This year’s Advent Concert Series at Riverside Community Church is a Christmas stocking of delights. The free concerts, on Fridays at Noon during Advent, are a 50-year tradition at Riverside and free to the community. Below is the schedule for this years series – you won’t want to miss!
December 6th | HRVHS Choir
December 13th | Paul Klemme, organist
December 20th | Tim Meyer, jazz pianist
People of all faiths, ages and backgrounds are welcome to attend. The event will include music, prayer, readings and candle-lighting. Attendees are welcome to bring a candle (glass jars recommended) and a sign or symbol for peace and a ceasefire in Gaza.
“In the midst of our holiday celebrations, we acknowledge the brokenness and violence in our world, and gather with compassion for victims of war everywhere,” said Riverside pastor Vicky Stifter.
“Our hearts ache especially for our siblings in Gaza. With more than 17,000 people killed in recent weeks, most of them women and children, and many more suffering from hunger, thirst and lack of shelter, we gather on one of the longest nights of the year to pray and act for peace,” said event organizer, Rev. John Boonstra. “We call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and ask our President, Senators, and Representatives to do all in their power to stop the violence and promote a political solution to the unrest and injustice in the region so that the people of Israel and Palestine can live in a true and lasting peace.”
Celebrate the season of advent with music each Friday at noon. A mix of music sure to get you in the spirit of Christmas. Here is the schedule sponsored by the Walton Music Fund.
Dec 8 | Kerry Williams & Barry Kranell Please join us for a special program by these two local musicians.
Dec 15 | Tim Mayer & Friends Tim and his friends will gather during the Yuletide to perform an eclectic mix of holiday standards and originals. Tim will be joined by Dave Captein (bass), Mike Grodner (drums), Dave Henehan (guitar), and Andrea Montera (vocals). Check out their Holiday playlist to check out what’s in store.
Dec 22 – RCC Chancel Choir, directed by Diana Beterbide | Kristen Warnock, guitarist As Riverside’s pianist and organist, Diana Beterbide also directs Riverside’s chancel choir. This year, she will be joined by Riverside’s newly appointed Music Minister, Kristen Warnock, to collaborate on a program mixed with traditional and folk music. Come join the fun and sing a long!
Riverside Community Church will come together and join in person with our neighboring congregations from Mid-Columbia Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and Bethel UCC for a special outdoor service to be held at the Hood River Port Marina Park. We will celebrate the special communities we call home, meet and greet friends old and new, and acknowledge the special convergence of the rivers that flow through our communities.
Readings and songs special to each of our congregations will be shared, and end with a potluck. If you’d like to join the after-service potluck, bring a dish to share, and your own plate, utensils, and perhaps a chair.
To celebrate, the organ will be played by Paul Klemme, the Director of Music Ministries at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Salem, Oregon, where he conducts four choirs and serves as the parish organist. He is a member of the adjunct teaching faculty at Willamette University and conducts the Willamette Master Chorus of Salem. Dr. Klemme was Associate Professor of Music at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington before moving to Salem. He is active as an organ recitalist in the United States and Europe. Klemme has played and conducted at the Oregon Bach Festival.
Klemme will be joined by trumpeter Bryce Schmidt. Schmidt is a guest performer at a number of American orchestras, and is an active recording artist, performing music for film and television. As a teen, Schmidt won the National Trumpet Competition’s High School Soloist division in 2006. He has two masters degrees from the University of Michigan, and earned the James Stamp Trumpet Scholarship at USC.
Riverside’s organist, Diana Beterbide, will also perform.
Tickets to the dinner prior to the concert are $50 and are available here.Proceeds from the dinner support the mission and ministry of Riverside.
Do you love to sing? Your voice is welcome! Please join Diana Beterbide as she leads the chancel choir in a joyful season of music.