The Messenger November / December 2023

the

Messenger

VOLUME 29 ISSUE 6 NOVEMBER 17, 2023

CONTENTS

November / December 2023

Yellow House Reflection ................................................................................................................................................. 5 Welcome to our New Members! .................................................................................................................................... 5 Why Do We Do What We Do? by Pastor Brian ................................................................................................................ 6 Photos from October ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 Have You Noticed the Music Notes? ............................................................................................................................. 8 Construction is Underway! ............................................................................................................................................ 9 Merchants of the Month .................................................................................................................................................. 9 Earth Care Update .......................................................................................................................................................... 10 How to Be a Good Neighbor: Caring Tree ................................................................................................................... 10 December and January Birthday List .......................................................................................................................... 11

Join us during Advent!

Worship services, events, service opportunities and more

www.rpcjax.org

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Blessing of the Animals

RPC’s furriest members gathered for a blessing on October 2, 2023. It was so special to see so many Riversiders introduce their animals to their church family for the first time as we shared a blessing for all of our animals.

$15 suggested donation for Advent wreaths

From Your Pastor Brian Lays

Dear Riversiders: The countdown to Christmas has begun! At least, it has for my son James: he’s been listening to a song “Countdown to Christmas” repeatedly as he jumps on his trampoline with a big smile on his face.

The song details everything that has to happen as Christmas comes into focus on the horizon: decorating, shopping, and of course, baking cookies for Santa. I get stressed just thinking about it all!

The way that we in the church countdown to Christmas is by observing the season of Advent. Some years, Advent begins in the last days of November, but this year, Advent will be as short as possible: It begins on December 3, and December 24th is both the 4th Sunday of Advent (in the morning) and Christmas Eve (in the evening).

With as little time as possible to spiritually prepare for the birth of Christ, we’d better get off to a good start!

We will follow all of the wonderful Advent traditions at Riverside this year. Christmas Riversiders will be on December 3rd at the Beau Rivage. We will gather as a church to decorate for Luminaria on December 10th.

Our Lessons & Carols service will feature in 10:30 morning worship on December 17, immediately following Christmas Breakfast. And yes, on Christmas Eve, we will worship both in the morning (8:30 am and 10:30 am) and the evening (4:00 pm, 7:00 pm, and 10:30 pm)!

I know some of us have been listening to Christmas music since Halloween, while others of us are putting it off for as long as possible! However, don’t let Christmas sneak up on you this year, at least not spiritually. Make it a goal to use the season of Advent to prepare for Christ’s coming, and you’ll be surprised how much more meaningful candlelight Silent Night will be on Christmas Eve! See you soon!

Pastor Brian

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A bi-weekly Advent Devotional will be available via email

Dedicate Christmas flowers and greenery in memory of, or thanksgiving for, or choose a ministry you wish to honor at Christmastime. Look for the Christmas Flowers and Greenery envelopes in the bulletins on Sundays or go online: www.bit.ly/christmasflowersRPC November 26 - Advent Workshop, 9:00 - 10:30 am in Bittinger Hall.

Make an Advent wreath and more! All ages.

December 1-16 - Coat Drive for DESC. Bring new or gently used coats to RPC. Sunday, December 3 - Surviving the Holidays: GriefShare Workshop, 12:00 2:00 pm - Riversiders Adult Potluck, 6:00 - 8:00 pm at Beau Rivage. Please bring a dish and drink to share!

December 4-9 - Ring the Bell for the Salvation Army at Riverside Publix. Sign up for 1-hour shifts with friends or family! www.bit.ly/RPCbellringing Tuesday, December 5 - Midday Music Concert, 12:00 - 12:30 pm in the Sanctuary

Sunday, December 10 - Caring Tree - Gifts due at RPC by 11:30 am, stay after worship to sort!

- Luminaria Setup, 5:00 - 6:00 pm, all ages welcome.

Meet in the breezeway to help assemble luminaries.

Tuesday, December 12 - Midday Music Concert, 12:00 - 12:30 pm in the Sanctuary Sunday, December 17 - Christmas Breakfast, 9:00 am, RSVP in Friendship Pad or via Evite. This will be a special breakfast in lieu of the typical Christmas Dinner. Please join us!

- Lessons and Carols Service, 10:30 am Join us for one of the most beloved services of the year, featuring the Riverside Choir accompanied by a string orchestra and the Riverside Handbells. Inspired by the world-famous Festival of Lessons and Carols at King’s College Cambridge, the service will feature anthems—all by living composers—and our favorite carols interspersed with the Biblical narrative of the anticipation and birth of Jesus Christ. You won’t want to miss this musical highlight of the season!

