack races, scooter relays, bucket stack, and much more. One student’s mother shared that Field Day is the best day of the year for her child.

Special thanks to RPC members Arden Brugger, Jean Grant-Dooley, Kathy and Bud Para, Ed Pratt-Dannals, Susan Schilling, and Jon Thompson for your sharing your time, talent, and energy on the field to make these events so successful! The fun we have together makes for good times and lasting memories.

Sulzbacher Cooks / Servers

Thank you to those who cooked and served meals at the Sulzbacher Center for the months of February and March.

The Cheery Chefs for October - April: (from left to right) Judi Hardwick, Sarah Leuthold, Jo Pratt-Dannals and Margee Michaelis. Not pictured: John Kosakowski.

February Servers:

Cindy and Steve Benz, Jacob and Jesse Huber, Dana Riley, and Jaimie Smith March Servers:

Cindy Benz, Cassie and Sofia Buckner, Dana Riley, Nancy Schneider, and Jaimie Smith

the QR code

Caring For Each Other

From Pastor Ruth

Church life is all about relationships. Since coming to Riverside in January, I have learned that there are many members who have called Riverside their home for decades, and some have even attended their whole lives. Others, of course, are new to our church, seeking out a relationship with God and with other like-minded followers of Jesus. This is a good place to find that. As I talk with people by phone and in person, I hear over and over again that Riverside Presbyterian is a family. Some people express that Riverside is their family; family means little without caring, nurturing relationships.

God is the source of all loving relationship. The Book of Ruth can bring me to tears with its poetic descriptions of the way relationships form us, nurture us, and carry us through adversity. Ruth, a Moabite woman, has come to trust in the God that her husband’s family serves. When he dies, along with all their male kin, Ruth could have returned to her people, but the relationship she has formed with her mother-in-law, Naomi, and the sustenance she receives from God are everything to her. In Ruth 1:16 she speaks in heartfelt poetic lines,

‘Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

I am still learning about the many ways in which the Riverside family cares for its members; so far, I have learned that you call, visit, write to, and pray for those who are in crisis in their lives, or who are lonely and bereaved. I have learned that you provide meals for one another and for the community in a number of different ways: Meals on Wheels, Loaves and Fishes, and Meal Train are just a few that I know of so far. You care for those who are in mourning by offering the Walking the Mourner’s Path program, and walking alongside those who grieve. You serve in many healing ministries. In short, you show deep caring for one another in the way our Lord Jesus calls us to do. Because in relationship we “love one another,” it’s really that simple... and also, that profound.

May God bless you and those whom you love with strong, loving, caring relationships.

Please contact me if you or someone you know needs support - ruth.elswood@rpcjax.org

Bible Workshops

Helped Children, Youth, and Parents Explore the Bible

As part of a new comprehensive faith development program called Faith Journeys, Bible workshops were offered for children, youth and parents for 5 weeks in February and March. The workshops took place during Sunday School. Younger and older elementary children learned BIble basics. Youth addressed questions about the Bible that helped them address questions about the origins of the Bible and how to interpret the teachings in the Bible. Parents were given a refresher on the Bible basics by Pastor Brian and learned about how to help children explore the Bible and their faith with Emily Heeg.

Davis

Hardwick

Raleigh Diebenow

17

Marshall Brittle Scott Meyer

18

Angela Cummings

19

Katie Eberly

Isabelle Milne

Clarke Story

20

Elsa Evert

Sue Haehnel

21

Nancy Chamblin

Bruce Fitch Christy Gillam

22

Jan Andrews

Ben Campen

Lindsey Eyrick

23

Robert Flynn

Wiley Gillam Eric Schallen

Carr Smith

April

1 Becky Senko

Del Wallace

2

Orvin Jenkins

David Meyers

3

Gray Thomas

4

Parker Fluhr

Paul Heeg

5

Jack Adams

Josh Bryan

Kendall McGeorge

Tom Schneider

6

Thad Eshelman

Bizzy Wimberley

8 Alexis Garas

Sunelle Stander Lays

Libba McKinnon

10

Maddy Fulinara Emily Lockwood

Dana Riley

17

John Green

Missy Parks

Stephanie Rodriguez

20

Nancy Warner

21

Sarah Cotchaleovitch

Coral Day

Morrow

Ward

Colette DuChanois

Chris Bergey

Laura Crooks

Holly King Ed Pratt-Dannals

RIVERSIDE Presbyterian Church

a movement for reconciliation

849 Park Street

Jacksonville, FL 32204-3394

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