Weekly Witness

April 2, 2026

Sunday, April 5, 2026

Easter Sunday

One Great Hour of Sharing Offering

Maundy Thursday: Livestream; Bulletin

Liturgist: Cyndi Pitts

Easter Sunrise Liturgist: Birgitta Gustafson

Easter Sunrise: Bulletin

Easter Scripture: John 20: 1-18

Easter Sunday: Livestream; Bulletin

Last Week's Sermon: The Numbers Game

Interim Pastor: Rev. Frank Yates

Liturgist: Dr. Meredith Beaton

Psalmist: Thom Hinks

Greeters: Liz Bushma, Victoria Flick, Helen Huntley, Karen Payne

Ushers: Denise Baker, Reyes Chavez, Velina Chavez, Ginger Wall

Communion Servers: Sharon Glass, Betty Gobeille, Victoria Flick, Steve Sproul, Dave & Joy Sternberg

Early Morning Security: Dave Sternberg

Flowers: Our Congregation's Easter Flowers

April Sanctuary Stewards: Russ & Betty Gobeille

To view Sunday morning service, simply click on the word Livestream above. You can always go to the church website;

Main page; scroll down to Next Livestream Service to access

the upcoming Sunday service.

Pastor to People

Dear RRPC Family and Friends,

It is easy to see Easter as just another spring holiday. This year in NM we have had a round of summer first, then we have moved back into spring, where we hope we linger for a while. 

And yes we need rain very badly, a dry season for sure. This winter did not bring us much snow so there is quite a lot of concern about the small runoff for the Rio Grande River and the resultant high chance of fires this summer. So this spring leaves us a bit edgy and uncertain about the months ahead.

And that is why Easter is not tied directly to the spring season. This celebration is not just about the season of the year. Yes, Jesus was crucified during the Passover season which always happens in the spring. But his resurrection from the dead transformed all seasons entirely. Easter is not just a spring holiday. It is an event that transforms all seasons. It means that sin, despair, conflict and death will never be the final word anytime in our lives-winter, spring, summer or fall. Easter transcends the seasons and gives all the seasons a deep and resonant meaning. A divine Yes and Amen to life, life eternal.

He is not dead. He is alive. And lives among us still. That means whatever season of life we find ourselves in, Easter changes everything. My outlook. My hopes. My feelings. Easter comes in the spring, but it transforms spring into a living hope for all times.

I hope you will join us for worship this Easter morning at the 7am sunrise service and/or the 10am service. It will be glorious to praise the risen Christ together.

He is risen! He is risen indeed! 

Frank

Maundy Thursday Service

TONIGHT, April 2, 2026

7pm

Join us for our Maundy Thursday worship service as we gather in reflection and remembrance. All are welcome to come and share in this meaningful time together.

🌿 All Church Clean-Up Day

Last Saturday, a very special group of our church family spent the morning preparing our church and grounds for Holy week and Easter season. As you look around, notice that all of the dead plants, weeds and trash have been removed. Inside, you will notice the clean windows, polished woodwork, clean sanctuary chairs, and the floors which have been cleaned and vacuumed. The day was filled with joy, friendship, hard work and fun.

I know that I will miss someone, so to those who joined us, my sincerest Thank you! You a remarkable team!!

Sincerely,

Pat Gerlach on behalf of the Building and Grounds Committee

Action Alert: Humanitarian Crisis in Cuba

U.S. policy is driving a humanitarian crisis in Cuba. Across the island, essential systems, including health care, electricity, water, and food distribution, are being pushed toward collapse. While Cuba faces its own internal challenges, a deliberate U.S. strategy of “maximum pressure” is targeting the island’s fuel supply and building on decades of financial restrictions that have isolated it from the global economy. The resulting shortages of fuel, combined with tightened banking, trade, and travel restrictions, are disrupting the flow of food, medicine, and other necessities. What began as economic pressure has become a life-threatening humanitarian emergency.Nationwide blackouts are now compromising intensive care units and emergency rooms and endangering the refrigeration needed to keep vaccines and medicines safe. The loss of power is also cutting off access to clean water for millions of people, as water systems across the island depend on electricity that has become unreliable. The World Food Program (WFP) warns that these shortages are making it extremely difficult to distribute food, leaving nursing homes, schools, and hospitals struggling to provide enough for those who need it most.

For more than six decades, U.S. policy has centered on an economic embargo meant to isolate Cuba. What began as a political tool has become a system that places the heaviest burden on ordinary Cuban people, not those in power. The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has opposed the embargo since 1969, and for decades it has affirmed that broad economic sanctions which harm civilians violate human dignity and disproportionately impact the most vulnerable. It has consistently held that policies which rely on widespread deprivation to achieve political ends are unjust. In February, the PC(USA) joined other denominations in a Call to Stand with the Cuban People.

Congress now has an opportunity to take a different course. The Freedom to Export to Cuba Act (H.R. 7521 and S. 136), introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern and Sen. Ron Wyden, offers a concrete step forward. These bills would begin to lift the U.S. embargo, making it easier for food, medicine, and other basic necessities to reach people, and opening the door to more normal relations between the United States and Cuba. At the same time, a War Powers Resolution (S.J.Res. 124), introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine, would ensure that any move toward military action against Cuba requires explicit approval from Congress and would require an end to unauthorized hostilities.

