Riverside Presbyterian Church 3400 North Atlantic Avenue Cocoa Beach, FL 32931 Telephone (321) 783-6085 [email protected]www.riversidepres.org The Rev. Dr. J Roy Sharpe Interim Pastor Diana Amtower Music Director Travis Smith Praise Band Leader Elizabeth Britton Office Manager Doug Kasimier Treasurer Chuck Torgler Custodian Karen Ward Audio January 2020 Down by the Riverside 1/5: Janet Clark, Art Hitch, Kay Hughes, Fred Robinson 1/7: Ruth Ella George, Robert Lehman 1/8: Cheryl King, Wauneta Lehman, 1/10: Penny Bernard 1/11: Carolyn Bonnett 1/20: Evelyn Whitehurst 1/21: Lee Bean 1/23: Kerri Bower, Jacqueline Glasser Lili Kepuska 1/26: Crissie Sibel Important Church News The Annual Meeting of the Congregation will be held on Sunday, January 26th in the Sanctuary at 11:00 am to elect new elders, deacons and nominating committee, receive the 2020 budget, and hear the annual report. Commission chairs, please ensure your commission’s annual report is submitted to the church office by January 16th. Thank you! _______________________________________________________ Blanket Sunday will be January 12. The CWS Blanket Program provides thousands of blankets worldwide each year to those who need them most. Your support means comfort for neighbors who are facing displacement, disaster or the strain of poverty. Continue to spread the joy at: cwsblankets.org/donate. Offering envelopes will be in the bulletin on January 12, 2020. JANUARY BIRTHDAYS
Blanket Sunday will be January 12. The CWS Blanket
Program provides thousands of blankets worldwide each
year to those who need them most. Your support means
comfort for neighbors who are facing displacement, disaster
or the strain of poverty. Continue to spread the joy at:
cwsblankets.org/donate.
Offering envelopes will be in the bulletin on January 12, 2020.
JANUARY BIRTHDAYS
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Our goal is to provide you with
regular updates on where we are in
this process. Please feel free to ask
any of the committee members about
the process, but we are sure you
understand that we will not be able
to share confidential information
about individuals.
First, we want to thank the
Interim Pastor Nomination Committee (PNC) on the selection of Roy Sharpe as our
interim pastor, who is trained and certified in this type of role. His years of insights
will be very helpful as we go through the pastor search process.
One misconception is that this process should be quick, perhaps weeks or months like
hiring practices in the private sector. This pastor search process, is a solemn process,
intended to be open to God’s guidance in this journey of discovery. According to
presbytery, this process could take nine months to two years. But we certainly will do
our best to move the process along in a thoughtful and timely manner. Our first meet-
ing was on December 10, with representatives from the Presbytery of Central Florida.
We now have a liaison assigned to us, Laurie Rodriquez from the Commission on
Ministry. Due to the Christmas season, our next meeting is January 13, thereafter,
we intend to meet weekly for a period of time. The first step in the process is to fill out
the Mission Information Form, which contains information about our church and how
we carry out our mission. This is a very important document as it will be matched
with the Pastor Information Forms that candidates have filled out.
In the Presbyterian Church, you, the congregation have entrusted the PNC to do the
“due diligence” to identify a candidate. However, the final approval is yours, the
congregation of Riverside. We ask that you will continue to pray that our discernment
and wisdom keep us open and receptive to the will of God in this journey.
Sincerely your Pastor Nomination Committee,
Debbie Burleigh, Dan Coon (vice-chair), Gerry Harris, Bev Kasimier, Nelson McCray,
Becky Reed, Anda Ray (chair), Jack Sprunger (alt), Laurie Casto (alt)
J ANU ARY 2020 DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE PAGE 3
FELLOWSHIP DINNERS: SAVE THE DATE, JANUARY 7, 2020 6:00 PM
We would like everyone to mark their calendar now, to attend the next First Tuesday Fellowship Dinner, January 7, 2020. We will have “one of our own” members as our program speaker., Caroline Burns. She was raised here and attended Riverside Presbyterian Church.
Caroline Burns, daughter of Rebecca and Steve Burns has served as a missionary to orphans and vulnerable children with Back2Back Ministries for the past 12 years. She lived in Monterrey, Mexico for 8 years and spent 4 years as a caregiver in an orphan-age there. Caroline currently teaches and trains Trauma Competent Care with Back2Back and teaches around the globe about the impact of trauma, abuse and abandonment. Caroline will share about her ministry but also about how to be a trauma-informed church to help reach the broken in our own backyard.
Caroline was baptized and reared in the faith here at RPC, and she can trace her call to mission and ministry to some of the people and experiences that surrounded her as she grew up in this church. She is excited to have this “homecoming” opportunity to share with her home church and old friends, and looks forward to meeting newer members who don’t know her yet!
Dinner from A NY Pizza House located in Cocoa Beach!
Reservations are required. Please sign up on Sundays in Fellowship Hall after worship or call the church office. Payment is to be made with reservation.
Cost: $10/person * $5/child * $20/family
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January News from the Presbyterian Women
A lovely Christmas Tea, Saturday, December 7th, was attended by
approximately 35 ladies. Our church Music Director, Diana Amtower, provided a
holiday music program with a carol sing-along. Our thanks and appreciation go
to her and also to the trio of young ladies, Kiley, Trinity and Marleigh who sang
together, and each gave a solo performance of Christmas Music. Twenty-seven
Salvation Army gift bags were collected at the tea, and have been delivered to the
Cocoa Salvation Army center.
The PW annual end of the year donations went to the following recipients:
Angel Flight S.E.; Central Brevard Sharing; Columbia Theological Seminary; PCI
Women’s Development (Stitch’in Sisters); Salvation Army; Second Harvest; Space
Coast Seafarers; St. Vincent DePaul; Duvall Home and the Thornwell Home. A
$500 donation towards the renovation of the Knox Parlor Kitchen will be sent in
early January. Again the congregation will have the opportunity to participate in
the annual Blanket Sunday on January 12th. These funds can provide warmth,
rudimentary shelters and farm equipment tools to better the lives of people
globally.
The Riverside Presbyterian Women invite all ladies to join in the Deborah
Circle and the Hannah Ruth Rebekah Circle. The Deborah Circle and Women’s
Bible study meet on Wednesday evenings at 7 PM.
Hannah Ruth Rebekah Circle meets the third Tuesday of
the month at 1 PM. All circles meet in our Knox Parlor.
This year’s Bible study is entitled Love Carved in Stone,
