The MessengerJune 26, 2016VOLUME 22 ISSUE 26

Page 3Christian Education

Page 5Community Life

& Sulzbacher Volunteers

Page 7Community

Outreach

Page 6 College /

Youth

Pages 8-9 This Month’sBirthdays &

Calendar

Page 2Music

& More

July 2016

Page 4Global Outreach & Peacemaking

Be a DiscipleWe welcome everyone Jesus welcomed.

Exodus 23:9...you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Dear Riversiders,

I saw an interesting bumper sticker recently that read something like “I am a Christian…help me act like one”. I’m not sure if it was warning people not to follow too closely to keep the driver from doing something non-Christ-like, if it meant we all need help to be held accountable to live up to the faith and values we profess as followers of Christ or it was just a prayer. As I said in my email the week after the Orlando tragedy, I have even more passion for why we need to proclaim and live the way of Jesus Christ. This is the role of the church, “to be the provisional community of the body of Christ”. So, since we claim to be Christian, then together as a church we can help each other act like one. I have a wish that whenever people drive by Riverside they remark, “there’s that church where people go who act like Christ”. Where ever we are in our world, people will see something about us—kindness, compassion, peace, forgiveness, love or justice that resembles Jesus.

As our world spirals into partisanship, incivility, violent speech and action, let us hold up the prayer each day the bumper sticker proclaims, “O God, I am a Christian, help me act like one”.

Peace, Steve

July Community Concert

Music Ministry

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FINANCIAL UPDATE as of MAY 31, 2016

Pledged Revenue Budgeted $612,500

Pledged Revenue Received $601,780

Excess or (Shortfall) ($10,720)

SUMMER CHOIR All are Welcome!

When? Sundays, July 3 - August 21 at 9:15 am

Where? Choir room, sanctuary basement

Why? To prepare for Sunday’s worship

What does No week-to-week commitment!this mean? No need to commit to singing in the Fall No Thursday night rehearsals!

A Wonderful Chance To Sing If You Enjoy Making Music• A great way to meet new people• No robes required

River City Men’s & Women’s Choruses

Friday July 157:30 pm

Church Sanctuary

Music Reading Class A group of 12-17 young musicians met together in mid-June to develop their music reading skills. Not only did we have fun playing the recorder, hand chimes and percussion instruments, but we enjoyed making new friends. This group assisted pianist, Janie Day, in accompanying the VBS children as they shared in worship on June 19. Thank you to each of you and your parents for committing to bring you each day.

Many Thanks to all the participants in our annual 4th of July Celebration of American and Patriotic Music and Dinner!!

NEW CHOIR ROBES! Hooray!

After more than 40 years, the music ministry is purchasing new choir robes! We are excited about their arrival and plan to celebrate by wearing them on Rally Day, August 28. If you would like to contribute to this purchase, please add a note - Purchase of choir robes. Thank you in advance!

Calling all young

MUSIC MAKERS !

Children’s Choir starting this Fall(Wednesday afternoons before church dinner)

If your child was a Vacation Bible School participant, he/she had a chance to experience what Music Makers will be like in the Fall. Children’s Choir is NOT just learning songs. Children’s Choir is where we learn about Music, Worship, faith and ourselves. We make music, sing, play instruments and games that teach us about God’s love. It is child-based learning in an active, nurturing environment. More details to come later.

Christian Education

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What a great time we had at Vacation Bible School and Summer in the City.

Vacation Bible School participants learned about God’s Amazing Love in music, art, Bible, recreation and snack.

Summer in the City children served at local charities including Angelwood, DESC, City Rescue Mission, Sanctuary on 8th Street and United Community Outreach Ministries.

Thanks so much to all the youth and adults who made these programs possible!

Painting with DaleCanvas Painting Project

(lunch included)For all ages

Tuesday July 19 10 am-1 pm

This activity is for children, youth and adults. Dale, RPDS art teacher and Riverside member, will lead participants step by step through an acrylic painting. This year the painting will be of veggies. No experience with painting is needed and all participants will leave with a fun and colorful painting that can be taken home. The cost is $15 for painting materials and for lunch. Nursery will be provided for children entering Kindergarten and younger.

We Had a GreatTime at

VBS Surf Shackand

Summer in the City

Global Outreach & Peace Making

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Our Presence and

Impact in AfricaRiverside sends financial support to Shelvis and Nancy Smith-Mather, our Presbyterian missionaries in South Sudan. After several months in the US, the Smith-Mathers are back in Africa.

