Adult Ministries
At Riviera United Methodist Church, we seek to be a place where everybody is welcome, where friendships are formed, and faith is nurtured. Through Bible studies, book groups, and even yoga classes, we are a community of thoughtful, searching and open-minded Christians. Throughout the year, there are various short-term and one-time opportunities to meet new people and grow in your faith. Here are just a few of the on-going opportunities to get involved at Riviera. For more information, please contact our church office at office@rivieraumc.com.
We offer a series of small group discussions each year focusing on issues relating to religion—past, present and future. Groups meet to accommodate the busy schedules of members—evenings, weekends, afternoons, day time—and are generally short-term in nature. These classes are for people with inquiring minds who like to discuss important ideas with openness, curiosity and mutual respect.
The Riviera UMC Book Club has been reading together since May 1997. We are a group of men and women representing all stages of adulthood, which has continuously evolved as participants come and go. Newcomers are always welcome to read the book selection and join the next discussion. We meet every other month either on Zoom or at one of our homes for dessert and discussion of the selected book. We choose books that offer a good basis for discussion as well as being an enjoyable read. Over the years we have read from most literary genres and continue to experiment with our book selections. This group encourages us to discover books we might not have chosen for ourselves and inspires us to be open to the other readers’ perspectives during the discussion. To accommodate all who wish to participate we select books that are available in libraries, paperback editions and audio formats. If you enjoy a good book, this is the group for you.
The Riviera Women’s Bible Study meets Mondays, Noon -1:30 p.m. via Zoom, or in the Ocean View Room. Since beginning in September, 2005, the group has explored the stories of women in the Bible, specific books of the Bible, both Old and New Testament, prayer and the will of God, works of prominent theologians, how to discover and use our strengths, Advent and Lenten studies—to name a few. If you are seeking a group of caring, Christian friends, this group may be for you. We are an intergenerational group of women who meet weekly for study, fellowship and support. Babies are welcome, and childcare can be arranged. Feel free to bring your sack lunch and participate in our open discussions at any time.
Food & Fun is a fellowship group that meets monthly on a Saturday night for a pot-luck supper, fellowship, and entertainment, often based on a theme. Everyone is welcome! Just come and enjoy time with your friends. This light-hearted and fun group welcomes everyone to join them for dinner, games and laughter.
ROMEOs is an informal group of men who meet twice at month for breakfast at Spires in Torrance. They talk a lot about their home plumbing problems, medical issues, and other important matters. ROMEOs stands for Retired Old Men Eating Out.
RUMC yoga - Since 2010, RUMC has offered a free weekly yoga class to church members and the community. The class emphasizes increasing body and breath awareness through movement (yoga poses or “asana”) and focus on the breath (“pranayama”). Although geared toward beginners, options are provided for many of the poses to enable challenge or ease, especially for those recovering from injuries, surgeries or illness. RUMC’s yoga class welcomes everyone and does not require any experience with yoga to attend. The class runs continuously, and there are no session start or end dates. Participants are welcome to attend any time. We meet most Wednesdays, on Zoom or in Fellowship Hall. Contact the church office for more information: office@rivieraumc.com.
United Women in Faith The official statement is this: "United Women in Faith shall be a community of women whose purpose is to know God and to experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ; to develop a creative, supportive fellowship; and to expand concepts of mission through participation in the global ministries of the church." Our local chapter is active in mission, study and community-building in the church. We have a monthly Martha Circle group for spiritual study and a Shawl Ministry that creates comfort items for all in need.
