BARUCH COLLEGE–Abby Hershberger, 24, grew up attending a conservative Mennonite church in Berlin, Ohio. After high school, church fell to the wayside when she began college at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va. When she moved to Manhattan in October 2017, she longed to get connected with young adults at a church but wanted something less ethically and culturally homogenous than what she previously experienced. The Riverside Church, where Manhattan’s Upper West Side meets Harlem, fulfilled that need.
“In general, when I was looking for a church, I wanted women in leadership and queer people and LGBTQ people in leadership, and Riverside has lots of that,” said Hershberger. “I was really excited about that, and that really helped me stay.”