“Our family returned to South Sudan, on October 13, 2015. As we pulled into the RECONCILE Training Center, Jordan exclaimed, ‘My house! My house! I love it! I love it! I love it!’ We are all very grateful to be back in Yei.”—Nancy

Here are more excerpts from their report about the work of RECONCILE:

“There is a battle taking place between more than just government and rebels, over more than just power, resources and revenge, in more ways than just what the human eye can see. The sound of a children’s choir practicing under a tree for Sunday worship fills one ear, and gun shots in the distance from an unknown conflict, fill the other. A national peace agreement is signed and then another ceasefire broken, but those with the peace of Christ in their hearts remain steadfast. In Pochalla, the School Management Board implemented activities to promote the importance of education and solicit a commitment from parents and youth to stay in school. For one activity, they held an education tea party for primary school students to encourage them to continue their education. Thirty women gathered in Juba for a Peacebuilding Forum. The ethnically diverse group included women from the UN protection camp. During the training, participants shared testimonies of their experiences during the conflict with the Madi people. They identified the common causes of stress in their lives, such as: “conflict between Madi in Northern Uganda and the Kuku in South Sudan, boarder disputes, land grabbing, killing of innocent lives, robbery, motor accidents, allegations of poisoning, change of leaderships, divorce, forceful marriages, mob justice, high rate of poverty, marriage separations, unemployment and child abuse. The father of Mary Lonur, a Murle participant in the forum, was killed by a Nuer during the clashes. As a result, she hated any Nuer who she came across, be it a

man or a woman. She was advised by relatives and friends to forgive and forget, but the death continued to haunt her. However, today she learned a lot from the forum; not all Nuers are bad, only some individuals among them. For this reason, she has forgiven them, including the one who killed her father. She leaves everything to God the creator, and asked God to forgive her for the bad attitude she had against the Nuer tribe.”

It is a privilege to be in partnership with our mission co-workers in other lands. Please pray for the Smith-Mathers and the people of South Sudan.

Funding Literacy in HaitiThe Global Outreach and Peacemaking Committee continues to seek gifts to fund the Haitian Literacy Project through Fonkoze. Our goal is to raise $12,500 which will be matched by an anonymous donor! If you wish to share in this project, you may write a check – made out to Riverside Presbyterian Church - with “Haiti Literacy” on the memo line. This is a life-changing program for some of the poorest women and children in the world. Thank you for your compassion and action.

“The Realities of Immigration in

Christian Perspective”Thursday July 28 6–8 pm Bittinger Hall

Join us for a timely evening presentation here at Riverside that will equip us to face our changing world with a Biblical foundation. We are hosting Matthew Soroens, author of Seeking Refuge, and Travis Trice of our local World Relief agency who will lead the event. The dynamic situation of immigration confronts Christians with urgent questions about the meanings and importance of justice, compassion, national security and human rights. Riverside’s Global Outreach and Peacemaking Committee invites you to engage these critical matters and explore the resources of our faith in a safe space of curiosity and discernment.

Com

mun

ity L

ifeSulzbacher Volunteers Thank you to the RPC cooks and servers at the

Sulzbacher Center last month:

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Cooks Sue HaehnelJane MillerKathy Dunham

Family Heritage Showcase!

Here at Riverside, we’re all about Family. Do you have family heirlooms that have been passed down for generations that you would like to share with your church family? If so, we would love to display them. Start thinking about what you would like to share.

More information and registration forms are available outside Jan Nicholas’s office.

The exhibit will be on display August 28 - September 18 in Bittinger Hall.

Join us at the Alhambra Dinner Theater

for Disney’s

Beauty and the BeastSunday, July 31, 2016

11 am to 4 pmCost: $50 per person

(please pay at time of registration)Max: 11

Be Our Guest! on Sunday July 31 for a Matinée performance of Beauty and the Beast. Relive the romance and magic of the “tale as old as time” in this live stage performance. This heartwarming tale of Belle and the Beast swirls to even greater life with the colorful costumes and the songs we’ve come to love. We’ll be swept away all over again! Lunch is included!

We can only take 11 to the show so make and pay for your reservations early! Register on iRiverside or in the Church Office.

Servers Grif HelwigMary CoxePat GurleyMargo FrazierSharon ClelandCarol ProctorKathie Briggs

Lunch Buddies’ Year-End Celebration!

Lunch Buddies celebrated the end of the school year with an ice-cream party! About 40 people, adults and students, gathered in the cafeteria at West Riverside for ice-cream sandwiches. Each Lunch Buddy gave their student a book to take home as an end-of-year gift. Steve Goyer and Jan Nicholas also came to share in the festivities. Steve was instrumental last fall in recruiting volunteers. Jan, as staff person for the Community Outreach Committee, took photos at the party. Two other staff, Bill & Breanna, have served as Lunch Buddies this year. We are thankful for such good support of the church.

Lunch Buddies are volunteers from RPC who have taken a mentoring class, had a background check and are matched up with one student from West Riverside Elementary. They meet with the student during the lunchtime once a week to talk, read or play games and to be a positive adult with a child who may need a little more encouragement. Almost 80% of the Lunch Buddies were able to come to the party which is a testament to how important the relationships have grown to be. A special thanks to Betty Rosenbloom who came up with the idea for a celebration and provided the refreshments. What a great way to close out the school year!

