Saturday Evening Worship Service

We are an independent, non denominational church that focuses on Jesus and what it means to live a life devoted to Him and becoming more like Him.

EagleRiverside

Saturday evening worship services at Riverside (for those who appreciate sleeping in on Sunday mornings).

Riverside Community Church

Covid UpdateHey there Riverside. With the major uptick in Covid cases recently we have been wracking our brains and praying like crazy trying to figure out what Riverside’s weekend services would/should look like. Trying to walk that line between caring about people’s physical health and their emotional/spiritual well being is not an easy proposition. As I say in every Covid update- I have no idea what next weekend will look like at Riverside but here’s what we’re going to try for this weekend- we’re going to do one in-person service on Saturday, November 21st at 6 PM with a limit of 30 attendees. That may seem like a small number but if the numbers trend the way they’ve been trending staying under that amount won’t be a big trick. Between the mask mandate (not many are willing to sit for an hour wearing a mask in church and more sympathetic I could not be), no coffee or donuts, the windows being opened to provide fresh air (in the winter at least it keeps people from nodding off ;0), no kids’ classes and the ever-present threat of the Covid virus we haven’t been putting too many more than that through our weekend services doing 3 in person services. You may be wondering why Saturday evening rather than Sunday morning. Great question. It’s mainly a question of logistics and making life as easy as possible for the volunteers that help make our services possible. If this Saturday evening service works out ok we may alternate every other week between a Saturday service and a Sunday AM service. But for this weekend we will try Saturday evening. IF YOU PLAN ON COMING (sorry to shout but I’m almost a boomer and I wanted to make sure you read this next part) please sign up on Eventbrite before you come. We’re going to be pretty careful about making sure we don’t have too many people in the building to safely distance and we don’t want to turn anyone away at the door. Also remember that masks are mandated under the Municipality of Anchorage’s emergency order- everyone must wear a mask (unless they are physically unable to wear one in which case they must wear a face shield). We have some really nice masks to share with you if you don’t have one when you arrive.This is an experiment to see what doing one service every weekend might look like. We may try something completely different next weekend if this doesn’t work out well. I know it’s been awfully challenging just trying to keep up with the changes at Riverside over the last several months but in a way you’re lucky- you chose to make Riverside your church which means you’re used to things not going terribly smoothly in the best of times. Thanks for your understanding and patience as we try to navigate this covid laden minefield. Which reminds me of one more thing to mention- I know all of us have very strong opinions about the Covid virus and the city’s/state’s/nation’s responses to it. Please keep your opinions about these things to yourself when at church. We are a politics free zone and right now there’s nothing more political that Covid. See you all soon (or at least sometime).Jesus is awesome!Pastor EdSince the Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything that happens along the way? Proverbs 20:24_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _New (ok so it&#x27;s not so new anymore ;0) Municipality Of Anchorage Mandate Requires Masks Be Worn In All Public Indoor Spaces Including Churches Unless You Fall Under One Of The Exemptions (click <a href="https://www.muni.org/departments/mayor/pressreleases/documents/eo-13%20signed.pdf" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here</a> to read the mandate and see list of exceptions). Wear A Jacket If It&#x27;s Cold Because We Will Have The Windows Wide Open To Allow As Much Fresh Air Into The Building As Possible (let&#x27;s hope this isnt&#x27; still a thing when winter arrives ;0)Hey Riverside- we’re back to having live church services again beginning this coming weekend (September 5/6, 202). However, we still have many restrictions we are dealing with. Read all about it:1. We are limited to 50% capacity (which if the attendance numbers in July are any indication that won’t be any trouble for us. 50% would be around 100 people and until we start kids classes up again I just don’t see us coming anywhere near that number.2. Masks are still required by the municipality in all gatherings. Sorry about that. I know all of us can’t wait to be like Saul- on the road to De-mask-us. See, it’s funny because Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus which sounds an awful lot like de-mask-us. I know, if you have to explain a joke it isn’t funny. Probably wouldn’t have been all that funny anyways but when has that ever stopped us at Riverside. Anyways, mask up Riverside for the foreseeable future. 3. Since we are required to keep a contact log of anyone who joins us at Riverside for a gathering you have two choices- first you can register for a service on Eventbrite or you can fill out a contact form when you arrive. I know it’s probably starting to feel like just coming to church sounds so exhausting but we’re all just doing the best we can to survive.4. Still no kids classes. We aren’t ready to turn our children’s church into a lab experiment just yet. Kids are more than welcome IN church but they’ll need to stay with all of us even through the boring sermon (sorry kids but I will try to make sure the video clips I use are somewhat entertaining for those of us with a more discriminating sense of humor). 