11:00 AM worship
Luncheon: 12:30 p.m. (suggested $5.00 donation)
Concert and Rededication: 1:15 p.m.
PLEASE RSVP by Sept. 30, 2009
Email: rivierachurch@bellsouth.net
phone: 305-666-8586
web: www.RivieraChurch.org
A clergy friend of mine stopped by the church recently and asked for a tour of our restored and renovated sanctuary. Like everyone who has known Riviera church for a while, he was moved and delighted by the changes our two years of labor have brought forth: the bright, light-filled sanctuary; the astonishing stained glass cross, the flexible, clean design that restores the historic shape of our interior and makes our sacred space echo what our congregation has always stood for: an open, welcoming, creative and outward-looking community of all God’s children: Riviera Presbyterian Church, reflecting the path of Christ. He said: it’s wonderful, but where’s the statue to Saint Wilma?
He has a point. It’s hard to believe that already four years ago, Hurricane Katrina swept over Miami on its way to devastate the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. It was the fIrst of two hurricanes to make Miami landfall that season; Wilma blew across the Gulf in October, holding strength across the Florida peninsula to cause a surprising amount of damage throughout our city. It was a long, hard clean up for many, adding additional burdens to communities throughout the state who had endured two difficult storm seasons back to back.
The damage we sustained was, though not all visible, nevertheless significant, and it was sad to see the sanctuary ceilings sagging and smell the mold growing. But RPC, a church of modest means and determined character, experienced in the hurricane recovery what the apostle Paul said: all things work together for good…
A strategic plan completed just a couple of years previously had drawn the congregation’s leadership to the conclusion that extensive renovation of our aging sanctuary was imperative for the church to live into its twenty-first century mission of inclusive community, creative and thoughtful theological inquiry, and vibrant, participative faith. Our early plans created excitement, but the staggering amounts of money needed to undertake the project were daunting. “St. Wilma” proved to be the wake up call that convinced us and equipped us to move forward with retrofitting the facility and reworking our sacred space to fit our vision
and practice. But not by a long shot the only saint….
That’s the brief history that brings us to this glad invitation to you, one of the saints of Riviera’s renewal. You have supported this community of faith with your gifts, your presence, your prayers, your partnership, and
we would like you to be a part of our celebration of renewal and rededication, Oct. 4th, World Wide Communion Sunday. We will begin with worship at 11:00 a.m., followed by luncheon. Immediately after
lunch, we will return to the sanctuary for a brief celebratory concert (organ, trumpet, voice and piano…) and our rededication. Dessert will be served following the rededication… a sweet ending to the sweetest of
days. We hope that any of you who cannot attend the morning service will join us for the rededication concert and our dessert fellowship after, which will begin at 1:15 p.m.
Please join us in thanksgiving and celebration!
