Leadership At Rose City Park Presbyterian
RCPPC employs a shared leadership model. Our pastors, program leaders and administrative staff work collaboratively with our volunteers to support the ministries of the congregation and our service to the community.
The Reverend Doctor Liz Leavitt
Rev. Leavitt leads Rose City Park Presbyterian with warmth, humor, and incisive teaching. Pastor Liz encourages the congregation to bring spiritual practices into daily living; she guides the lay leadership to act in ways that are mindful of the congregation’s vision for the church and the values we embrace.
A native of New York City but long-time Oregon transplant, Liz has served churches in Massachusetts, Oregon and Hawai’i. She holds degrees from the University of Oregon, Harvard Divinity School and the Pacific School of Religion and recently completed her doctoral dissertation on the Religions Nones (those with no religious affiliation). She has served as Pastor-Head of Staff at Rose City Park Presbyterian since 2021.
Lay Leadership
In our Presbyterian system, two bodies of elected leaders work with the pastor, staff and volunteers to guide and care for the congregation. Those are the Session and the Board of Deacons.
“To me, RCPPC means having friends to love and a community to belong to. The times I’ve held a leadership role in the congregation have been some of my most meaningful experiences, times when I truly felt like I was making a difference.”
Session
Members of the Rose City Park Presbyterian congregation are elected to lead church programming, manage the business of the church, and support the well-being of the congregation. Our lay leaders, known as the Session, strive to build a beloved community. Our leaders:
- Assure that our worship services reflect our progressive values.
- Create a safe and loving environment where kids can explore their identities, and grow into their spirited– and spiritual– selves.
- Invite us to grow in love for our neighbors through hands-on service.
- Create unique opportunities for us to learn, about spiritual practices, social issues, biblical foundations, and more.
- Deepen our relationships with each other through activities beyond Sunday morning– hikes, book clubs, dinners in each other’s homes, mens and womens gatherings, etc.
- Ensure that Rose City Park Pres. uses the pathways of the 21st century to keep our multiple spaces connected into a single whole.
- Keep a spirit of welcome and empathy at the forefront, noticing and accommodating particular needs within the community.
- Steward our resources in a way that represent our values.
Deacons
Deacons are elected from among the membership of the congregation to tend to the care of our members by:
- Visiting community members who are ailing and not able to gather for worship.
- Coordinating transportation for those who need it.
- Working to recruit support and train the team of folks who greet anyone coming to our building for a church event.
- Coordinate hospitality efforts including Sunday coffee fellowship but also other celebrations and memorial services.
- Provide scholarships for affiliated students pursuing higher education. (Learn more about our Deacons Scholarship HERE.