(RNS) — The first female pastor to lead The Riverside Church in New York City is leaving the historic, progressive Christian church.
After five years at Riverside, the Rev. Amy Butler will not renew her contract as senior minister, according to an update from Butler and the Riverside Church Council posted on the church’s website.
“It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to have spent five years leading the Riverside congregation,” Butler said in the update.
“I love that beautiful, beloved congregation and I believe that when we love each other, we can change the world.”
Neither the pastor nor the church council gave a reason for Butler’s departure in the update or indicated what she might do next. The update noted, “both she and our congregational leadership have been prayerfully discerning how best to fulfill the work of God in the world to which they are called.”
