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In the heart of New York City, Rutgers Presbyterian Church stands as a sanctuary—both literally and figuratively—for its community members. Few people embody the spirit of this community more than Richard Reece, whose journey with Rutgers spans over three decades.

Finding a spiritual home

Rick began attending Rutgers Presbyterian in the mid-1980s, during the height of the AIDS epidemic, and officially became a member in 1988. What drew him to Rutgers was profound yet simple: "I discovered that Rutgers really respects the differences and celebrates the diversity of humanity," he reflects.

A professional with a background in theater and a degree in music from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Rick arrived in New York City in 1970 after touring with "Man of La Mancha." Little did he know that nearly two decades later, he would find a spiritual home that would become an integral part of his life.

Wearing every hat

Over the years, Rick has served on every board and committee at Rutgers, chairing each of them at some point. From the Deacons (whom he describes as "the caregivers of the church") to the Session, from leading the search committee for a new pastor to chairing the trustees, Rick's institutional knowledge of Rutgers is unparalleled.

"Being on all these committees gives you a much broader knowledge of the community that you're involved in," he explains. Currently, Rick sits on Session and serves as the Chair of the Worship and Music Committee, a role particularly fitting given his musical background.

The harmonies of faith

Music has always played a significant role in Rick's life and in the Rutgers community. As a choir member with a degree in music, Rick has been part of the evolution of Rutgers' music program. "The choir is a whole community unto itself in the church," he shares warmly. "We take care of each other." The impact of Rutgers' music extends beyond religious bounds—Rick mentions friends who aren't particularly religious but attend Rutgers specifically for choral concerts.

Balancing tradition and progress

When asked about Rutgers' progressive approach to worship and theology, Rick offers thoughtful insight. He values how the current pastor, Andrew, has expanded the congregation's understanding of scripture and biblical history, and also advocates for preserving important traditions and rituals.

"In all of my reading of history—and I'm a great history buff—when you take away tradition and ritual, the community falls apart," he emphasizes. "It's an important element in who they are, whatever kind of community it is."

Rick's perspective represents a thoughtful middle ground: embracing progressive theology while honoring the practices that bind the community together.

Meaningful moments

One particularly significant moment in Rick's time at Rutgers was when the presbytery passed a resolution about LGBTQ+ inclusion in the church. As a gay man, Rick remembers both the joy of acceptance and the complicated feelings of becoming "the cause."

"What we wanted, of course, was to just be accepted so you wouldn't have to walk up to somebody and say, 'Hello, I'm Richard, I'm gay,'" he explains. "You just want to be part of the congregation."

Vision for the future

Looking ahead, Rick acknowledges the challenges facing Rutgers, particularly around membership growth. He advocates for adaptability and creative use of the church space.

"What we want and what we have as part of our tradition for the church is going to change," he notes. "So we have to open our minds to what will be next."

When asked what keeps him coming back week after week, Rick's answer is simple yet profound: community.

"I'm a single person living in New York City. My family's far away," he shares. "I have this family at Rutgers that takes care of me. We support each other in so many, many ways."

This sense of belonging, of being part of something greater than oneself, is the thread that has woven through Rick's decades at Rutgers Presbyterian Church—and the gift that this community continues to offer to all who enter its doors.

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Before Holy Week, Rebecca Lerner, Rutgers Presbyterian's new Communications Manager, sits down with Pastor Andrew to explore the deeper meanings behind this sacred time.

‍Q: How would you explain Holy Week to someone unfamiliar with Christianity?

A: The best way is to take a person by the hand and invite them to join us. As Martin Buber suggested, these things are relational and best experienced that way. Come and join us in Holy Week, honoring these holidays, and you'll experience how similar or different they are here at Rutgers. For me, Holy Week is a multilayered mystery of hope in the midst of despair. It's multilayered because it can be individual, where we engage with it on a personal level, and it can be collective. It can be deeply spiritual, almost completely in our souls or hearts, and it can also be societal or political. The Holy Week story has all these dimensions for Christians.

Q: How do you personally connect with the story and traditions of Holy Week?

A: For Protestants, it's not just about rituals but about hearing, stepping into, and living the story. It's hearkening to a deeper dimension, similar to Pesach or liberation from Egypt. There are rituals, but the story itself is more important—stepping into it and living it out in our daily lives. Holy Week wouldn't exist without the story of Exodus liberation. It's like reframing the Exodus story for Hellenistic times. Theologically, the core is liberation, and it carries many meanings from that old story, retranslated for Hellenistic times. Now it's our task to retranslate that to our times.

Q: What core message of Holy Week resonates most deeply with you?

