Washington pastor Amy Butler is a search committee\u2019s candidate to be the next senior minister at Riverside Church in New York City, one of the most prominent congregations in mainline Protestantism.<\/p>\n
The search committee\u2019s selection of Butler, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, was announced April 27. The first woman pastor in the church\u2019s history, she will be formally introduced to the congregation May 4, with a vote expected June 8.<\/p>\n
Since it opened its doors in 1930, Riverside has been a bastion of progressive Christianity. Officially affiliated with both the American Baptist Churches USA and the United Church of Christ, it describes itself as interdenominational. The church\u2019s neo-gothic tower is a visible landmark in its Manhattan neighborhood which includes Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary. Its pastors \u201d\u201d including Harry Emerson Fosdick, William Sloane Coffin and James Forbes Jr. \u201d\u201d have been influential voices in American theological and political life.<\/p>\n