The History of the Riverside Church in the City of New York

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments As the authors of this book, we wish to acknowledge our indebtedness to all those who willingly rendered their services to us in producing this work. First, we wish to thank Riverside Church’s senior pastor, the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., for his enthusiastic support throughout the process. The idea for this project emerged from conversations between Dr. Forbes and his beloved friend and colleague, the late Professor James Melvin Washington of Union Theological Seminary. Sadly, Professor Washington’s life ended before their dream was realized. We also are grateful for the encouragement and support of the Riverside History Project Committee and especially its members, Ruth Britton, Richard Butler, Betty Davis, Robert O’Meally, Dr. Katherine Wilcox, and George Younger (who died before the project was completed). Special thanks also go to Dr. William B. Kennedy, who read drafts of our chapters and spent a day with us giving very helpful suggestions. Most important, we deeply appreciate the admirable work of Dr. Sheila Gillams, who, as project director, provided for all our administrative needs. In addition to Dr. Forbes, we are grateful for the pleasure and insights gained from interviews with former senior ministers Drs. William Sloane Coffin and Ernest T. Campbell, as well as very informative conversations with Drs. Eugene Laubach and Paul Sherry. Our appreciation is extended to the following for granting interviews: Susan Blaine, Rev. Keith Boyer, Rev. Mariah Britton, Pee Wee Dance of the Rap Writers Workshop, Rev. Kanyere Eaton, Rev. Fanny Erickson, Ernie Lorch, Jewel Miguel, Martha Rolon, Corinne O. Nelson, Rev. Sally Norris, Tinoa Rodgers, Heru Shango, Elza Sharpe, Jeffrey Slade, Dr. Timothy Smith, Dr. Brenda Stiers, Rev. Bernahu Wedneh of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Our Savior, and Heyward Wong of the Chinese Christian Fellowship. Since most of our research was done at the archives of the Riverside Church, we are most indebted to the excellent archival knowledge, skills, xiii and commitment of Mr. Victor Jordan, whose dedicated helpfulness was greater than words can express. The Riverside Church has a precious treasure in his full-time voluntary work. Early in the project we were well assisted by the excellent work of the church’s then part-time archivist, Tanya Elder. In addition, the editor of this book wishes to thank his research assistant , Christopher S. G. Rogers, for his helpful work in the archives and the Social Ethics Seminar for its critical review of his chapter. Finally, we deeply appreciate the interest and encouragement we have received from the editors at New York University Press: Eric Zinner, Jennifer Hammer, Nicholas Taylor, and Despina Papazoglou Gimbel. Also, special thanks go to Margaret B. Yamashita for her excellent work in copyediting this book. xiv Acknowledgments ...