Tuesday, December 19 - Midday Music Concert, 12:00 - 12:30 pm in the Sanctuary

Wednesday, December 6 - Dinner Church, 5:30 - 6:00 pm, please RSVP so we can prepare a meal for you! www.bit.ly/dinnerchurchdec6 - Wednesday, December 20 Caroling on the Corner, 6:00 pm, Meet on the corner of - Blue Christmas Service on the Longest Night, 6:30 Park and Post Streets. No musical experience needed!

7:30 pm at Riverside Park United Methodist Hot cider and hot chocolate provided.

Sunday, December 24 Thursday, December 7 and Friday, December 8 - Worship at 8:30 am and 10:30 am - Caring Tree Drive-Thru Drop Off in upper lot, - Christmas Eve Worship Services at 4:00 pm, 7:00 pm, 4 10:00 am - 2:00 pm and 11:00 pm (10:30 pm prelude)

Yellow House Dana Riley

On a Sunday afternoon in early October, a group of people from RPC were welcomed to a neighborhood art gallery called The Yellow House on King Street. Local artist and activist, Hope McMath, facilitated our discussion and tour of the current exhibit entitled, The Freedom Ride. We were treated to a special time with artists Niveah and Reign, who described their individual art pieces and accompanied us through the gallery. Their art is inspired by the Freedom Rides of the Civil Rights era and is a response to a rise in recent racial disparities and censorship in our community.

The artists helped us better understand their journey through lived and shared experience.

We learned about everything from Black hair to bus seats, lunch counters to mug shots. It was an honor for us as visitors and listeners and neighbors to support and engage with these young creatives who stand on the shoulders of many who came before them and continue to follow their lead on the path of progress while honing their way forward. May we do the same.

Would you serve as an Usher?

We are in need of more ushers to help greet, pass the plate, and assist worshippers (if needed).

Welcome to Our New Members!

Each issue of the Messenger highlights members who have joined since the previous Messenger issue. Please join us in welcoming these new members into our community!

Serve weekly / biweekly / monthly Please scan the QR code, email hello@rpcjax.org, or call (904) 355-4585.

Laura Silva

Eve Egan

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Why We Do What We Do Pastor Brian Lays

Why Do We Receive Communion by Intinction?

For this last installment of this year’s column about why we do what we do in worship, let’s consider why we observe the sacrament of Holy Communion the way that we do.

We receive communion by intinction, which means we dip the bread into the cup before consuming it. (The word intinction comes from the Latin intinctiō, which means “a dipping in.”)

You’d be surprised (or maybe you wouldn’t) how much fiery debate there has been about whether or not intinction is a proper method of administering the sacrament. It is unclear when the practice began, though Julius I in 340 A.D. rejected the practice in his writings about how to celebrate the Lord’s Supper properly. It may have later become more widely adapted as a way of administering the bread to the sick or to infants who otherwise would struggle to swallow the bread. There may also have been a practical impulse toward intinction: The wine (or, in our case, juice) is less likely to spill!

The case against intinction argues that the Church should follow carefully the sequence Jesus follows when he institutes the Holy Meal in scripture. The two elements must be consumed separately, in succession (“after supper, he took the cup”), rather than mixed and consumed at once. Furthermore, the reception of the cup must involve drinking (“drink of it, all of you”).

On the other hand, the case for intinction has to do with the unity communicated by sharing one bread and one cup.

Paul writes, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

Just as we have one Lord who gives himself to us in the sacrament, so we ought to receive it as one. Sharing one cup is a powerful symbol of unity. Passing around a whole bunch of little cups is perfectly suitable, but doesn’t visually convey the fellowship of sharing a common cup in quite the same way.

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Shiver at the River

...but make it extra creative!

With imminent construction in the Rice Sports Zone area, we had to get creative with this year’s Shiver at the River. We moved the event inside Kissling Hall, setting up carnival game stations all over the auditorium while a spooky soundtrack set the mood. Our trunk-or-treat was held in the upper lot. Many Riverside families came out to enjoy fun, fellowship, and of course, hot dogs. We are already looking forward to utilizing the Family Life Center and improved sports fields for next year’s Shiver!

Cheering on the Parade!

In October, a group of Riversiders stood on the corner of Park and Post one Sunday afternoon to cheer on participants who danced and floated their way through Five Points in the annual River City Pride Parade. A good time was had by all!

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Music Notes Matt Bickett

Have you noticed the “Music Notes” at the end of the bulletin?

