Worship
Intelligent, artistic, creative and thoughtful, challenging and spiritually moving are words used often to describe the worship experience at Riviera. At Sunday morning services, music, prayer, poetry, the bible, and the text of our daily lives are interwoven as we intentionally enter God’s presence through gathering in community, in order that we might be challenged, comforted, enriched and equipped to return to our service in daily tasks and living. Holy Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday, and in special seasons, accompanied by the ancient practice of anointing with oil for wholeness. Advent, Lent, and other special observances are additional opportunities for creative expressions of worship, including services based on the meditative Taize worship style and the use of our two community labyrinths in “walking prayer,” guided by our trained labyrinth facilitator.
Music and the Arts
Music is a central expression of faith here at Riviera, and we believe with St. Augustine that those who sing pray twice. Riviera’s vibrant all-volunteer choir leads worship each Sunday with music from traditional, global, gospel and other traditions. Several gifted instrumentalists, vocalists, pianists and organists support the music ministry, led by Dr. Warren Broome. Bell choirs, occasional ensembles and children’s choir further enhance our worship celebration. Musical theater cabarets, recitals, and the participation of children, youth and adults in the sung-prayer and celebrations of our community of faith make music at Riviera a true family expression.
Throughout our sanctuary and church facility, the creativity that marks us as made in God’s own image is expressed through the offerings of our members and friends. The sanctuary’s stunning mosaic glass celtic cross, frosted art panels, and blown glass sacramental objects support our worship with beauty. Photography, wood work and paintings enrich our common memories and reflect our life together. Occasional installations and art shows help us support divine creativity throughout our community; another way we seek to reflect the path of Christ in our life together.
Learning
At Riviera, progressive, thoughtful Christian Education has long been a core value of our life together. Classes for children of all ages, including our wonderful youth, meet on Sunday morning led by rotating teams of teachers, and professional nursery care is available at all times for little ones. Adult education occurs throughout the week, in Sunday morning classes in bible or theology before and after worship; on Wednesday mornings with community bible study, and, throughout the year, with special courses including spiritual formation, interfaith exploration, and green living as stewardship of creation. We believe that faith education is not about answers so much as it is an invitation to believers to explore, question, and discern how their faith is being applied in their lives and in the world.
History
Riviera Presbyterian Church was founded in 1945 to serve the South Miami and Coral Gables communities, a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. Growing rapidly through the baby boom of the fifties, the church began to discern its calling and solidify its identity as a progressive, liberal, social justice community of faith throughout the culture wars of the sixties and seventies. The first Presbyterian congregation to ordain a woman elder, and a vocal advocate of school desegregation, it championed racial justice and women’s rights, even when its faith stance caused the loss of members to more traditionally minded neighboring congregations. Persisting in its sense of calling, Riviera continued to develop as a progressive, inclusive community of faith to the present day; being the first white Presbyterian congregation in South Florida to call an African-American interim pastor; the first to call a married clergy-couple, and the first to declare a policy of full welcome and participation to the GLBT communities of South Florida. Riviera is a member of the Presbyterian Church, USA, and a partner in the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, a national Presbyterian body that works for a church as just and generous as God’s grace. Riviera today is a congregation of many kinds of families, seeking to become more multicultural, participative and inclusive… just like the kindom of God into which we are called.
Community
Gathering in community is a vital expression of Riviera’s life together. From the weekly “Alphabet Dinners” which precede choir rehearsal to our First Sunday potluck lunches and weekly Holy Grounds refreshments, playing, eating, and exploring our community together is not just fun, but a central expression of our hospitality, which is, we believe, a core value of the Christian faith. “Moveable feasts” gather working professionals and neighbors for monthly lunches around the city. Special Lenten season Neighborhood Oases invite families and singles from areas in our community to gather with nearby members for prayer, feasting and faith exploration. Occasional picnics, musical theater cabarets, summer “meet local authors” events, and movie night series help us live in community.
Outreach
RPC engages in active outreach and mission through a variety of service projects, mission trips, donations of resources and funds, letter writing campaigns, and the maintenance of a food pantry and socks and toiletries for the homeless. Partnerships within our facility, with the YES Institute, which does outreach and education for GLBT youth and the communities that support them; and with the Riviera Child Care Center, which provides quality care for working families and their children, infants through preschool, broaden our participation in the community. A SERRV shop, offering crafts that are fairly traded for sale is managed by Riviera members and youth. Additional commitments include monthly participation in the mission of Thelma Gibson House in Coconut Grove, with its HIV support group and assistance for economically disadvantaged children; regular Habitat for Humanity build days throughout Miami; and our congregation’s support of our pastor’s work as a national response team member for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. The congregation’s newest outreach program is a partnership with the Kiawaithangi Academy in Nyeri, Kenya, which involves financial support, prayer and participation in mission trips and community exchanges with our extended faith family in the Central Highlands of Kenya and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa.