Weekly Witness

November 20, 2025

Sunday, November 23, 2025

24th Sunday after Pentecost

Reign of Christ / Christ the King Sunday

Sermon Text: I Samuel 8: 1-22

Livestream; Bulletin

Guest Pastor: Rev. Margaret Crowl

Last Week's Sermon: Your Calling

Liturgist: Helen Huntley

Psalmist: Dave Shambach

Greeter: Beth Miller

Ushers: Marie Fry, Pat & Leah Gerlach, Joy Steinberg

Flowers: Given by Crystal for Ona's Birthday, the best sister & friend a person could ask for!

Early Morning Security: Liz Bushma

November Sanctuary Stewards: Liz Bushma and Sharon Glass

Hospitality: The treats this Sunday are provided by the Mission Committee in gratitude for our congregation's generosity!

Thank you for all of your support!

Pastor-to-People

Dear RRPC Family,

Just a brief word to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving. And to thank all those who are preparing for our Thanksgiving feast at the church on Thursday beginning at 11am. I hope that all of you, wherever you are gathered, will have a blessed moment of gratitude for all the blessings of our lives. I am most grateful for faith, family, friends, and food on Thanksgiving Day. Sharon and I will be in Mexico giving thanks for you all.

I want you all to know what a blessing you have been to me over these past months. Following a wonderful pastor like Kathy makes for some pretty big shoes to fill! But you have welcomed me and encouraged me along the way, and for that I am truly grateful. 

So as we dig our toes into the sand and watch the surf of the Gulf of Mexico, just know I am raising my taco in your honor this Thanksgiving Day with words of gratitude. Gloria a Dios!  

With a thankful heart,

Frank

From Finance and Stewardship Committee

"Grace Upon Grace with Generosity"

Greetings from the Finance and Stewardship Committee! We want to thank those of you who have submitted your Pledge Cards and Time/Talent Forms for 2026. Your generosity with your time, talent, and resources will certainly help us reach our goal of developing an operational budget for 2026 which will include salary for a new pastor.

The employment process for hiring pastors is changing, and RRPC will need to adjust our “terms of call” process if we are to be successful in hiring a new pastor. We will need to increase the salary if we are to be competitive. Many of us may have already experienced similar circumstances in the various careers represented in our church, and the clergy is no different.

If you have not completed your pledge cards, please do so and submit them by using our website (www.rrpchurch.org), placing your pledges in the red box on the counter in the Narthex, or mailing your pledges to the church. We ask for God’s grace and guidance during the coming weeks and ask that the congregation also pray for a successful stewardship outcome.

God’s blessings to all,

Finance and Stewardship Committee

Many Hands Needed!

Saturday, November 22nd

Please sign up for Clean Up Day THIS Saturday! Refreshments will be provided! Call Leah Gerlach at 630-890-1158 to let her know if you are coming.

Let's make our church SPARKLE for the holidays!

Help Us Decorate for Christmas!

Sunday, November 23rd

(after worship)

The Worship Committee invites you to help decorate the church for Advent and Christmas on Sunday, November 23 right after worship. This is a joyful task and many hands make light work!



Please mark your calendars and join us!

Deadline: Sunday, November 23rd

It's that time of year again when the Worship Committee asks our RRPC family to volunteer to write a page of our Advent Devotional. The theme this year is Gifts of the Spirit: the gifts of hope, peace, joy and love. You can reflect on when you have experienced those gifts, or how we can give those gifts to others in this dark time. You can also share a holiday recipe, craft or tradition for this devotional! If you signed up on Sunday, thank you! If you would like to participate, please email Birgitta at birgus61@gmail.com. I will also have a table set up this coming Sunday. The deadline for all submissions is Sunday, Nov. 23. 

November's Book:

Carnegie's Maid

by Marie Benedict

We will be meeting at Nancy Henricksen's home on November 25th 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!



If you'd like a head start, December's book is: The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill.

Thanksgiving Pies 2025

Thank you to all who ordered Thanksgiving Pies.

Remember, pie pickup is this Sunday 11/23/2025 starting after worship until 1PM.

If you are unable to pick up your pie(s) on Sunday, call Don Underwood (505 903-9889) to make arrangements.



Thanks,

Laura Gonzales

Don Underwood

Scholarship Committee Co-Chairs

Let's gather together for Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 27th

11am-1pm

Fellowship Hall

Please see the sign up sheet in the narthex, or call Ginny at the church office to add you to the list:

505-892-6664.

For any questions, see Liz Bushma.

