ABOUT US

GENEVA VISION STATEMENT

We are a welcoming community of all ages who celebrate Christ’s love through vibrant worship and active service.

WELCOMING
COMMUNITY

We believe relationships are key to spiritual growth and that faith is best lived out in community, where we worship, serve, study, have fellowship, and grow together. We also like to play, have fun and enjoy God’s creation together.

At Geneva you will find…

  • A warm and welcoming and inclusive family of faith.

  • Relatable people with whom to connect along your journey.

  • A rich theological tradition that encourages questions and critical thinking.

  • Opportunities to study the Bible, ancient spiritual paths and relevant contemporary topics in relation to faith.

  • Fellowship and play for all ages.

VIBRANT WORSHIP

As a community, we celebrate the love of God through joyous and reverent worship. It allows us to pause from the frantic pace of life today, to sit in the presence of Holy Mystery and to experience moments of awe and wonder. Worship helps reset our inner compass, and indeed puts life into perspective.

At Geneva you will find:

  • Creative, Spirit-filled worship that engages the heart, soul and mind.

  • Singles, Parents, Children and Grandparents worshiping together.

  • Children and Youth leading worship.

  • A variety of music styles.

  • The best traditions that have been handed down to us across the ages;

  • Everything from the modern, to the contemplative, to the playful.

ACTIVE SERVICE

We have a passionate heart for the least, the last and the lost. People are important to God and therefore to us.  Their hurts, needs, and brokenness are opportunities for grace, not barriers.  We have also found that in serving, in giving sacrificially, and in listening to the needs of the world, we grow spiritually. Our relationships with God and others deepen.

At Geneva you will find…

  • People with generous spirits and servant hearts.

  • Spiritual richness and meaning that comes through acts of service.

  • Opportunities to make an impact in our community, the world around us and the world within us, by giving and serving together.

  • Joe Albright

    PASTOR

    Allow me to introduce myself. I am Joe Albright, the Pastor of Geneva Presbyterian Church. Together, my wife Robbie and I have five daughters, Celia, Marley, Cori, Emily, and Noelle. We all love spending time on the ocean and I especially enjoy surfing and fishing. It also gives me great joy to lead this family of faith, and to belong to a community that serves and loves unconditionally. I am a graduate of Flagler College and Columbia Theological Seminary. Before entering the ministry, I taught high school Spanish in Cape Hatteras North Carolina and Lawrence Tavern, Jamaica. I have served churches in Sarasota and Jacksonville, Florida and also currently write daily devotionals for the Dial Hope Foundation(www.dialhope.org).

  • Patty Rasor

    PROGRAM COORDINATOR

    Patty has been secretary for Geneva for twelve years and a church secretary for over 32 years. She and her husband, Gregg, (both Florida natives!) moved to Saint Johns in 2010.

    Gregg and Patty have two children and two granddaughters. When not working they love to travel, explore new locations, go to concerts and shows and especially spending time with our families. Patty loves the Lord and has been involved with the women of the church, helping out with Vacation Bible School and Wednesday night fellowship dinners.

  • Megan Mocca

    DIRECTOR OF MUSIC

    Megan Mocca was born in Maryland, where she earned her Associate of Arts degree in Music. She then spent three years as a student missionary on the island of Saipan, where she taught Kindergarten and Music. After graduating from Southern Adventist University in Tennessee with her Bachelor degree in Music, Megan moved to Michigan and earned her Masters in Music: Choral Conducting and Voice Performance from Andrews University. During these years, she taught music in elementary and high schools. She moved to Jacksonville in November 2021, and she absolutely loves working here at Geneva!

  • John White

    PARISH ASSOCIATE

    Rev. Dr. John E. White is a retired Presbyterian Minister. He was Ordained on October 11, 1981, in the Pittsburgh Presbytery and earned a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 2009. Has also served at Princeton Theological Seminary and Columbia Theological Seminary as Vice President and Dean of Student Life as well as having served as Pastor of several congregations and in other service in the larger church.