The following have been Lunch Buddies this year and most plan to return next year:●Arden Brugger●Neena Corbin●Laura Crooks●Joe Eberly●Katie Eberly●Laura Erdelyi (deceased)●Jean Grant-Dooley●Julie Handley●Bill Hoff●John Humes ●Jeff Lane●Sumner Lane●Bob McGeorge●Bud Para●Randy Parks●Ed Pratt-Dannals●Betty Rosenbloom●Breanna Sooter●Cindy Thompson ●David Williams as well as ●Kerri Halligan (PTA president)●Susannah Spencer (Good Shepherd) ●Marlene Strube (Trinity Lutheran)

If you are interested in becoming a Lunch Buddy for next year, please email Bud or Jean:budpara@gmail.com OR jeangrantdooley@gmail.com

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RPC Youth Summer GatheringsJuly 21 - Thursday, 6:30 pm • At M Shack Riverside• Let’s eat dinner together! Bring money for food! • There will be some chances to win a free milkshake!

August 10 - Wednesday, 6:30 pm • At Burrito Gallery Riverside• Let’s eat dinner together! Bring money for food!

Remember: We do NOT have Sunday night Youth Group in the summer.

Hey all!

This past month I was given the opportunity to participate in two different continuing education opportunities. The first was the Annual Recreation Workshop (ARW) at Montreat and the second was a “create my own” workshop in London! Every year, ARW offers me new ideas, games and resources for youth and family ministry. I always love spending time there! The second workshop I went to was a “create my own” as I mentioned. I did some research and reached out to the Diocese of London to ask about what kind of youth ministry was going on there. Through a few cold emails, I became connected with quite a few different people who were heavily invested in Youth Ministry. I met with 4 different churches/organizations that work with youth and also spent time at a high school and an elementary school. While I certainly don’t have the space here to share everything I learned, here are a few things:

• Kids are kids wherever you go. • If you’re willing to invest in them, they’re much more likely to invest in you. (Which I saw at the high school

and elementary school).

A lot of kids don’t know what happens in a church or why it’s special. While most American kids know what happens in a church (whether they go or not) this is not the case for English kids in London. If they are un-churched, they often have no idea how Christmas and Easter are related to church. A church is a building and they have little to no concept of a church being a “sanctuary” or a special and safe place. They often have a neutral opinion of church. Time is precious wherever you go. London kids, who are in stable homes, have little precious free time and going to something church-related more than once a week is considered lofty and mostly unattainable. My time in London was insightful, encouraging and eye-opening. I believe more and more that we have to invest our precious time in our precious youth. We must continue instilling in them the importance of a church family and the call to share the love of Christ with others. If your child isn’t going on a trip, we would love to see them at Sunday School or at one of our youth group dinners in July or August.

Please pray for our crazy and great summer ahead! Breanna

Community Outreach

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OFFICE SUPPLIES NEEDED! Children’s Enrichment Workshop CEW is a coalition of three Riverside schools, churches and businesses working together to provide positive enrichment activities for school students. Currently, we are collecting office supplies for each of the School Offices of West Riverside, Central Riverside and Fishweir Elementary schools. Please bring what you can to the church and place in the boxes located outside the church office or in Bittinger Hall before August 9. Thank You!

What is Needed:

• Liquid soap • Clorox wipes • Ziplocs (various sizes)• Kleenex • Hand santizer • Paper towel rolls• Post-It notes • Disinfectant spray • Scotch tape• Copy paper • Cracker packages • Juice boxes

RBI and the

Jacksonville Suns!

Join us for a night of Suns Baseball on

Wednesday July 27

This trip celebrates the 2 weeks of RBI (Reviving Baseball in the

Inner-city).

All families are welcome, and it is FREE for those

participants and volunteers in the RBI program.

(Courtesy of Massage Envy)

Please contact Jan Nicholas at the church office to be involved,

355-4585 x25. Thank You!

July Birthdays 2016July 1

O’Linn, Bob

July 2Dykstra, PeterHeeg, EvanJonas, GarlandNoon, MarilynSadowski, JimTrauger, BrentWeaver, Mark

July 3Brooks, PatriciaCassell, JimPomar, GilWilliams, David

July 4 - None

July 5Hoyt, RalphJenkins, MelindaSmall IV, ArthurTrice, WilliamWalker, Allison

July 6Dykstra, MariaLittlepage, TuckerMcDuffie, Brooke

July 7Raiser, BobThoburn, DearingWheeler, Will

July 8Bell, RanellBlackstone, JanetHager, DavidParks, Randy

July 9Morrow, SlaytonNewton, JulieSaenz, LucySchifanella, AngelaTousey, SamZacheis, Carl

