Bishop Vanessa Motoka Brown
Ordained Pastor, Radical Inclusionist, Social justice activist, Digital Creator
Luke 1:45 “And Blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
Bishop Vanessa M. Brown is the Senior Pastor of Rivers of Living Water UCC of NY and NJ. She is an ordained minister of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries and an authorized minister in the UCC.
She earned her Doctor of Ministry and Master of Divinity from New York Theological Seminary. She also serves as the Chair of New Church Development of the Central Atlantic Conference of the United of Christ and on the William R. Johnson Scholarship Fund.
She was recently inducted into the Morehouse College 38th Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers and Laity.
Her research and academic interests live at the intersections of sexuality, social justice, and digital interactive media. She is the creator and host/moderator of Beyond The Gatekeepers ™ a weekly broadcast discussing current events through a theological and justice-informed lens, bridging the gap between church and community.
The Reverend Dr. Vanessa M. Brown is an uplifting addition to our most pressing national discussions of religion, sexuality, gender, and race. At a time in history when Black and Brown Queer bodies are under siege, Dr. Brown has committed her research and platform to a nuanced exploration of the most marginalized among us.
Bishop Rev. Dr. Vanessa M. Brown
TFAM Northeast Region (ME-DMV)
OUR VISION
To reach a community by building a community.
We endeavor to meet the needs of our community as well as the needs of those God directs to our church.
OUR MISSION
The mission of Rivers of Living Water Ministries UCC is to enrich the lives of all we encounter by approaching social justice through a Jesus lens, coupling the practice of radical inclusivity with sound theology and providing a worship environment that fosters a loving, welcoming, safe and resource-rich community.
RIVERS DECLARATION OF COMMITMENT
Today we recommit ourselves to learning, serving, and worshiping together as Rivers of Living Water UCC. Today we renew our promises with God and with one another.
We recommit ourselves to walking together as the beloved people of God.
We recommit ourselves to God’s work of justice in a deeply divided world. We are called to know and love God, nurture each other, and welcome all people.
Today we reaffirm our hope for our church—a loving, welcoming community, a community resource, a safe space where people can be their authentic self, a progressive forward-thinking ministry, a place that raises leaders, a ministry that is inclusive-for the good of all and the glory of God.
As individuals, we make these promises to Rivers of Living Water UCC as a whole:
I commit to participate regularly, because my presence here matters. I promise to share in service to our community and our world because the world needs a sign of God’s hope. I promise to support the congregation through my gifts of time and money because my gifts make a difference. I promise to love my neighbors, even when we don’t agree because we all have a place at the table.
Together as a congregation, we make promises to each individual member:
We promise to be a church where all are welcome. We promise to use our gifts wisely. We promise to create safe spaces where we can wrestle with the hard questions of life. We promise to provide opportunities to worship, learn, and serve. We promise to bear witness to God’s love for this world.
Together with the prophet Jeremiah we proclaim with one voice:
The Lord will be our God, and we will be God’s people!
Together we will “build a community to reach a community”!
OUR SERVICES
OUR SERVICES DURING COVID-19
Weekly Celebration - Sundays @ 11 am EST
Zoom:
Meeting ID: 394 509 7514 or 929-436-2866
Facebook LIVE:
https://facebook.com/RiversNYNJUCC
Noonday Prayer - Monday-Saturday @ Noon EST
FB Live @RIVERSNYNJUCC
OUR STANDARD SERVICE TIMES
(SUNDAYS @ 11AM)
Rivers NJ @ North Jersey Community Research Initiative (NJCRI)
393 Central Avenue
Newark, New Jersey 07103