A 19th-Century Parish on the Henry Hudson Parkway
In the fall of 1864, a group of Riverdalians gathered and resolved "to build a fit and proper Temple for the worship of Almighty God, appropriate to the surrounding circumstances, and to the wealth of the neighborhood, and that it should be called 'Christ Church, Riverdale.'" Two years later, the parish held its first services, and since then twelve rectors have served what is now a well-established Episcopal presence at 5040 Henry Hudson Parkway East in the northwest Bronx. The neighborhood around the church still carries a residential, leafy character, and the parish has always been shaped by the people who live within walking distance of the parkway.
The parish has deep roots in New York history. Prominent New Yorkers associated with Christ Church include Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, in whose memory two stained-glass windows were given, and Lou Gehrig, the Yankees great whose funeral was held in the church and in whose memory Babe Ruth gave the side altar rail. The painter and printmaker Isabel Bishop Wolf was also among the notable members. The stained glass, the altar rail, and a long roll of rectors connect the present congregation to a continuous line of worship stretching back more than a century and a half.
Today the parish describes itself in four words: Engagement, Fellowship, Service, and Worship. Members of Christ Church are drawn from many countries and faith traditions, and the congregation is consciously multicultural. On Pentecost, the liturgy incorporates the languages of those present - Chinese, French, German, Korean, Igbo, Luo, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swahili among them - to demonstrate who the church is as a people. Outside the sanctuary, the same conviction shows up in food pantries, college-application mentoring, fair-housing advocacy, and a long list of partner organizations across the Bronx.
Three Sunday Liturgies and a High Church Welcome
Christ Church Riverdale is a High Church congregation. The principal service on Sunday, the eleven o'clock Sung Eucharist, is celebrated with bells and incense whenever possible, and the chancel choir and Schola Cantorum lead the congregational singing. A spoken Holy Eucharist is offered at 8:30 a.m. for those who prefer a quieter service, and Adult Faith Formation meets in the Parish Hall at 10:00 a.m. between the two. During the summer the schedule consolidates to a single service at 10:00 a.m., running from Homecoming Day on the first Sunday after Labor Day through Picnic Day on the last Sunday in June.
The 11:00 a.m. liturgy is livestreamed and later archived on the parish's YouTube channel, so members who are traveling or homebound can keep up with the church's worship. Worship in the Episcopal Church is described here as "liturgical," following set forms and texts that give the year a rhythm. Visitors are greeted by an usher, handed a printed bulletin, and invited to sit anywhere. The congregation stands, kneels, and sits at different points, and a first-time visitor can follow along by watching those around them or by reading the bulletin.
All who seek God and are drawn to Christ are welcome to receive communion. The parish uses wheat wafers and real wine, and gluten-free wafers are available for those who need them. Anyone who prefers not to take communion is invited to come forward and cross their arms over the chest to receive a blessing. The rector, the Reverend Emily Anderson Lukanich - known at the parish as Mother Emily - extends this welcome to all who worship, whatever their tradition.
What to Expect on a First Visit
Dress is left to the individual. Some worshipers arrive in jackets and ties, others in jeans; the parish's own guidance is to wear what is most comfortable. Street parking is available on both sides of the parkway in front of the church and Parish Hall, and the MTA bus lines BX7, BX10, BMX1, and BMX2 all stop directly in front of the building. Visitors are encouraged to arrive a few minutes early to find a space and be seated before the liturgy begins.
Children are part of the life of the church. Parents with infants through kindergarten are welcome to enjoy worship while their children are cared for in the nursery upstairs. Children in first through fifth grade usually attend Sunday School, and on most first Sundays the children worship with their families in a service designed to be more child-friendly. The Saturday children's program called The Little Church adds another option: a short Eucharist with a children's sermon, followed by Christian formation and a light dinner, running from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Parishioners take part in the liturgy as ushers, lectors, and Eucharistic ministers, and the children serve as acolytes, lectors, and ushers under the guidance of the verger. Ushers and lectors are coordinated by Damaso Parets, and a volunteer videography team - coordinated by Michele Disco - records the livestream each Sunday.
Music that Fills the Sanctuary
Music is a central part of worship at Christ Church Riverdale. The Adult Choir, made up of both volunteers and professionals, music readers and non-readers alike, sings at the 11:00 a.m. Sunday Eucharist and at special services throughout the year. Rehearsals are held only on Sunday mornings, from 9:30 to 10:40 a.m. in the Parish Hall, so that busy parents and working adults can take part without committing to multiple weekday evenings. No prior membership in the parish is required to sing, and new members are welcome to join at any point in the year.