A: I'm more concerned with the message rather than outward appearances. For me, it's the message of the weakness of God, which is stronger than any strength of this world—the scandal of the cross. It clearly shows that empires and their brutality will not have the last word over people's lives. As Presbyterians, we don't blame Jews; we know from history and theology that it was the Roman Empire who crucified Jesus. There might be complicity or indifference, even from Jesus's disciples who were perplexed and lost in that upheaval. But crucifixion was a capital punishment by the Roman Empire. They had the monopoly of deadly violence, and they used it. What we're part of now is saying, "Not in our presence. We are not going to give in to this." It's that rebellious act of saying no, that was wrong, and you cannot count us in on this.

Q: How do you see this theological perspective relating to social justice work today?

A: It's coming from not going along with abusive power that dehumanizes people and has the ability to crush them. Even then, that power will not ultimately prevail. They will definitely not get our souls. There's a very deep tradition going back to the far movement and the stories in Maccabees, with the first emergence of concepts that later became strong within Christianity, such as resurrection. That hope for resurrection goes back to the Maccabees and the story of seven brothers murdered by a tyrant. Christians took that hope and ran with it.

Q: Are there particular Holy Week traditions or symbols that have special meaning for you?

A: As a transplant, I know some hymns, but in my soul, I sing them in my native language. One of the strongest traditions for me is the sunrise service. When I came here, they had the "sunrise" service around nine o'clock, and I said, "That's not sunrise!" Sunrise is around six.

So we started celebrating sunrise at the actual sunrise or even before. We have a very small group of people, five to ten, on our green roof, weather permitting. If not on the roof garden, we would be in our columbarium, surrounded by those who preceded us, which has another deep meaning. That's an old Christian tradition of celebrating Easter and resurrection hope in kirkyards. I love the old Reformation hymn in Czech, "Ó Slunce Spravednosti” - “Oh, Sun of Righteousness."  It is an old old hymn from the Reformation-period. This hymn appeals to me, along with that vision of the sun rising on Easter Sunday.

I sometimes joke about counting how many Hallelujah songs or how many Hallelujahs I hear on Easter Sunday because I know it's beloved by the congregation. We prepare for it by foregoing hallelujahs during Lent. I love translating and performing HALLELUJAH, explaining to the children that "Hallelujah" is Hebrew and means something like "Rejoice to the Lord with jumping."

Q: How does the Easter message of hope speak to our community's current challenges?

A: It brings us hope in the midst of despair that surrounds us right now. It's not just political—we're not a one-dimensional political church. We have our own losses of beloved members who passed away in a short sequence, and the Easter message brings us hope because as some are departing, we are seeing new families coming, almost miraculously appearing.

That's the visualization of that hope. Preparing for a baptism of one of our children—though it won't happen on Easter this year, Easter Sunday is regularly the time when the church baptizes children and new members. We can see and experience resurrection in the body of the church.

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Rutgers Church Administrator, Dave Mammen, has written another wonderful article for NJ Spotlight News on the work being done on behalf of refugees in New Jersey during the times of the Trump Administration.

https://www.njspotlightnews.org/immigration/

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In the Sanctuary series provides a wonderful array of cultural events on Tuesdays. For the current calendar of events check out the Rutgers evenbrite page here. . Further questions or inquiries contact lcountryman@rutgerschurch.org or 212-877-8227 x213

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And for a recap of our Winter/Spring season click here for a video presentation.

Statement of Rutgers Presbyterian Church on Reproduction Rights

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You've heard the buzz. You've seen the fliers. Watch the short video introduction below from Peter Rinaldi and Lesley Countryman about the exciting new Tuesdays in The Sanctuary series coming to our church. More information about events and future opportunities will be shared via our social media and in our weekly bulletins and email.

Click here for an introductory video to the series.

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Click here for a listing of all the Tuesday at Rutgers:In the Sanctuary events.

It is with great joy we can announce the completion of our newly renovated Audio Visual System in the sanctuary. This includes upgraded 4K cameras and a revamping of our audio capabilities. With this new system we can also incorporate our Worshippers joning us via our Zoom link into the worship. We also offer the service live via our Youtube Channel. There are many ways to worship with us at Rutgers and we look forward to welcoming you.

A short video about the art display in our sanctuary - celebrating 28 years of art programs for children at Rutgers Church.

https://youtu.be/XagvG7-22Ns

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Monthly Youth Group gathering will be at 2pm on the first Sunday of each month - starting on Nov 6. For more information please email rutgerschildren@gmail.com.

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Youth Group members and families are invited to help out at Thursday Night Meal at 5:15pm on thelast Thursday of each month - starting on Oct 27.

Heelee was born and raised in Busan, South Korea. She majored in Theology in undergrad in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to Princeton, Jew Jersey, in2013 to begin her Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Christian Education at Princeton Theological Seminary. After completing her Masters in 2018, Heelee began her PhD in Biblical Studies - New Testament - at Princeton Theological Seminary. She just finished her 4th year and is currently taking a leave of absence. Heelee has worked as Christian Educator in various capacities both in South Korea and in the United States since 2008.