July 10Clarke, AndyClarke, SandyMatson, CooperMixson, CarterPara, Miles

July 11Brosche, RohanBrugger, ArdenEkrem, CarrieFisher, Linda

July 12Clough, ChrisCranford, BollingGardner, ParklynHardwick, ParkerMcCurry, FrancesMoore, LauraWilkinson, Bunny

July 13Rattigan ChrisVillano, Owen

July 14Speckman, BrookeThompson, CindyTrauger, Sarah

July 15Ball, BradleyCampbell, MissyErdelyi, Alexis

July 16Carr, Jan

July 17Clayton, CyndyCranford, BillKovach, KadenLalic, MiraRoss, GradySpeckman, LindseyVanTice, Xander

July 18Coxe, Anne EnglishJones, BillMueller, Olivia

July 19 - None

July 20Hammond, Adam

July 21Alvarez, MauricioBlackstone, MikeFender, Martha JoMiller, JohnSaenz, John-Paul

July 22Kiser, Erress

July 23Chambers, JuneDavis, WillGarman, CameronVincent, Thelma

July 24 - None

July 25Bowen, MichaelPence, RachelRadford, CharlieSooter, Breanna

July 26Fletcher, JennaHampton, DarleneMilne, Joey

July 27Baker, JamesDoherty, BrennanGoodwin, JaneHampton, ReidMorrow, JohnWeaver, Matt

July 28Andrews, JoeGaillard, JackReddick, MacSchilling, Bill

July 29Kerr, CarolineLockwood, Norma

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RecurringEvents / Meetings

July 2016Sundays

9-9:45 am Sunday School9:15 am Chancel Choir Practice10 am Worship

Every Tuesday7 am Men’s Small Group (TP)

(Will continue through the summer)

Every Wednesday10:30 am Stained Glass (EB 101)

Every Thursday10 am Friendship Bridge (Bittinger)7 pm Chancel Choir Practice (CR/SB)

Every Monday, Friday and Saturday - No recurring church events / meetings scheduled this month

LEGEND:

EB: Education BuildingTP: Thompson Parlor (EB 200)LIB: Church Library (EB 203)KH: Kissling HallCR: Choir RoomSB: Sanctuary BasementUG: Park St Underground in SB

July 30Caraway, JimGrisnik, TimJenkins, Luke

July 31Barnes, BettyeHasselblad, CarolKlima, BenjaminMcCarty, SandraMixson, DavidPomar, AnneZeigler, Kent

During the Month of July 2016

What’s Happening This Month

Special Events Event Dates/Time Location

Montreat Youth Conference

JULY 9 - 16 Montreat, NC

River City Men’s & Women’s Choruses Perform

JULY 157:30-9:30 pm

Sanctuary

Painting with Dale

JULY 1910 am-1 pm

Kissling Hall

RPC Youth July Gathering

JULY 216:30-8 pm

M ShackRiverside

RPC at the Jacksonville Suns

JULY 276-9 pm

Jacksonville Suns Baseball

Grounds

Immigration Program

Ladies’ Night Out

JULY 286-8:30 pm

6-9 pm

Bittinger Hall

Offsite

Iona Youth Trip JULY 29 - AUGUST 7

Iona, Scotland

Lunch & Learn:Disney’s Beauty & the Beast

JULY 3111 am-4 pm

Alhambra Dinner Theater

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MeetingsDate/Time Meeting Location

JULY 56-7 pm

Community Life Committee

Thompson Parlor

JULY 64-5:30 pm

Property & Maintenance

Thompson Parlor

JULY 117:30-9 pm

Young Adult Women’s Small Group

Offsite

JULY 149:30-11 am

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

5:30-7 pm

Children’s Education Committee

Adult CE Committee

Serving at Sulzbacher

Rm 310-311

Rm 310-311

Sulzbacher Center

JULY 181:30-2:30 pm

Memory Care Group

Thompson Parlor

JULY 257:30-9 pm

Young Adult Women’s Small Group

Offsite

The Church Office will be closed on Monday July 4 in observance

of Independence Day.

REMINDER: The elevator in the Education

Building will be out of service from June 27 - July 2

Periodical Postage Paid

RIVERSIDE MESSENGER (USPS 466-960) is published weekly by the Riverside Presbyterian Church, 849 Park Street, Jax. FL 32204-3394 (904) 355-4585 Periodicals Postage Paid at Southside Blvd. Business Mail Entry Unit. Jax. FL 32216-9651 POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to RIVERSIDE MESSENGER 849 Park Street; Jax., FL 32204-3394

Address Service Requested

849 Park StreetJacksonville, FL 32204-3394

Psalm 1:3

REMINDER

The elevator in the Education Building will be out of service

from June 27 - July 2

The Church Office will be closed on Monday, July 4,

in observance of Independence Day.