Having just left a long stint in higher education, I often find my mind wandering back into the habits and rhythms of academic life. One of those habits, perhaps the most annoying, is asking obvious questions that everyone already has the answer to. Even worse, academics then dwell endlessly on these obvious questions (often for an entire lifetime!). The obvious question I keep returning to is this: what exactly is music, anyway? The answer is, clearly, the songs we listen to on Spotify and the hymns from Sunday worship that we hum to ourselves throughout the week. But what about those things make them music? One common definition, “organized sound”, breaks down as soon as we consider things that fit this definition that aren’t music, like birdsong or the rhythmic chugging of a train moving down the track. Those are two examples of sound with highly organized and predictable sounds (birdwatchers even use them to identify birds), but we wouldn’t call them music.

So if it isn’t just the organization of sound that makes music what it is, what does make music what it is? Musicologists can help us cut to the chase here to give us that most evasive of answers: we can’t really define music. Music somehow escapes every effort of ours at nailing down exactly what it is—a problem that vexed Reformed theologian John Calvin. This is a significant concern for an aspect of worship that so deeply moves us and so deeply expresses our faith.

This meandering exercise in speculation on music points to the reason I write our weekly Music Notes. We desire to understand how sacred music shapes our faith, but we struggle to even define music in the first place. Rather than trying to approach Sunday worship with all of the answers in hand, sacred music in worship reminds us of just how little we are in control. We trust that God transforms our music in worship into an act of praise and glorification of God, amidst the lament, joy, sorrow, and gratitude we musically express in these moments.

Music Notes in our weekly bulletin help to equip us as worshipers to participate fully in these musical expressions in two ways. First, by focusing attention toward aspects of the music that might deepen our faith, we can consciously find more meaning in the music we sing and worship through in services. Second, weekly Music Notes partly quell our anxieties over music becoming a distorted experience that might turn our attention toward sinful aspects of the world. By examining connections between our music and the tradition of faith, we are freed to trust in the grace of God to transform sinful aspects of these musical experiences into worship of our Creator. Equipped with the historical background and presentday context of the music we worship through, Music Notes help us to more fully give ourselves over to God during our sacred time together.

Beginning December 5

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Construction is Underway

Construction on the parking lot as well as the Family Life Center and new Rice Sports Zone has begun!

While work on the new Oak St. parking lot (the old 1016 Oak St. Building area) began a few months ago, heavy tree removal and construction began on November 1, 2023. On the same day, construction fencing was placed around the large parking lot with sidewalks and landscaping being removed almost immediately! Until the new parking lot is finished, which will be a few months, we will need to be patient and flexible when it comes to parking on campus. Thankfully, it is a cool time of year, and this is a short-term inconvenience that will soon yield wonderful long-term fruit! Please feel free to reach out to the church office (904) 355-4585 if you have any questions.

Kathy Stark’s artwork is currently on view at the Cummer Museum in the Bank of America Concourse Art Shop in conjunction with Outside: In. This is on the way to the restaurant (free entry). Make sure you visit her large-scale oil and watercolor paintings featuring scenes from Northeast Florida!

Merchants of the Month RPC highlights and supports three Five Points neighborhood merchants each month. This is a great way to get to know our neighbors and to spread hospitality by shopping with them.

November: 8th Day Tattoo, Alewife Bottle Shop, Hoptinger Bier Garden December - Raindogs, Biggies Pizza, Mixed Fillings Pie Shop

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Earth Care Update Way to go, Lisa Williams!

Many of you know Lisa Williams has led many of the Earth Care initiatives at Riverside over the years. This includes groups from the church (and other groups) visiting her yard (a native plant - wildlife sanctuary) as well as countless power point presentations, Sunday School classes (and to other organizations), organizing Earth Care Month, and our special Earth Care service. The Williams’ residence was recently awarded the Native Garden of Merit award from the Florida Native Plant Society, a statewide yearly competition.

This recognizes the 90+ native plants living around their home.

Congratulations, Lisa! Thank you for leading and teaching us all.

How to Be a Good Neighbor Jo Pratt-Dannals In our neighborhood of Riverside there are many families struggling to make ends meet. One way I have found to be a “good neighbor” is to reach out to these families through the Caring Tree. The process begins in September when I contact school representatives who know the needs of the families at West Riverside and Ruth Upson Elementary Schools and at Presbyterian Social Ministries. They provide a list of students and gifts they have requested. This year we will provide two gifts each to 400 children in our neighborhood. Riverside Presbyterian Day School also joins our mission and provides gifts for over 100 refugees from Lutheran Social Services. Volunteers help transfer gift requests to paper ornaments. Some gifts are placed online on Sign Up Genius for your convenience.

