Advent at RUMC
The Advent season at RUMC will begin on Saturday, November 25th with the annual “Hanging of the Greens” decoration party in the Sanctuary beginning at 4:00 PM. We will be putting up our Advent banners and decorating our big Chrismon tree. When we are done it will begin to look a lot like Christmas. Everyone is welcome to attend the decorating extravaganza and get into the Christmas spirit.
The annual Christmas Boat Parade will assemble at the Riverview Civic Center just across the Alafia River from our church parsonage at dusk on Saturday, December 2nd. Visitors are welcome to bring their lawn chairs to parsonage lawn and view the parade from the river’s edge. As usual, Santa will be waving from one of the many decorated boats as he passes by. The parade should be fun for the whole family.
The Chancel Choir will be presenting their annual Christmas Cantata on Sunday, December 10th at the 10:30 AM Service. There will be no 8:00 AM service on that Sunday so that everyone can come and enjoy the music.
There will be two services on Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24th. There will be a 10:30 AM Christmas service in the sanctuary, and a Christmas Eve and Communion Service at 7:00 AM.
The RESTORE Food Pantry
Thanksgiving Food Giveaway
The RESTORE Food Pantry has been providing our neighbors with generous amounts of food for the Thanksgiving Holidays. In addition to our regular USDA deliveries, including lots of grapes, blueberries, and other produce, we are proving 230 families with $15 Publix gift cards as well as specially prepared Thanksgiving Holiday bags courtesy of our partner church, South Shore United Methodist Church. For the past month, we have also been receiving generous food donations from our neighbors at Lighthouse Mission on 78th Street, Feeding Tampa Bay, and the Winn-Dixie grocery store on U.S. Highway 301 and Lake St. Charles Avenue. The last Thanksgiving pickup for RESTORE will be on Tuesday, November 23rd from 10 AM until Noon. The RESTORE Food Pantry is an Equal Opportunity provider for all eligible recipients regardless of race, age, or gender.
It’s Time to Order Your Poinsettias
Once again, we are offering Poinsettias for sale. Each 6 ½” inch post can be purchased for a contribution of $10.00. Poinsettia order forms are available next to the Sunday bulletins. Please include an order form, together with your payment, cash or check made payable to RUMC) in an offering envelope and place it in the offering plate. Or you can order at the church office any weekday morning between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM. The deadline for all Poinsettia orders is Thursday, December 7th.
New Member Sunday
Pastor Telcy and the Care Committee are planning our next New Member Sunday for Sunday, January 14th. That is the special day when we will welcome new members into our church and celebrate both our New Members and our longtime members with a special luncheon after the 10:30 AM service. If you and your family are interested in becoming new members of Riverview First United Methodist Church, please contact our pastor, Rev. Louis Telcy.
Upcoming Events
Sunday, November 19th—RESTORE Food Sunday. Food and monetary donations to RESTORE.
Thursday, November 23rd—Thanksgiving, Church Office and RESTORE will be closed.
Saturday, November 25th—Hanging of the Greens for Advent, Sanctuary, 4:00 PM.
Saturday, December 2nd—Alafia Boat Parade, Parsonage Lawn, Dusk.
Tuesday, December 5th—Trustees Meeting, Library, 7:00 PM
Sunday, December 10th—Cantata, Sanctuary, 10:30 AM (No 8:00 AM Service that Sunday.)
Tuesday, December 12th—Finance Committee Meeting, Library, 7:00 PM
Sunday, December 24th—Christmas Service, 10:30 AM, Sanctuary. (No 8:00 AM Service that Sunday)
Sunday, December 24th—Christmas Eve Service, 7:00 PM, Sanctuary.
Monday, December 25th—Christmas Day, Church office will be closed.
Tuesday, December 26th—RESTORE will be closed for the holidays.
Thursday, December 28th—RESTORE will be closed for the holidays.
Our “Virtual Church” Continues
We are still currently Live Streaming our 10:30 AM Sunday worship service every week. You can see worship as it is actually happening by connecting to our YouTube Channel "RUMC Live".
Online Giving at RUMC
Giving online is easy and allows you to set up automatic recurring contributions and view your complete online giving history from anywhere you have access to the Internet. Or you can enter one-time contributions from the internet or by smart phone.
To get started, simply follow these easy steps:
- Click on the Online Giving button below. This will take you to our church’s online giving webpage.
- Click on our Create Profile button on that webpage.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to create an online profile and to schedule your recurring or one-time contributions.
Rev. Louis Telcy, Pastor
Here at RUMC, it is our mission to win people to Jesus Christ; to train believers to become growing disciples; and, to send disciples to impact our community and world for Jesus Christ.
Morning Service 8:00 AM
Fellowship Hall
Main Service 10:30 AM
Sanctuary
8002 U. S. Highway 301 South, Riverview, FL 33578 813-677-5995
Download the November, 2023
Bell Newsletter from this link.
Bible Passage of the Week
The Time Is Near
And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Romans 13:11-14 (NIV)
Prayer and Praises Kiosk
Annabel Lennard has assembled a Prayer and Praises kiosk in Crichton Fellowship Hall. It’s a special area to allow our church and neighbors to post prayer requests and praises, and for prayer warriors to pray for those who have special needs and to rejoice with those who are celebrating special occasions. Please stop by to post your own prayer request or praise, and to see what others have posted.
