Looking Back
Joshua & Jessica Hearne
CBF Missionaries, Grace and Main Fellowship
Josh and Jessica are members of Grace and Main Fellowship, an intentional, Christian community in Danville, Virginia that is committed to hospitality, shared resources, prayer, nonviolent activism, and grassroots community development. Jessica and Josh spoke with the River Road community about their work alongside folks experiencing homelessness, hunger, poverty, addiction, housing insecurity, and other injustices.
Tom Graves
1968—The Year that Changed our Nation (and also Many of Us)
With forty years of perspective, Dr. Graves eloquently and humorously shared his recollections of the national, international (and even some personal) events of 1968. It was a year of war, assassinations, riots, protests, and political turmoil, which changed our nation and altered the lives of many of us.
Tiffany Terry
Outside the Walls with CARITAS
For 30 years CARITAS, has been helping to end the cycles of homelessness and addiction, and you, River Road Church, Baptist, have been part of that work. Tiffany Hall Terry, director of Community Engagement at CARITAS, shared more about their $30 Million project that is helping to confront homelessness and addiction.
Theodore Brown
Pastor-Elect of Quioccasin Baptist Church
Dr. Theodore Brown shared a word of inspiration and Bible Study. Theodore is the pastor-elect of Quioccasin Baptist church, our closest neighboring African-American congregation.
Rabbi Hal Schevitz
The Jewish Festival of Purim
Rabbi Schevitz from Congregation Or Atid led us in the reading of the Book of Esther and helped us to see the comedy and irony within. This story of salvation from extinction in ancient Persia is the foundation for the Jewish holiday of Purim, celebrated by levity and laughter, wearing costumes, and the consumption of triangle-shaped fruit-filled cookies called hamantaschen.
Looking Ahead
The Board of Christian Education and Spiritual Formation and the pastoral staff have been dreaming and planning Wednesday night experiences designed to help form our faith as a family together. Beginning in the fall of 2018, you will begin to notice some changes to our Wednesday night offerings, which we call Thoughtful Faith Community (TFC).
Below are just a few of those changes.
Schedule
- 4:45-5:30 – River Road Camerata
- 5:30-6:15 – Dinner and Prayer Time
- 5:45-6:30 – Children’s Choirs
6:00-7:00 – TFC-Youth- 6:15-7:00 – TFC-Adults
- 6:30-7:00 – TFC-Kids
Missions Education for Children
Last year we experimented with a rotation model for children, where this year we’ll focus upon Missions Education. Our children will learn about the missionaries our church supports, other cultures, and mission opportunities in Richmond and around the world that they can become involved in.
Youth Program
Rev. Marnie Fisher-Ingram, our Associate Pastor for Youth & their Families has planned youth activities and discipleship offerings for our teenagers to grow together as a spiritual community and have fun together.
Intergenerational Activities
There will be a few TFC offerings that are intergenerational in nature. These programs and worship services will allow us to get to know one another better and learn how we can serve God and our communities as God’s children, all ages, working and learning together.
Just for Fun!
River Roaders love to laugh and have a good time together, so a few of our TFC programs will be just for fun! From a church-wide trivia night to a Christmas sing-a-long, we hope you’ll come and share an evening of fun and laughter with your church family.
Originally published in the 2018 Fall Quarterly Explorer
TFC begins Wednesday, September 12, 2018! Click here for more information about this semester.