An Open and Affirming Congregation in Riverside-Avondale
Riverside Avenue Christian Church sits in the historic Riverside-Avondale neighborhood of Jacksonville, on a tree-lined stretch of Riverside Avenue that has shaped the congregation's identity since 1921. Part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the congregation describes itself as an open and affirming community that celebrates the love of God and the diversity of humanity, welcoming anyone exploring faith or returning to it after time away.
The church is known locally for several things at once: a long-running progressive witness in a Southern city, a sanctuary that hosts dozens of weddings each year, and a sprawling backyard playground that neighborhood children call the "Jesus Park." Sunday worship at 10:30 a.m. is the gravitational center of life here, and almost everything else - Sunday school, choirs, youth gatherings, fellowship dinners, outreach projects - radiates out from that weekly gathering.
A Century on Riverside Avenue
Riverside Avenue Christian Church has lived out its witness in the Riverside-Avondale community since 1921. A century on, the building still anchors a sizeable corner lot, and the congregation still describes itself in the same hopeful key it has used for generations: open, progressive, and rooted in the conviction that questions are welcome.
The congregation's history includes some figures who shaped Florida and the nation. Charles E. Bennett, a longtime member and U.S. congressman who represented the Jacksonville area for 26 years, is memorialized in the church's backyard playground. Bennett sponsored the bill that added "In God We Trust" to American coins and currency. The playground was rededicated in his honor in 2017 with a fully redesigned layout.
The church has also been part of the public conversation in Jacksonville over the years. Coverage in The Resident News of Jacksonville and First Coast News has tracked the congregation's 100th anniversary and its responses to moments of religious and political debate, including a published response to a neighboring congregation's membership statement and an essay in Word & Way addressing the Faith & Freedom Coalition.
What "Open and Affirming" Means Here
Riverside Avenue Christian Church identifies as an Open and Affirming congregation. In the church's own words, that means "we welcome people of all gender expressions and sexual orientations to the table of Christ's communion and to the full life and leadership of the Christian Church."
The church believes that all people have been created in the image of God and are beloved children of God, and that all are welcome at the Lord's Table. A downloadable document explaining the congregation's Open and Affirming stance is available, and the congregation is active in the Disciples Alliance Q, a network of LGBTQ+ affirming Disciples congregations.
Sunday Morning Worship at 10:30
The church gathers for Sunday worship at 10:30 a.m., with a livestream available for those joining from home. The service takes place in the sanctuary on the second floor, reached through a foyer called the narthex.
Worship is structured around the liturgical calendar and runs roughly an hour. A typical service includes a prelude, a call to worship, an invocation, the Gloria Patri, a passing of the peace, hymns, prayers of the people, a sermon, communion, a stewardship moment with offering, a doxology with offertory prayer, and a benediction with postlude. The chancel choir sings an anthem most Sundays. Acolytes - children who carry in the light of Christ - lead the procession at the start of worship and bring in the communion elements.
The pastor typically preaches from the pulpit in a robe and stole, with stoles that change with the seasons. Sermons usually run 12 to 18 minutes and, in the church's words, intertwine stories, current events, and humor or pop culture to help hearers understand scripture both in its original context and how it can be used in daily life. Hymns are sung from both the hymnal in the pew rack and a projector screen at the front of the sanctuary.
Communion is the central element of worship, and the congregation shares the sacrament every Sunday. Worshippers come forward through the center aisle, take a piece of bread, dip it in the cup of grape juice, and return to their pews by the side aisle. Gluten-free bread and a gluten-free cup are available every week. All are welcome to share in communion - members and non-members alike - and those who prefer not to receive may come forward for a blessing from the pastor or remain in the pew.
Baptisms take place throughout the year, often around Easter and Pentecost. The congregation practices baptism by immersion in a baptistry inside the sanctuary, and the church honors baptisms performed in other traditions, so a person baptized elsewhere need not be baptized again.
The Church Year in Color
The church observes the traditional liturgical seasons, marked by colored paraments on the communion table, pulpit, lectern, and walls. Advent (purple) leads into Christmas (white), followed by Epiphany (white), Lent (purple) beginning on Ash Wednesday, Holy Week with Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter (white). Pentecost (red) closes Eastertide, and the long stretch of Ordinary Time (green) runs from Pentecost back to Advent.
Children, Youth, and the Playground Named for a Congressman
Children are woven into the life of the church rather than segregated from it. Children of all ages are invited up to the chancel for a children's moment during worship, after which the youngest gather for Worship and Wonder, a special time designed for children in kindergarten through second grade.
Sunday school for all ages meets at 9:15 a.m. The nursery and children's wing are organized so that families can arrive early, settle in, and then move into worship together. A dedicated children's ministry team leads the program.
For older youth, Sunday school meets at 9:15 a.m. in the Youth Room on the third floor, and a monthly youth group called inFOURmal gathers on the fourth Sunday of the month from noon to 2 p.m. in the same room. The church also sends youth to summer camp at The Retreat at Silver Springs.