5. Kitchen is still closed. If we offer food/drinks it completely changes how many of us are allowed to gather together so for the foreseeable future if you want coffee and donuts bring your own (and you don’t even have to bring enough to share!).6. We’ve brought the blue fabric chairs (the most comfortable church seating in all of Eagle River if not the entire world- who knows? I can’t prove it’s NOT true) back out but only half of them so there’s plenty of room between rows. Please keep 3 chairs between yourself and anyone not in your immediate family.7. We will be opening the windows to allow fresh air to circulate SO DRESS WARM (I don’t intend to shout that but I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss it, hence the upper caps).8. We will still celebrate the Lord’s Supper/Communion together every weekend just like we always have but the way in which we do it will be different. Rather than pass two trays- one with the crackers and one with the juice- we’ll have trays sitting on tables around the auditorium. In each slot will be two cups stacked one upon another. The bottom cup will have the cracker and the top cup will have the juice. Grab both cups and eat the cracker and then drink the juice and we’ll continue to do what Jesus asked us to do: “On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you.[f] Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.”9. No touching (fans of Arrested Development have George Senior’s voice running through your mind right about now). No handshakes or hugs. We suggest finger guns from at least 6 feet away (introverts you’re welcome). 10. We will have separate entrance and exits. Entrance will be through the double doors on either side of the building. Exits will be through the fire doors at the front of the auditorium. 11. We will have hand sanitizer throughout the building and hand washing available in the bathrooms. Please try to limit the number of people in the bathrooms to just two at a time.12. If you do not yet feel comfortable venturing out please don’t think that attending services in person is any kind of spiritual test. You don’t get extra points for showing up in person. We could try to sell the double-the-holiness thing but I just don’t see it. Keep yourself safe physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually and we’ll see you when you feel comfortable rather than when someone else tells you that you should feel comfortable.This is not going to be a smooth process but you want the good news? You have chosen to make Riverside Community Church your home so you’re used to less than smooth processes, aren’t you? There are plenty of churches out there that are well-oiled-machines that you could have chosen to call home but this is what you’ve gotten yourself into- you’re stuck with us now ;0)Remember- never stop praying about this whole situation. Jesus is awesome! Even in the midst of a pandemic. He will see all of us through this the same way He’s seen His children through the toughest of times since time began. Never forget that.I know there are A LOT of very strong feelings about how to proceed in this new reality we find ourselves in. As the church (and you are included in that word- the church is not the building located at 10301 Eagle River Loop Road- the church is the people who meet in that building and if you’re reading this then that applies to you as well as everyone else that calls Riverside home) our number one goal is unity and encouragement through all of this. Some people may feel like we are going overboard with all these precautions and are starting to feel fatigue from all the eye rolling. Some people may feel like we are being cavalier opening up again so soon and that we’re not going far enough in our procedures. It’s the way it’s always been in the church. Not always with this issue but there’s always been one issue or another that threatens the unity of the church. Paul had a lot of advice about how to handle that in Romans chapter 14. You can read the whole thing sometime but here’s how Paul sums up those who disagree with each other over matters of opinion- in this case whether it’s ok to eat meat sacrificed to pagan idols: Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval. Romans 14:1-4 (NLT)What was going on in Rome? One side felt like it was no problem to eat the meat sacrificed to a pagan idol that showed up in the meat market the day after it had been sacrificed to Apollo (or Diana or Jupiter or…). The other side felt like it was wrong to eat that meat- they felt like it was idolatry to even consider it. The meat eaters rolled their eyes at the non meat eaters. The non meat eaters shook their finger in the faces of the meat eaters. The result was not what the church is supposed to be about. Paul’s answer? Stop it. Both of you. So when we all find ourselves back together at the building we call home let’s keep in mind Paul’s advice from Romans 14. I can’t wait to see everyone again. Pray that this process goes as smoothly as is humanly possible (or whatever that passes for at Riverside) and pray for each other. I am looking forward to the day that this will all be in the past and we can resume what passes for an ordinary church service. Then your face will brighten with innocence. You will be strong and free of fear. You will forget your misery; it will be like water flowing away. Your life will be brighter than the noonday. Even darkness will be as bright as morning. Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety. You will lie down unafraid, and many will look to you for help. Job 11:16-19 (NLT)I can’t wait til all of this is like “water flowing away”. See you soon.Jesus is awesome.

Saturday Evening Worship Service

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Saturday Evening Worship Service

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