Contact your Senators and Representative and urge them to support legislation to stand with the Cuban people and prevent unauthorized military action. The people of Cuba should not bear the cost of policies carried out in our name.

Lenten Devotionals

Our Lenten devotionals end on Easter Sunday. Feel free to print these out or ask Ginny (401-345-9935) for a hard copy.

Week Seven Sunday, March 29- Saturday, April 4th

Easter Sunday, April 5th

OFFERING

3 opportunities to give

March 22^nd | March 29^th | April 5^th

Thank you for your generosity!

Your Mission Committee

One Great Hour of Sharing

Thank you, Rio Rancho Presbyterian Church!

Thank you, RRPC, for the difference you are making in our world through your contributions to the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering. Your gifts have helped provide nutritious food to families in poverty both here in the U.S. and around the world. You have helped provide vocational training and improved economic self-sufficiency in war-torn Sudan. You fed and clothed victims of flooding in Ghana. You provided mental health and employment services for Ukrainian refugees in Moldova. You were there in southern California when wildfires destroyed more than 16,000 structures and burned more than 35,000 acres.

The Mission Committee of RRPC is grateful for your response to the many needs that OGHS is filling. May you have a beautiful Easter and know that you have touched lives by sharing the spirit and message of Hope.

If we all give a little, it adds up to a lot. Thank you for giving generously!! We will announce the total collected in the upcoming weeks.

April's Book:

Wild Dark Shore, by Charlotte McConaghy

We will be meeting at Nancy Henriksen's home on April 21st at 2pm. Her address is: 507 Cherish Street, Rio Rancho, NM. Feel free to contact her at nanscott4413@msn.com.

Please join us! All are welcome!

May's Book: The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese

For those who would like a head start. This is our last book before the summer break.

Church Calendar

April 5, 2026 - April 11, 2026

April Birthdays

6 Sharon Hovey

6 Betty Jarous

8 Bailey Isaacs

12 Anwi Fomukong

13 Derek Strommen

14 Nathan Secrest

15 Jane McCreary

16 Lisa Gaeta

18 Ruth Bleich

18 Sue Scott

18 Lucy Sanchez

20 Diale Fomukong

20 Cynthia Dyer

21 Isaac Pitts

24 Katie Kuechmann

25 Ariel Whitesinger

26 Jennifer Hall

28 Tim Morris

29 Ryanne Hughes

29 Jadelyn Van Sweden

The Men’s’ Group will NOT be meeting this Saturday, April 4th. We will meet instead on Saturday, April 18th at 8:00am. Program to be announced. 

It Takes a Village

We would like to thank the RRPC Men's Group for assisting us in the purchase and installation of the new RRPC Little Library. We now have a Children and Youth Little Library and an Adult Little Library. A special thanks goes to Bob Scott for the assembly and painting of our new Adult Library. We are grateful that we can promote literacy for the community. So grab a book, read a book, share a book, and enjoy!

Nancy and Scott Henriksen

2026 Spring Ring

Several members from our JuBELLation Ringers participated in the 2026 Area 11 Spring Ring for handbells which was held at the Heights Cumberland Church on Saturday, March 28th. Pictured above are Ginny O'Neill, Denise Baker, Nancy Leffler, Dave & Nancy Shambach, Lisa Wengerd.

This was a great gathering of six other bell choirs from across our state plus one from El Paso, TX. Practice started at 9am and continued to our dress rehearsal at 3pm, which made for a very long day. This year's Director was Gillian Erlenborn, who joined us from North Carolina. And our concert at 4pm was very well attended! Thank you to Doug Leffler, John, and Alex O'Neill for coming out in support of our choir!

We look forward to attending the National gathering which will be held in Albuquerque in 2027!

From Wittgenstein to Henry VIII:

Explore Upcoming OLLI Courses

From radiation in today’s world to the philosophy of Wittgenstein, the craft of memoir writing, and classic works like Paradise Lost, this month’s OLLI courses invite you to explore big ideas across science, literature, and history. You can also step into the world of Henry VIII and uncover the stories behind one of history’s most fascinating figures. Each class offers a chance to learn something new and connect with fellow curious minds.

OLLI Courses

Our Service

Men & Women

Please keep the following people

in your thoughts & prayers:

RJ Van Sweden - US Marines

Tyler Warren - US Marines

Hayden Smith - Army

Cdr. Sarah Dimmick - Navy, serving in Kyiv, Ukraine

Sgt. Kevin Lomeli - Army National Guard in Kenya

Kevin A. Baker - US Air Force in England

If you have family members serving here or overseas, please call Ginny at the church office to add them to our list. Church Office: 505-892-6664.

Prayer Concerns

“And whatever you ask in Prayer, you will receive, if you have Faith.” Matthew 21:22.

Linda Maddux - breast cancer surgery this morning

Pat McCreary - Presb. Rust hospital

Don Underwood - radiation treatments

Beth Miller - cancer treatments

Sheila Malmo's daughter, Alice

Protection for Everyone against Flu virus

For DR Congo, Gaza, Iran, Israel, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Ukraine.

For all victims of gun violence, war, and unrest.

 Rio Rancho Presbyterian Church

1004 24th Street, SE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124

505.892.6664

Office Hours

Monday – Thursday | 9am–3pm

Office email: manager@rrpchurch.org