Riverside Church of New York is a Garden in Gethsemane

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

"Christ in Gethsemane" (1890) by Hienrich Hofmann. Collection of Riverside Church, NYC.

Long before I moved here to NYC, I already knew that this move was not about my new job but about finding "something lost." I have no idea what I am seeking, but here I wander anyway. Today, I visited The Riverside Church on the Upper Westside, and I felt a rush like I'd experienced long ago during my Christmas pageants in our grandmother's living room. I had forgotten that feeling-- that joy. I'd also forgotten the framed print of "Christ in Gethsemane" that hung on her wall facing us on stage my Dad assembled. The original by Heinrich Hofmann is here in an amazing art collection owned by the church (donated by a Rockefeller born in Ohio). Gethsemane is a place we go in agony seeking something lost. This massive and beautiful church, rich with diversity, artistry, and led by a black Baptist  minister from Cincinnati (Rev. James Forbes) might just be where I find that "something lost" that I came searching for in New York City. It's the first time that NYC has come close to feeling like home.