Decans
Stephen Ministers
Fellowship
Prayers for Sick
Baptisms
Weddings
River Glen’s Mission Statement is: Experiencing God’s Love and Making Jesus Known.
As a progressive church with an inter-generational ministry focus and heart for service, River Glen is known for its warm, welcoming spirit and committed community. We believe that we "are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28) and intentionally create a safe place where people of all ages, abilities, ethnicities, gender identities, and sexual orientations can come to worship God, learn to follow Jesus and be guided by the Holy Spirit.
JOIN US ON SUNDAY MORNINGS
TIME
Worship Service is 10:30 AM
Services can also be viewed on You Tube
FELLOWSHIP
River Glen's hospitality provides a great faith community by offering space for people to feel comfortable and cared for when gathered together. Join us for coffee, treats, and fellowship before and after Sunday service.
ATTIRE
River Glen is a “come as you are” church, which includes your attire. We welcome every look from t-shirt and jeans to yoga pants to Sunday best.
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sunday School is for children Kindergarden through 5th Grade. It takes place during worship every Sunday. Children attend the first part of the service with their families where they receive a message for young disciples after which they go downstairs for their own lesson and activities. On communion Sundays, the children have a shortened lesson and return to the service for communion.
During the summer, the children do not follow a Sunday School curriculum but do still go downstairs for an interactive story and activity during the sermon time and then return to complete the service with their parents.
ALL ARE WELCOME
(click image above to learn more)
OUR VISION
As the Father sent me into the world, so I send you" is a commissioned piece of art by calligrapher Timothy Botts over the exit doors. It reminds us that the church extends beyond the building - wherever our members gather, the grace and fellowship of Christ is present. We seek to worship and learn together as well as serve the community of Naperville, surrounding areas, and throughout the world by actively serving outside our doors. When we do this, we strive to live out our mission statement: experiencing God's love and making Jesus known.
CORE BELIEFS
We believe in the foundation of faith as found in the Scriptures, which tell the story of God's love throughout history. Because Creator God lives in community as the Trinity with Christ and the Holy Spirit, we honor God and live most faithfully when we seek to be in loving community with God and with others. We understand God to be at work in the world, believe in the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, and seek the renewal and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. We believe we experience Christ most fully in worship, service, and the celebration of the sacraments of communion and baptism.
HISTORY
River Glen Presbyterian Church was founded in 1985 and is a part of a collection of churches called the Presbyterian Church (USA) which work together for mission and ministry to spread hope and God’s love. We believe this kind of connectional church is valuable for spiritual growth and working together for good in the world.
River Glen is a progressive church with an inter-generational ministry focus and a heart for service. The congregation is led by a full-time head pastor as well as our governing board of spiritual leaders, the Session, and supported by a Board of Deacons and a parish associate. River Glen is known for its warm welcoming spirit, committed congregation, rich worship, and high-quality music programs (praise band, chancel choir, hand bells).
CHURCH LEADERSHIP & STAFF
Peter Park
Part-Time Gap Pastor
Peter's primary role is to provide preaching and spiritual and administrative leadership. He will help WMA and staff with weekly worship planning and will preach/lead worship on most weeks. He will administer the sacraments (i.e. Communion, Baptism) and may officiate weddings and funerals when needed.
Peter’s full-time job is as a Senior Wealth Advisor for LPL Financial. He and his spouse, Jenny, live in Bolingbrook and they have 3 children, Sofie, Jonah, and Elyssa, ages 20, 18, and 17. Peter is a member of Chicago Presbytery and has a Master of Divinity-Pastoral Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA, along with a B.S. in Psychology & Minor in Business from State University of NY at Buffalo.
Email: peter.riverglen@gmail.com
Barbara Carmichael
Parish Associate
Pastor Barbara gives support to the leadership and staff in our various ministries. Her roles involve some preaching, teaching, pastoral care and resourcing of discipleship ministries.
Barbara served in full-time pastorates in Houston, Texas and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin before retiring and answering the call to serve at River Glen.
She has her Master of Divinity from McCormick Theological Seminary in Illinois and her Certificate in Spiritual Direction from San Francisco Theological Seminary in California. She is married with two children and two grandchildren.
Email: barbara@riverglen.org
Joyce Lawson
Director of Music
Joyce is River Glen’s Director of Music. She oversees and coordinates all of the music ministry programs in addition to directing the chancel choir and contemporary service worship teams. Joyce has served River Glen in this capacity since 2007 and has worked in music ministry for over 22 years. Joyce has a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Ball State University and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Northwestern University. She is married to Kent and they have two children, Aaron and Danielle.
Email: joycelawson@comcast.net
Kalina Waszak
Children and Youth Ministries Director
Kalina grew up at River Glen and grew up participating in our programs. She additionally has served as a volunteer in both children and youth programming off and on for the last 15 years.
She lives with her husband Matt and kids Kellen and Leo. She also works as a Speech-Language Pathologist at Soaring Eagle Academy, an autism school in Lombard. She has a deep passion for integrating neurodiversity affirming practices in all aspects of life, especially in ministry.
Email:
Caryn Perucca
Office Staff
Open Position
Pastor / Head of Staff
Joshua PessettiAudio Visual Coordinator
Open Position
Transitional Pastor
Click HERE for Information
DIRECTIONS TO RIVER GLEN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
River Glen Presbyterian Church is located on Raymond Drive just north of Ogden Avenue. If you are headed North the church is on your right (East) side.
Service is held on Sunday's at 10:30 AM.