From mid-November, you will see the Caring Tree filled with ornaments in the sanctuary. Each of us who is able is asked to take one or more ornaments and follow the instructions on the back. Popular items include clothing, games, sports equipment and art supplies.

Bring your wrapped gifts with the numbered tags to church by Sunday December 10 - Caring Tree Sunday. After the 10:30 service, if you can stay for 30 minutes, we could use your help sorting gifts. After the sorting is completed, a smaller designated group of volunteers check, bag, and deliver the gifts to the schools. Parents of students pick up gifts at the school so it remains anonymous. In addition, each family receives a Publix gift card from our church.

Your generous support to Caring Tree over the years has touched me deeply. On December 10, when you bring your gifts and place them at the front of the sanctuary, you will be part of an amazing direct ministry to children in our neighborhood. We give a simple gift to each child, but the message is much bigger. To each child you are saying, “ You are part of the Christmas celebration. You are an important part of the family of God.”

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December Birthdays 12 1 Valerie Trescot Ron Roberts Neil Schoenberger 13 Durham Branch 2 Russell Glasheen Kate Adams Lee Sickels Ann Anderson Anne Craig Charnley 14 Leigh Israel Elaine Akin Amy McGeorge Judy Davidson Jessica Roberts Matt Stiefel Harth Schallen Emily Thomas 15 Patricia Helwig 3 Caroline Morgan Jenna Dajani Keely Woodall Hylton Early Sharon Meehan 16 Susan Schilling William Ashley Kristin Taylor 4 Luke Rattigan 17 Alex Fallucco 5 Caroline Harrell Kathie Briggs Henry Coxe 18 Zoe Upright Gracie Lambert Andrea Telenga 6 Palmer Bell 19 Peggy Scheu Pam Roberts Mac Verlander Rosemary Stout Clay Tousey 7 Nancy Howard 20 John Sapora Diane Schwalbe Brenda Trinder Reggie Touchton

26 Joel McEachin

8 Margot Wrenn Nancy Carlton Jane McCullagh Matthew Stevenson

4 Emerson Coxe Doris Thomas

9 Roberta Birch Ian Cotchaleovitch 10 Ann Harrell Jack Hazard Susan Pardue Susan Sontag 11 Courtland Rice

21 Susannah Doherty Braxton Gillam Rebecca McNeil Johanna Nordhorn Elizabeth Robbins 22 Brian Lays 23 Jamie Hoener Susan Humes Claire King 25 Tina Goedtke Connie Overton

27 Jasper Tran 28 Norma Farnell Amy Ward Kitty Williams

8 Wade Hampton Lindsay Helms 10 Ron Mason 11 Marshall Morgan Scott Powell

29 Molly Eyrick Sam Leuthold

12 Brenda Dohn Joe Eberly

30 John Bartholomew Julie Bluett Luetta Graham Elizabeth Meux

13 Dwight Bayley Kim Gleaton

31 Bonnie Drewes Chase Schallen January Birthdays 1 Vance Walker 2 Dan Blanks Sam Boyd 3 Rob Rogers Bill Scheu Pat Setzer Mildred Taylor

5 Lauren Buberger Hillary Riley Julie Ryan 6 David Anderson Allison Boyd Bob Cook Geoff Gartner Julie Handley 7 JT Anderson Willa Graham

14 Jane Ellen Pollock Paul Wrenn 15 Don Downing Jan Downing Brandon Hillard Michael Perry Julie Wells

21 Patrick Andrews Julie Baker Lee Carswell Mae Farnell Margee Michaelis Barbara Pence Dave Pierson 22 Allison Cheek Matson Coxe Jason Evert Michaela Fox Will Proctor Ryan Telenga 23 Mary Campbell Bill Schilling 24 Lissa Kiser 25 Ham Cooke Jesse Huber Patricia Miller Grier Wells

16 Jacob Campen Chris Nuland

26 Gladys McKibbin Cory Meyers

17 Emily Parks Jessica Stevenson

27 Chris Creed

18 Phyllis Brinkley Molly Foukal Mattox Hair 19 Haiden Christian Robert Elrod Davis Meux Olivia Meux

28 John Hartman 29 Adger Andrews Marlene Goodwin Percy Rosenbloom 30 Grif Helwig Elizabeth Jolley Paul Kramer

20 Portia Alvarez 31 Joe Biderman James Bryan Lawton Green Madeline Kerr Jacob Huber Abby Scott Ron Littlepage Robert Shipp Andy McNeil If we are missing your birthday, please call the Church Office Jim Overton (904) 355-4585 or Christine Rosenbloom

email communication@rpcjax.org

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Christmas Eve Services 4:00 pm, 7:00 pm, 11:00 pm (10:30 pm prelude)