We hope you can join us!

Church Calendar

November 23 - 29, 2025

Dollars For Deacons

Our Dollars For Deacons collection will be held THIS Sunday, November 23rd. Special envelopes will be included in your bulletin. Money collected will help our deacons tend to the direct needs of our congregation. Thank you for your generosity!

November Birthdays

20 Ona Mitchell

23 Dave Levensen

25 Josh Landon

26 Pam Scalco

29 Maria Chávez, Priscilla Landon

Donations Received

In the last three weeks, we have collected $304 from the coin jar and 422 pounds of food!

Storehouse West and the Board are doing all they can just to meet the monthly needs and the client list is growing and growing.  

ALL donations now are for their daily needs.  

Current needs:

• Soup
• Fruits & vegetables
• Meat or meat pouches
• Tomato products
• Pasta Sauce & Pasta
• 1 lb. or 2 lb. bags of Rice
• 1lb. bags of Dried Beans
• Ramen noodles
• 16 oz. plastic jars of Peanut Butter
• Breakfast Cereal
• Shelf stable Milk of all types No GLASS JARS, please!

Please consider donating food or money for our neighbors in need. The Mission Committee thanks you for your gifts.

Storehouse West Food Pantry: 1030 Veranda Road SE, Rio Rancho, NM (505) 892-2077 www.storehousewest.org

Presbyterian Women’s

Thank Offering

Next Sunday, November 30, we will be inviting our church family to participate in the Thank Offering. This offering has been part of Presbyterian Women’s mission since the 1880s.

In 2025, the Creative Ministries Offering Committee of the Presbyterian Women received 37 Thanks Offering applications. After prayerful consideration ten projects were awarded funding. These projects will provide funding for such services as housing, much needed food, health care, and children at risk. The ten projects are located in many parts of our country, from Alaska, to New York, to Nebraska, to Louisiana, and Kentucky to name a few.

Your generosity is greatly appreciated. We thank you in advance for your participation. Remember, on November 30th, there will be special envelopes for this offering. If you have questions, please contact either Liz Buzhma or Leah Gerlach. We are so thankful for our most generous church family.

RRPC Presbyterian Women

Calling all bakers!

Let’s provide cookies for the

Guardians of the Children

Annual Christmas Party

Saturday, December 6^th

Please bring your cookies to the nursery and place in the refrigerator any time before December 5^th.

Thank you very much!

Come See

An Interfaith Children's

Christmas Choir

Monday, December 15, 2025

5:30 pm

Cottonwood Mall

This performance will help promote the new Giving Machine (in the mall) to help those with needs around the world.

Help Relieve Medical Debt

We now have a wonderful opportunity to lighten the burden of medical debt for many New Mexicans. The partnership between the Presbytery of Santa Fe and PHF allows donations collected by the Presbytery to purchase uncollected medical debt owed to Presbyterian Healthcare Services (PHS) at the rate of $0.07 on the dollar. PHS writes off the remaining $0.93. Patients who receive debt forgiveness are randomly selected using an algorithm based on Federal Poverty Guidelines, with a focus on those who work, sometimes at multiple jobs, but do not earn enough to live on. PHS provides 100% financial assistance to all patients with incomes at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guideline, so the program aims to help those that do not qualify for total assistance. Every patient whose debt is forgiven is notified by PHS that a financial contribution from the churches of the Presbytery of Santa Fe and its partners has covered their debt.

Over the past three years, our total collected contribution from churches, individuals, and faith partners is $118,043. This amount has erased over $1.68 million of medical debt for 899 individuals in New Mexico.

Just a $10 donation forgives $142 of medical debt; a $25 donation forgives $357 of medical debt. The potential benefits and blessings to the people of New Mexico are enormous, as PHS operates nine hospitals and serves one in three New Mexicans with healthcare or coverage. We encourage other faith communities to participate in this effort to bring peace and comfort to our New Mexico community. 

All donations should be made through the Presbytery of Santa Fe and received before December 15th to be included in the 2025 contribution.

To access their website, click HERE.

Prayer Concerns

“Prayer is asking God to align you with His will rather than asking Him to be aligned with yours.”

Karen Payne, knee surgery & recovery

Jim McInroy

Pastor Frank & Sharon - travel mercies

Sheila Malmo's daughter, Alice

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

For all victims of gun violence, war, unrest

and all those recovering from Hurricane Melissa.

 Rio Rancho Presbyterian Church

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

505.892.6664

Office Hours

Monday – Thursday | 9am–3pm