Alum nominated to one of the most prestigious pulpits in America

New York, NY (Aug 4, 2008) | Riverside Church, a stronghold of activism and political debate throughout its 75-year history, has been visited by Nelson Mandela and United States presidents like Bill Clinton. It was an early opponent of the Vietnam War and both wars in Iraq, and has long been influential on the nation’s religious and political landscapes.

Leading the pulpit at the landmark church, a soaring Gothic cathedral at 120th Street and Riverside Drive in Manhattan, is one of the more prestigious posts a minister could hold.

The last senior minister, the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, spoke at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. After 18 years of leading the church, he retired last year at the age of 71. Dr. Forbes faced a measure of discontent among some of the church’s 2,400 members, who felt that he didn’t do enough to maintain the church’s tradition of advocating social justice positions.

Dr. Forbes, who was the church’s first African-American senior minister, also faced criticism that his style had increased the number of black congregants and alienated some white members at a church that prides itself for its racial diversity.

When congregants learned on Sunday that a search committee had unanimously selected the Rev. Dr. Brad R. Braxton to succeed Dr. Forbes, they were optimistic, though he was little more than a name at that moment.

Members of the church, which is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches and the United Church of Christ, provided the search committee — which interviewed 65 candidates — with guidance on how to find a new senior minister. But they knew nothing of who would be nominated when they arrived for the 10:45 a.m. service on Sunday.

Following the communion, the mention of Dr. Braxton’s name as the committee’s choice drew not a peep from the pews. But the utterance of his age — 39 — triggered an audible hum.

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Read the announcement from Riverside Church and its document on the background of Dr Braxton.