Your source of information for all things RISE!
April 2026
Celebrate Easter with RISE!!
Easter BRUNCH PICNIC AND WORSHIP
April 5, 2026
Outside on the lawn at John Wesley UMC
445 Sterling St, Hburg
(Weather Permitting)
9:30 am - Potluck Brunch
10 am(ish) - Worship
11:30 am(ish) - Easter Egg Hunt
Please see our Perfect Potluck Link below and sign up to bring an item to share if you are able!
Holy Week Events at RISE
WTF?
Maundy THURSDAY
April 2, 2026
Exactly dinner-ish! (6pm EST)
Downstairs at John Wesley UMC
Menu: Mediterranean Potluck
Join us as we celebrate the memory of Jesus’ “Last Supper” with his disciples at our weekly WTF gathering.
Our shared meal will feature a contemplative and experiential commemoration of that night, including foot-washing and communion.
RISE will provide chicken and lamb for the meal. Please bring a “Mediterranean” item or dish (even if only vaguely so!) to share if you are able.
Good Friday
April 3, 2026
6 pm
Join us for a short contemplative service
on the lawn outside JWUMC
(weather permitting)
WTF?
WTF? April
Thursdays at exactly dinner-ish! (6pm EST)
Downstairs at John Wesley UMC
Join us for a midweek check in to fuel your body, mind and soul.
RISE will provide the meal and a topic for conversation. All you have to do it show up!
If you are interested and/or able to help (cooking and prep, giving rides to students, setting up and greeting, washing dishes, etc) please let Alexis know!
April Events and Happenings
Game Night!
Friday, April 10, 6 pm
Home of the Harbicks
Bring a friend and a game to share (if you wish) and join us for a night of fun! Desserts and drinks will be provided!
DM us or contact Chris for address, directions, or more info.
Book Study Group
New Book Starting April 13!
Monday Evenings, 7:30 pm
Home of the Harbicks
Do you like to read? Enjoy diving deeper and talking about what you read with others? We’ve got a group for you!
For our next study, we will be reading a contemporary book: The Bible Says So: What We Get Right (and Wrong) About Scripture’s Most Controversial Issues by Dan McClellan (2025). “In The Bible Says So, Dan McClellan leverages his popular "data over dogma" approach, and his years of experience in the academy and on social media, to lay out in clear and accessible ways what the data indicate the Bible does and doesn't say about issues ranging from homosexuality, abortion, and slavery to monotheism, inspiration, and even God's wife.” The first session will cover the introduction plus the first 2 chapters.
If you’re interested in this group, but haven’t yet signed up previously, please do so (even if you can’t make this particular study)! Just click the button below to get added to the list, through which we will communicate schedule changes, new books to read, and anything else book study related! DM us or contact Chris if you need more info or the Harbicks’ address.
Ecumenical Earth Day
Worship Service
Sunday, April 19, 9:45 am
Harrisonburg Turner Pavilion
Join folks from around the community in a special worship celebration for Earth Day! (Please note - RISE will NOT be meeting separately that morning at JWUMC.)
Group Options Survey
As we look ahead to the next several months entering the summer, we are considering our options for group activities and offerings at RISE. We would love your input during our planning! Please take a few moments to complete our short "Group Options Survey" at the link below to let us know what you are looking for!
RISE Merch Shop
The RISE Merch Shop is open for business and make wonderful Christmas gifts! Order all of your favorite RISE gear shipped directly to your home. Profits from each sale go directly back to RISE operations.
RISE NEEDS YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Your generosity makes everything we do possible!!
One of our core values is, "God gives to us, so we give back." We're called to give as a joy-filled response to what we've been given. Your financial gifts make a tremendous difference in the lives of God's beloved in Harrisonburg and beyond. Whether it's helping to make sure children in our community have enough to eat, helping to respond to the mental health crisis in our community, or providing much needed backing for the operating costs of our spaces and staff — your gift is a part of God's dream and we are grateful for everyone who partners with us on this journey!
Make a one-time donation or set up recurring gifts today!
At RISE,
we care about what’s going on in your life!
When life is good, we want to celebrate together. And when it isn’t - well, we want to be there for you then too. So keep us posted on what it is going on in your life. And when you have need for care or prayer, be sure to let us know how we can lift you up.
Requests for care and/or prayer can always be sent via e-mail to cares@riseharrisonburg.org, texted to 833-803-0868, or submitted online via our RISE Cares form.
To receive updates on (non-confidential) care needs, prayer requests, and community concerns and celebrations, text “RISEcares” to 833-803-0868 or e-mail cares@riseharrisonburg.com.
If you are fairly new to the community and would like to connect more deeply with RISE, you can begin by completing this short form to let us know about you, your interest, and your gifts:
You might also consider signing up for texting services:
(We promise not to spam or share your number!)
Text “RISE” to 833-803-0868 to join the primary list and receive weekly community updates and alerts
Text “RISEcares” to receive prayer requests, care needs, and community concerns and celebrations
And of course, please continue to check social media (Facebook & Instagram) and our website for all the updates and current information!