In the backyard, the Charles E. Bennett Memorial Playground - nicknamed the "Jesus Park" by neighborhood children - is open to the community. Redesigned in the spring of 2017, the playground now includes an accessible swing, an expression swing that lets a parent and child swing face to face, a play set for children under five, a separate play set for older children, a retro rocker, outdoor musical equipment, and a cross made from the timber of the old playground.
Adults: Classes, Choir, and First Friday Dinners
Adults at Riverside Avenue Christian Church have a number of small communities to choose from. Three Sunday school classes meet at 9:15 a.m. The Voyagers, a group of mostly retired members, gathers in Room 12 for fellowship, Bible study, and book studies featuring well-known authors and teachers. Project 31, named because "we're all a work in progress," meets in Room 31 at the top of the stairs on the third floor, with fresh coffee at 9 a.m. and discussion at 9:15. The format is intentionally discussion-oriented and robust. The Dialogues on Life class, also on the third floor, leans toward adults in their twenties and thirties.
The Chancel Choir rehearses weekly and provides musical leadership for Sunday worship. Disciples Women meets monthly for fellowship, study, and service. The Emmaus Reunion Group provides spiritual nurture and support for those who have participated in a Walk to Emmaus, and the church sponsors participation in the Walk to Emmaus itself, a spiritual renewal weekend for adults.
First Friday Fellowship, the congregation's millennial-focused gathering, meets monthly on the first Friday of the month for dinner, conversation, and games.
Weddings in a Storied Building
Riverside Avenue Christian Church hosts weddings for both members and non-members. Couples marry in the sanctuary on the second floor, with the church's wedding coordinator helping plan the ceremony and pre-marital counseling offered as part of preparation. A Wedding Policy is available for download, and inquiries can be sent to the weddings email.
The church's sanctuary and Fellowship Hall can also be used for receptions and large gatherings. The Fellowship Hall, on the first floor, doubles as a multi-purpose space for church meals and community events.
Outreach Across Jacksonville
Service to the wider city is part of the congregation's identity. The mission statement commits the church to be and share the Good News of Jesus Christ, "witnessing, loving, and serving from our doorsteps 'to the ends of the Earth.'"
Locally, the church partners with West Riverside Elementary School, providing mentors, school supplies, support for teachers, and holiday groceries for families in need. Through the Children's Enrichment Workshop, RACC joins other area congregations to provide after-school enrichment; the church currently offers Melody Makers on Tuesday afternoons.
Through the Downtown Ecumenical Services Council (DESC), the congregation helps provide groceries and clothing to neighbors in need, and several members serve on the DESC board or volunteer directly. RACC also partners with ICARE - the Interfaith Coalition for Action, Reconciliation, and Empowerment - working alongside other Jacksonville congregations on social justice priorities including homelessness, restorative justice, public education, and job creation.
The church operates its own sack-lunch food pantry for those who come to its doors in need. Each Christmas, the church hosts a Live Nativity on its front lawn during Riverside-Avondale's Luminaria, a tradition it has carried on for more than 25 years. An Easter Egg Hunt on the church grounds draws neighborhood families each spring.
Globally, the church supports Week of Compassion, the relief and refugee ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), responding to flood, famine, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other tragedies locally, regionally, nationally, and abroad.
Beliefs in Brief
Riverside Avenue Christian Church affirms that Jesus is the son of the Living God, whose grace provides forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God and with one another. The congregation holds that all people are God's children and strives to live that conviction in its actions.
A central commitment is the freedom of the individual Christian to follow conscience, guided by the Bible, the Holy Spirit, study, prayer, and the community of faith. That conviction, the church acknowledges, creates a broad spectrum of belief among its members, and the congregation works to honor those differences faithfully by learning from one another.
Pastoral Leadership
The pastor is Rev. Andrew Guthrie, who began his ministry at Riverside Avenue Christian Church in August 2025. A graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School, Andrew has served congregations in Indiana, Oregon, and Arizona. He is described by the church as passionate about social justice and scripture. Outside the church he plays disc golf, drinks coffee, and shares his life with Amanda Guthrie, their dog Augi, and their cats Zuri and Berne. Members and visitors may call him "Pastor Andrew" or simply "Andrew."
Melissa Aiuppy serves as Music Director, having grown up in the Disciples of Christ tradition at Central Christian Church and attending summer camp each year. Her grandmother, Betty Harris, attended RACC as a teen, and her mother, Barbara London, has been a member since 2002. Cav Moore provides audio and visual support for worship.
Elders and deacons, both called and elected by the congregation, share in the leadership of worship. Elders often lead prayers at the communion table and visit those who are sick or in need. Deacons serve communion and receive the offering during worship.
For those ready to become members, the invitation is offered at the close of worship each Sunday. Those making a first profession of faith come forward; those who have previously made a profession elsewhere transfer their membership. Anyone who has never been baptized is welcomed into the church's baptismal ministry before membership is formalized. Non-members are warmly welcomed in every part of congregational life short of voting in congregational meetings and serving as elected officers.