New Riverside pastor in question

Rev. Dr. Brad R. Braxton was installed as the new Senior Minister at Riverside Church on Sunday, despite a motion filed by a group of congregants with the Manhattan State Supreme Court that contested the Reverend’s pay (exceeding $600,000 by some estimates) and the opaque selection method through which he was chosen. Questions about Rev. Braxton’s commitment to diversity and progressivism have also been raised.

The Riverside Church, whose congregants include many Columbia students and faculty members, as well as residents of Morningside Heights and Harlem, has been a center for diversity and social activism since the civil rights era, but has recently become more conservative.

Supreme Court Judge Lewis Stone adjourned the case to the end of May and asked both sides to reach a resolution in the interim.
In an interview with the Spectator last year, Rev. Braxton asserted his commitment to diversity and said he hopes to “bring serious, high-level conversation to Riverside Church.”