Ministries and Mission

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[b] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[c] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d] There is no commandment greater than these.”

–Mark 12: 28-31

RPC ministries arise naturally from the generous range of gifts among congregation members. We offer worship centered on biblically-based preaching, self-reflection as individuals and a community, and on the sacred experience of God’s divine presence in our lives. Led by our pastor, the Reverend Krystin Granberg, laypeople participate as liturgists and through responsive readings, prayer, and song. A sermon, usually delivered by Pastor Granberg , guides contemplation. The chancel choir, directed by Eva Carrasquero, and organist Douglas Reed provide musical offerings that complement the liturgy and sermon and contribute to the spiritual experience.

Sunday morning nursery care and church School for children ages birth through third  grade is available, and older children and youth are encouraged to participate in worship and other church activities. We care for the sick, grieving, and homebound among us. We eat, study, play, sing, and sometimes dance together. We open our facilities and grounds to neighborhood groups and have opportunities to serve and love our neighbors near and far by sharing our treasures and talents.

Worship is held in the RPC sanctuary at 10:30am. During summers (the first Sunday in July through Labor Day weekend) it begins at 10:00am and is often held in Duff House for the air conditioning. Worship is available through zoom to those unable to attend in person. Please email the church to receive the RPC eWeekly where zoom links can be found.

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The Board of Deacons

Our deacons’ ministry is to offer hospitality and care for the congregation. Our deacons provide for greeting and ushering during worship; prepare fellowship hour after church; set the table with bread and wine (juice) for communion; distribute sanctuary flowers after worship; and reach out to the sick, the lonely, and those in distress. The Deacons’ Fund is a discretionary fund made up of donations from congregation members and friends. It is used in situations of need and emergencies in the community. The deacons also administer the Master Fund that provides financial help (“camperships”) to enable children and youth to attend the Presbyterian Camp at Holmes. Deacons are elected by the congregation from among active members, and a representative of the Board of Deacons sits on the Worship, Mission, and Congregational Life committees.

The Session

RPC is governed by a board of ruling elders, known as the Session, elected from among the members of the congregation. They chair committees that are responsible for worship, finance, stewardship, education, mission, and congregational life, among others. The Pastor serves on the Session and many of its committees.

Mission and Outreach Opportunities

Through our Mission Committee, we have supported and continue to support projects beyond the Presbyterian Church, in our city and the world. Examples of our continued outreach include gathering school supplies for low-income families at the start of the school year, helping provide support for refugees fleeing turmoil; and partnering with international aid organizations for alternative Christmas gifts—donations that provide livelihood items for families in need across the globe. 

The Riverdale Kingsbridge Marble Hill Food and Hunger Project is always in need of food staples for the those experiencing financial difficulties. The pantry is located at the Church of the Mediator, just down the hill from RPC. We invite worshipers to bring food donations every Sunday and leave them in the shopping cart by the chancel. Nonperishable items are requested, as well as baby care and health care products. When the cart is full, RPC members deliver the items to the pantry.

RPC members have organized special diaper drives to collect necessary but expensive items for families of babies and young children. Although we advertise the drives as a set number of weeks, we gladly accept donations for the Food and Hunger Project, either financial or care products, at any time.

Alternative Gifts Catalogue
At Christmas our members use our “Alternative Gifts Christmas Catalogue” to honor those they love by purchasing goods and services for those in need both in the US and abroad.

Mission Trips
RPC has taken mission trips to an array of sites where our members can learn about the experiences of those elsewhere in the world. Choices of destinations seek to answer our questions about pressing problems in the world and ways that we can learn and change lives—our own and others’. In past years, our youth have helped rebuild homes in post-Hurricane-Katrina New Orleans and have worked with children in inner-city Washington D.C. and rural Appalachia. Intergenerational trips have traveled to Nicaragua and to Puerto Rico  in the aftermath of natural disasters. A group traveled to Scotland to learn about the history of the church and the founding of the Presbyterian denomination in that country. Our paster joined an interfaith group of religious leaders who journeyed to Israel following the October 7, 2023, attacks to learn about Israeli and Palestinian cooperative efforts toward peace. And a congregant traveled to the US-Mexico border to bring back the stories of those seeking asylum in the US and the organizations working to assist them.

RPC holds fundraisers and accepts donations to offset travel cost to make the trips possible for as many travelers as would like to join.