As the Riviera Presbyterian Church begins its search for its senior pastor, Rev. Melanie Marsh takes the position of transitional pastor.
Rev. Melanie Marsh for Riviera Presbyterian
The Miami Herald reported that Rev. Melanie Marsh accepted her new role as the transitional pastor of the church in South Miami and is scheduled to start leading the congregation at 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 10.
The church released a statement, saying that the pastor will lead the church as it chooses its new permanent pastor.
Prior to this post, the reverend served the Community Presbyterian Church in Atlantic Beach as senior pastor.
Riviera Presbyterian Church
The Riviera Presbyterian Church is a church that’s open to anyone who wants to be a part of the community.
The church believes that “God makes no distinction among people” and follows the same principle.
It accepts people regardless of race or ethnic background, economic or social circumstances, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or disability.
The church is a part of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and is a gay-friendly and progressive-thinking congregation.
Beyond that, the church is also fully accessible physically and has all of the accommodations needed for handicapped people.
The church started on July 2, 1944, at the Coco Plum Woman’s Club.
The church’s first Presbyterian service had about 50 people present.
Rev. Bruce A. Cumming was the church’s first pastor. Previous to his post, he was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Homestead.
In 1949, the church established its first building, the same building that stands today as the church’s Fellowship Hall.
According to the church page, the church became an activist church during the late 1960s and even invited Cesar Chavez to the pulpit.
Riviera Presbyterian Church Earth Care, Other Advocacies
Apart from serving God, the Presbyterian Church is consistently serving the community.
For this cause, the church has the Riviera Child Care Center, Food Pantry, Sock Mission, Disaster Assistance, the YES Institute, and more.
Beyond that, the church is a part of Earth Care Congregations.
These churches are those that are consistently following God’s calling to care for and commune with creation.
Churches with this certification undertake to complete activities and projects in the fields of worship, education, facilities, and outreach.
As of now, the church has been certified by Earth care for five years. Also, it is one of the only three Certified Earth Care congregations in Florida.
Some examples of the steps that the church takes for this case if the use of native plants and butterfly plants in its landscape and a geothermal cooler for the air-conditioning of the sanctuary.
The church has a “no questions asked” food pantry that serves the food insecure in the community.
In 2020 during the pandemic, the church provided over 487 family bags and 79 single bags. Because of its work, the Presbyterian Churches (USA) certified the church as a Hunger Action Congregation.
Today, the church continues to distribute food bags on Mondays and Wednesdays at the church’s east entrance.
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