Special Services
In addition to our weekly worship service, Rockledge Presbyterian Church has a variety of what we call special services which allow us to celebrate or reflect depending on the occasion and season. Here are a few of those services held throughout the year.
Weddings
RPC is delighted to help you explore a Christian wedding at the church. The process begins at least six months before the date of your wedding. To assist in your planning, please take time to review the Rockledge Presbyterian Church Wedding Handbook cited here and in the Resources section of the web site. Study it carefully, and once you feel that RPC is your church of choice, then contact the church office to establish a wedding date and a connection with the wedding coordinator.
Funerals and Memorials
A Presbyterian funeral is a service of witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and a celebration of the life of the one who has died. Our pastor provides compassionate care to grieving families (members and non-members) and performs funerals in the church, in funeral homes, and at gravesides. We offer a columbarium for the interment of ashes of church members who wish to be memorialized at their church home. The “Columbarium Reservation Form” can be found in the Resources section. Our Deacons are happy to facilitate funeral receptions for any families having services in the church. If funeral support is needed, contact the church office.
Seasonal Services
- Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. The congregation has an evening Soup Supper in Calvin Hall after which follows a brief sermon, Holy Communion, and, for those who desire, the imposition of ashes on the forehead or hand. This begins a time of reflection and commitment to lead a more Christ-centered life.
- Maundy Thursday is a service held in the Sanctuary to mark Christ’s Last Supper with his disciples and to remember his betrayal, suffering, and impending death. The service includes a sermon, Holy Communion, and the traditional practice of Tenebrae or diminishing light. After each scriptural passage dealing with the events in Christ’s day, the Chancel Choir presents a choral meditation on the reading. After each meditation, lights are progressively dimmed in the Sanctuary until there is total darkness.
- Good Friday is marked by a collaborative noon-time service with other churches to remember the crucifixion, death, and burial of Christ at that holy hour.
- Easter Sunday Services – RPC holds a sunrise service for its members and the community in its East Courtyard overlooking the Indian River. It is usually followed by breakfast in Calvin Hall. Afterwards, a traditional Easter service, made more joyous by added instruments and special music, is held at the 11:00 a.m. service in the Sanctuary.
- Christmas Eve offers an opportunity to celebrate the birth of Christ. In the early evening, a candlelight service of lessons and carols is held in the Sanctuary. The program consists of the Scriptural account of Christ’s birth read by members of the congregation, choral music, and favorite Christmas hymns.
- Christmas Day is a time when we joyously celebrate the birth of Christ! Our Sunday worship service in the Sanctuary features an amazing Christmas Concert which every year fills the church with both members and visitors from the community. The members of the Chancel Choir present a beautiful and inspiring program of special choral music supported by our amazing pipe organ and specially invited vocalists and instrumentalists.
- Praise Service, led by Circle women from the church, is held in November around Thanksgiving time. At the Sunday morning worship service, the Thank Offering that is collected provides assistance to domestic and international projects of the Presbyterian Church. Of this money, forty percent goes to support hospitals and community health programs for the needy. Women and children are the primary beneficiaries. Additionally, church members bring canned food that is placed in baskets designated for the Brevard Sharing Center.
Sacramental Services
At RPC, our regular worship services are made more meaningful by integrating certain traditional sacred rituals or practices into the order of service. Two practices, called sacraments, that are commonly found in Presbyterian worship services and in those of other Christian denominations are Holy Communion and Baptism. Both are ways of declaring that we are part of the family of God. The ordinary elements of water (baptism) and bread and wine (communion) take on spiritual significance in our lives as they did for Jesus in his life. Water is God’s gift of cleansing and new life; sharing bread and wine together unites us to Christ and one another and strengthens us to continue his purpose and ministry.
- Holy Communion
At RPC, we believe that Holy Communion is a sacrament of the Lord in which we nourish our spiritual union with Christ by receiving the elements of communion, bread and grape juice, usually served to worshipers in the pews or down front by intinction. At our church we have an open table for communion which means that everyone can participate—no matter their faith or age. Our communion is held the first Sunday of each month and during specific church seasons, such as Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday. We serve gluten-free bread so that all may partake. - Baptism
Baptism is the church’s proclamation that we are who we are because God has first chosen us, loved us, and called us into His kingdom. We are His children. Baptism by water (not immersion) is a visible sign of God’s love towards us, His children. This sacrament is offered to adults upon their profession of faith in Jesus Christ, as well as to the children of parents who are members of RPC. The baptism of infants witnesses to the truth that “God’s love claims us . . . even before we are able to respond in faith.” Baptism is celebrated during a worship service; it is not a private rite, but a public celebration. In baptism, we, as a community of faith, welcome adults and children into our midst and promise to come alongside those being baptized and to encourage them as they grow, following Jesus’ call to follow Him. Arrangements for a baptism can be made by contacting the church office. - Confirmation
Although RPC does not consider confirmation a sacrament, there are times when recognizing its new confirmands becomes a wonderful part of regular worship service. RPC invites youth in the 8th and 9th grade, or older youth who have not yet been confirmed, to participate in a confirmation class. The class is designed to give students an opportunity to deepen and confirm their faith in Jesus Christ, learn the basic theology of the Christian faith, and learn what it means to idenity with the Presbyterian Church. At the conclusion of the confirmation class and the work required of them, they are confirmed by Session and later introduced to the congregation in a special Sunday worship service. These young people are one step further in their spiritual journey and in building a lasting relationship with God and each other.