Riverdale Presbyterian Church
AI summary — doctrinal positions on this page are inferred by AI from this church's own public statements and may be inaccurate.
Historical
Historical details
ArchitectureGothic Revival
Heritage statusNational Register of Historic Places listed place
Inherited from denomination
What Presbyterian Church (USA) teaches
Positions bound by the denomination's confessional standards. This is what the tradition teaches; whether this specific congregation publicly holds each is a separate question — see Statements below.
Affirms
- Homosexual practice and biblical sexual ethicsweakSame-sex marriage authorization implies moral affirmation.
- Infant BaptismstandardWestminster XXVIII; Book of Concord SC IV; Council of Trent Session VII; Wesleyan Articles Art. XVII
- Permissibility of divorce and remarriageweakMatthew 19:9 (adultery ground); 1 Corinthians 7:15 (abandonment ground). Practice varies.
- Women in pastoral / ordained officeweakVarious denominational actions (TEC 1976, ELCA 1970s, PC(USA) 1956, AG 1935, CofE 1994 priests / 2014 bishops, etc.)
Denies
- Apostolic SuccessionweakCongregational and presbyterian polity reject the necessity of tactile episcopal succession.
- Assumption of MaryweakUniversal Protestant rejection — not attested in Scripture; not received as dogma.
- Immaculate ConceptionstandardUniversal Protestant + Orthodox rejection. Orthodox reject on the grounds that they hold prepurification at the Annunciation, not conception.
- Marriage as one man and one womanweakPC(USA) 2015; ELCA 2009; TEC 2015; UMC 2024. Same-sex marriage authorized in polity.
- Perpetual Virginity of MaryweakNatural reading of Matthew 13:55–56 (brothers of Jesus); typical modern Baptist / evangelical position.
- TransubstantiationstandardOrthodox reject the Aristotelian metaphysics; Lutherans use 'sacramental union'; 39 Articles Art. XXVIII rejects explicitly; Reformed/Baptist reject substance-change.
Wrestles with
- Believer's BaptismweakPaedobaptist bodies practice adult baptism on credible profession where infant baptism was omitted, but do not consider it normative.
- Pacifism vs. just-warweakDefault just-war framework — usually unwritten. Inheriting at weak confidence.
- Real PresenceweakCalvin's spiritual presence (genuinely present but not physically) is neither strong affirm nor deny; Anglican/Methodist typically hold a receptionist view.
- TheotokosweakConfessionally valid title (Ephesus is a received council) but not used devotionally; retained in liturgy where liturgy is retained.
In their own words
Statements
about_us
<!DOCTYPE html> Church Staff | Riverdale Presbyterian Church HOME ABOUT US CHURCH STAFF CHURCH LEADERSHIP HISTORY OF RPC DIRECTIONS WHAT TO EXPECT MINISTRIES PROGRAMS CHURCH SCHOOL ADULT PROGRAMS CHOIR RED DOOR CONCERTS CALENDAR Select Page Church Staff EVA CARRASQUERO Choir Director Eva was commissioned as Chancel Choir Director in the fall of 2009; she also leads our youth music program, a role she took up in 2002. Trained in opera and oratorio, Eva holds degrees in piano and voice. She is art department chair and teaches music at the Convent of the Sacred HearSource ↗
about_us
<!DOCTYPE html> CHURCH LEADERSHIP | Riverdale Presbyterian Church HOME ABOUT US CHURCH STAFF CHURCH LEADERSHIP HISTORY OF RPC DIRECTIONS WHAT TO EXPECT MINISTRIES PROGRAMS CHURCH SCHOOL ADULT PROGRAMS CHOIR RED DOOR CONCERTS CALENDAR Select Page Elders Class of 2026 Delores Dixon* Carolyn Fluckinger Kenneth McGuire* Marla Shelton-Lenhof Class of 2027 Becky Dyasi James Healy* Michael Toscano Eno Udo* Class of 2028 Patricia Dempsey Jefferson* Denise Halabov* Kari Steeves Nancy Thomson* Clerk of Session: Denise Halabov Treasurer: Kenneth McGuire Deacons Class oSource ↗
about_us
<!DOCTYPE html> History of RPC | Riverdale Presbyterian Church HOME ABOUT US CHURCH STAFF CHURCH LEADERSHIP HISTORY OF RPC DIRECTIONS WHAT TO EXPECT MINISTRIES PROGRAMS CHURCH SCHOOL ADULT PROGRAMS CHOIR RED DOOR CONCERTS CALENDAR Select Page History of RPC The year 1863 brought much tumult to this nation with the Civil War dividing our land. Perhaps it was partly in response to this upheaval that many involved in the war efforts sought some relief by escaping to the serenity of "country living," and building homes in Riverdale. It was in the spring of 1863 that fiveSource ↗
about
CHURCH LEADERSHIP | Riverdale Presbyterian Church HOME ABOUT US CHURCH STAFF CHURCH LEADERSHIP HISTORY OF RPC DIRECTIONS WHAT TO EXPECT MINISTRIES PROGRAMS CHURCH SCHOOL ADULT PROGRAMS CHOIR RED DOOR CONCERTS CALENDAR Select Page Elders Class of 2026 Delores Dixon* Carolyn Fluckinger Kenneth McGuire* Marla Shelton-Lenhof Class of 2027 Becky Dyasi James Healy* Michael Toscano Eno Udo* Class of 2028 Patricia Dempsey Jefferson* Denise Halabov* Kari Steeves Nancy Thomson* Clerk of Session: Denise Halabov Treasurer: Kenneth McGuire Deacons Class of 2026 Smita Dewan* Judith McVey Neida Quinones FranSource ↗
about
Church Staff | Riverdale Presbyterian Church HOME ABOUT US CHURCH STAFF CHURCH LEADERSHIP HISTORY OF RPC DIRECTIONS WHAT TO EXPECT MINISTRIES PROGRAMS CHURCH SCHOOL ADULT PROGRAMS CHOIR RED DOOR CONCERTS CALENDAR Select Page Church Staff EVA CARRASQUERO Choir Director Eva was commissioned as Chancel Choir Director in the fall of 2009; she also leads our youth music program, a role she took up in 2002. Trained in opera and oratorio, Eva holds degrees in piano and voice. She is art department chair and teaches music at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, CT. Eva and her husband Bert arSource ↗
about
History of RPC | Riverdale Presbyterian Church HOME ABOUT US CHURCH STAFF CHURCH LEADERSHIP HISTORY OF RPC DIRECTIONS WHAT TO EXPECT MINISTRIES PROGRAMS CHURCH SCHOOL ADULT PROGRAMS CHOIR RED DOOR CONCERTS CALENDAR Select Page History of RPC The year 1863 brought much tumult to this nation with the Civil War dividing our land. Perhaps it was partly in response to this upheaval that many involved in the war efforts sought some relief by escaping to the serenity of “country living,” and building homes in Riverdale. It was in the spring of 1863 that five business leaders of the communSource ↗
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