    Rev. White stated, “I have enjoyed the privilege of serving as the pastor of several congregations and as a senior administrator at three of our presbyterian-related theological seminaries. However, the highlight of my experiences in the PCUSA was when I met my wife, Alicia, when we were both serving as commissioners at the General Assembly that was held in Denver, CO in 2003. I retired from the work as the Dean of Student Life and VP of Student Relations at the end of December 2021. Throughout this entire time in ministry, I have sought to be actively involved in both presbytery and in local congregations.”

  • Barry Griffin

    CHURCH ADMINISTRATOR

    Barry grew up in Jacksonville and graduated from Terry Parker High School. He attended Florida State University on a swimming scholarship, and it was there he met his wife Lisa, who was also a swimmer at FSU. Lisa is a Pre-K4 teacher at San Juan Del Rio Catholic School and has been for about 10 years. Together they have two grown sons who live in St Johns County, and five grandchildren, ages eight down to three years old. After college Barry joined the US Air Force and spent almost seven years as a Navigator on E-3 surveillance aircraft. He holds an MBA from OU and comes to us with years of financial experience.

  • Carol Calvert

    JOYFUL RINGERS HANDBELL CHOIR DIRECTOR

    Carol moved to Florida in 1993 from western Massachusetts. She has studied and plays organ and piano and has played hand bells for over 30 years including 5 years under direction of clinician, Valerie Stephenson. She sings with the Jacksonville Masterworks Chorale. Carol also plays with, and has directed, the River City Ringers, and advanced Handbell choir.

    The Joyful Ringers hand bell choir plays each month, level 2 – 3 with chimes and techniques.

  • What's a Presbyterian?

    Presbyterians believe in:

    The sovereignty of God

    The authority of Scripture

    Justification by grace through faith

    The priesthood of all believers

    In short, we believe God is the ultimate authority throughout the universe. Our knowledge of God and God's purpose for humanity comes from the Bible, particularly what is revealed in the New Testament through the life of Jesus Christ. Our salvation (justification) is God's generous gift to us and not the result of our own accomplishments or efforts. We all do have a role to play in sharing in God’s healing redeeming work in Christ (priesthood of all believers).

    Geneva Presbyterian Church is a member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), with worldwide headquarters located in Louisville, Kentucky.

    We are a member of Saint Augustine Presbytery.

  • Our Denomination: The PC (USA)

    What is in a denomination? Geneva is an active participant in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Our pastor is the current Moderator of the Presbytery of St. Augustine.

  • History

    Presbyterianism has its roots in the European Reformation but found its distinction through the Scottish Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was a theological movement intended to reform the Church. As the Catholic Church resisted the reformers, the Church split and different theological movements bore different denominations. In 1517, the noted German monk and professor Martin Luther took issue, as did many, with the way the Roman Catholic churches of the times were interpreting the Bible and trying to run lives both secular and sacred. He famously posted his grievances on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, and it is this moment that is said to have marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

    Emboldened by Luther, in 1522, Ulricht Zwingli began to lead a protest in Zurich, Switzerland. His reforms emphasized simplicity and intelligibility in worship. He objected to the lenten fast, developed a communion liturgy that was in everyday language, and encouraged the reading and hearing of scripture. In 1529, he and Luther met in Marburg to see if they could combine their efforts- but the two could not come to agreement regarding the presence of Christ in communion. Zwingli was killed in 1531 in a battle between Catholic and Protestant cantons in Switzerland. But his ideas greatly influenced other reformers, especially a young French law student named John Calvin.

    In 1536, persuaded by his friend William Farrel, Calvin began his first ministry in the town of Geneva, Switzerland. Calvin would be forced out of Geneva but would later be invited back. In addition to preaching and teaching, Calvin was a prolific scholar, writing catechisms, translating scriptures, and producing a commentary on every book of the Bible except Revelation. Over his lifetime wrote and rewrote one of the most significant works of theology ever published: the Institutes of the Christian Religion, which still serves as the foundation for Reformed (Presbyterian) theology. Presbyterianism applies Reformed principles to church government. John Knox, a Scotsman who studied with Calvin in Geneva brought his teachings back to Scotland. In August of 1560 the Scottish Parliament adopted the Protestant Confession of Faith as the creed of the Scottish Kingdom.

    In December of that year, the First Book of Discipline was published, outlining important doctrinal issues but also establishing regulations for church government, including the creation of ten ecclesiastical districts with pointed superintendents which later became known as presbyteries.