Our existence is non negotiable 

Crown Of Thorns and Cross On Purple Background – Palm Leaves And Bloody Spikes For Penitence Concept With Abstract Sunlight

In Mark 7:14–23, Jesus gathers the crowd and says something unsettlingly simple. What defiles a person is not what enters the body, but what comes out of the heart. Words. Assumptions. Policies. Silences. The everyday choices that teach some bodies they are disposable and some voices that they should stay quiet.

We are living in a moment thick with spectacle and erasure. Loud celebrations that command our attention, while entire communities are asked to disappear quietly. Decisions made behind desks and executive orders that strip symbols of safety from sacred places, signaling who belongs and who does not. Black and Latinx communities rendered suspect. Trans and Queer people told, again, that their existence is negotiable.

Jesus refuses that logic. He insists that harm does not begin with the “other,” but with what we allow to flow unchecked from our own hearts into the world. When we mock, dismiss, legislate away dignity, or stay silent to keep the peace, we participate in defilement.

As we prepare to enter Lent, this passage calls us inward, not toward shame but toward truth. To examine how our words, our votes, our conversations, and our absence wound God’s beloved children. And then to move outward, choosing practices that heal.

Feb 13 “The Struggle Continues” with Palestinian Youth Movement, Update: Now in the Nave

This evening centers the cries of our Palestinian siblings and the ongoing genocide in Gaza, even amid a fragile ceasefire. We will hear analysis and testimony from journalists, organizers, and movement leaders including Jake Romm, Mahmoud Khalil, Sharif Abdel Kouddos, Laila Al-Arian, and members of the Palestinian Youth Movement.

We have witnessed enough devastation and we need to name the systems that enable it: political lobbies, weapons manufacturers, media complicity, and an international order unwilling to enforce accountability.The night will close with revolutionary Palestinian music from the Palestinian Youth Choir, alongside Sami Abu Shumays and musicians, reminding us that culture and resistance are inseparable.

We’ve started a separate registration for Riverside members only. Please register by 4:00 pm on Friday to reserve your place: Riverside Church The Struggle Continues – Riverside Church

Unfortunately, we will not be able to admit anyone who has not registered.
We encourage you to arrive early. For everyone’s safety and comfort, once we reach capacity, we will not be able to admit additional guests.

Feb 5, 7-8:30pm: Bronx Power Metro-IAF Rally

This evening centers the cries of our Palestinian siblings and the ongoing genocide in Gaza, even amid a fragile ceasefire. We will hear analysis and testimony from journalists, organizers, and movement leaders including Jake Romm, Mahmoud Khalil, Sharif Abdel Kouddos, Laila Al-Arian, and members of the Palestinian Youth Movement.

We have witnessed enough devastation and we need to name the systems that enable it: political lobbies, weapons manufacturers, media complicity, and an international order unwilling to enforce accountability.The night will close with revolutionary Palestinian music from the Palestinian Youth Choir, alongside Sami Abu Shumays and musicians, reminding us that culture and resistance are inseparable.

We’ve started a separate registration for Riverside members only. Please register by 4:00 pm on Friday to reserve your place: Riverside Church The Struggle Continues – Riverside Church

Unfortunately, we will not be able to admit anyone who has not registered.
We encourage you to arrive early. For everyone’s safety and comfort, once we reach capacity, we will not be able to admit additional guests.

Feb 15: Covenant for Our Future: A Community Conversation

The recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) cuts healthcare, food assistance, clean energy, and worker protections while directing billions to fossil fuel corporations and the wealthy. In response, GreenFaith and a multifaith coalition are advancing the Covenant for Our Future, a moral vision rooted in shared religious values: feeding the hungry, healing the sick, welcoming migrants, caring for creation, protecting democracy, and holding the powerful accountable.

 

Join us for a community conversation about what faithful resistance and moral leadership look like in this moment. Together, we will explore how communities of faith can educate, organize, and engage elected officials, and identify concrete actions we can take to work toward a just, compassionate, and sustainable future for all.

 

Place and time: South Hall, 1:30pm