Riverside Church

History

Riverside Church, which is affiliated with the American Baptist Church and the United Church of Christ, has been an institution active in the history of LGBT inclusion in New York City since the late 1970s. In the spring of 1978, Bill Johnson, the first openly gay minister of the United Church of Christ, founded Marantha: Riversiders for Lesbian/Gay Concerns, which according to his biography profile on the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network’s website, was “the first parish-based LGBT ministry within the United Church of Christ.” Marantha was named after a Biblical verse generally translated as “the Lord cometh” and was led by Sam Barrett.

Marantha began as a small support gathering. It slowly grew into a very active organization, which was involved with the larger New York City gay rights network. It eventually hosted sermons and religious activities to promote LGBT equality in the church. Maranatha considers itself the oldest religious group associated with a single congregation to have participated in New York’s pride marches, which it has done since 1978.

In 1985, after strong persistence from Maranatha, Riverside Church’s Board of Deacons and the full congregation voted to endorse “A Statement of Openness, Inclusion and Affirmation of Gay and Lesbian Persons,” making it one of the first congregations in the country to do so. While this decision was met with opposition from some Riverside congregants and from other religious institutions in the city, the presence of progressive ministers at Riverside, such as Dr. William Sloane Coffin, helped to ensure that this statement was upheld. Several ministers at Riverside performed same-sex union ceremonies in the 1980s, and the congregation endorsed marriage equality in 1996.

Maranatha is still active today. It continues to advocate and provide support for religious LGBT individuals through regular meetings, open discussions, community outreach, and church newsletters.

Entry by Gwen Stricker, Columbia University graduate student, and Amanda Davis, project manager (February 2020).

NOTE: Names above in bold indicate LGBT people.