Each year the choir is joined by dozens of singers from the community and a full complement of instrumentalists to present a Festival of Carols holiday concert, drawing on Christmas classics. The Schola Cantorum, a smaller choral ensemble, has represented the parish at Bronx-wide celebrations, including a performance of "Lift Ev'ry Voice" for a citywide Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration.
The Music Director is Malik Jardine, an organist who grew up in Queens and went on to study at Borough of Manhattan Community College under Dr. Nathaniel Gumbs, serve as Organ Scholar at Trinity Church Wall Street in 2023-2024, and continue at Westminster Choir College. He works with the Adult Choir, the Schola Cantorum, and a wide range of visiting musicians. The parish's organ is described in detail on a dedicated page and is the anchor of the music program. The parish's music offerings extend beyond Sunday worship through the Forde Concert Series, a community music series honoring Dr. Kenneth and Kay Forde, with a 2026-27 season that spans classical, jazz, flamenco, and African American song.
Daughters of Bethany and the Episcopal Church Women
Two women's organizations anchor much of the parish's spiritual and service life. The Daughters of Bethany is the parish's chapter of the Daughters of the King, a worldwide order of women and girls between the ages of seven and one hundred and seven who have pledged a Rule of Life centered on prayer, service, and evangelism. The chapter was established at Christ Church Riverdale in 2020 and is led by President Shirley Johnson, with Florence Maduro serving as Membership Chairperson. The Daughters run the parish's diaper drives, food-pantry collections, and clothing deliveries, including winter coats for the ELLIS program and children's clothing for the Dominican Women's Development Center. They gather for an annual Absalom Jones service in February, where a banner designed by Daughter Aija Sears is displayed.
The Episcopal Church Women, or ECW, was reactivated at the parish in 2026. The chapter's officers are Stephanie Mitchell (President), Mandy Colgan (Vice President), Sarah Rybryka (Treasurer), Elizabeth Weeks (Secretary), and Aija Sears (Altar Guild and DOK representative). Their first general meeting was an afternoon tea in May 2026, with Dianne Roberts, ECW Province II Chair, as guest speaker. The chapter's first signature program is an Outdoor Wellness Series held in the church garden on summer evenings at 6:30 p.m., offering hatha yoga, breath work, meditation, reiki, and heart math for a suggested donation of twenty dollars per session. A Lenten United Thank Offering collected by the chapter raised nearly seven hundred dollars before its May submission.
The two organizations collaborate closely, and the ECW's work connects to a longer lineage. The National Episcopal Church Women have championed women's rights and the Christian foundation of God and family since 1871, and the parish chapter's reactivation is presented as part of a renewed commitment to women's empowerment, fellowship, and stewardship.
The Little Church and the Formation of Children
Children's formation is built around two weekly anchors: Sunday School for first through fifth graders, and The Little Church, a Saturday-evening program for younger children and their families. The Little Church includes a short Eucharist with a children's sermon, time for Christian formation, and a shared light dinner, creating an interactive space for families to explore their faith together. The Saturday rhythm was designed to give parents who work during the week another entry point into the parish's life.
On Sundays, parents of infants and toddlers through kindergarten are welcome to enjoy the liturgy while their children are cared for in the nursery upstairs. Children in first through fifth grade usually attend Sunday School, and on most first Sundays children worship with their families in a service designed with them in mind. Children rejoin their parents in the church for communion. Acolytes, lectors, and ushers are drawn from the parish's young members, trained and mentored by the verger James Onyango, and the parish considers their participation an essential part of the worship life of the church.
The CCR Food Pantry and a Wider Food Justice Ministry
Food insecurity is a constant in the neighborhood around the church, and the parish has built one of its strongest outreach programs around it. The CCR Food Pantry is open to guests from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Thursdays and accepts donations of canned fruits, vegetables, beans, meats, fish, pasta, cereal, and rice. Donations can be brought to church on Sundays or from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Funds can also be given online so that the food-pantry team can purchase needed staples in bulk or buy food cards for guests to use for fresh items.
Volunteers staff the food pantry on Thursday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The ministry began as a community mutual-aid response to food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to grow in the years since, addressing what the parish describes as access to healthful food shaped by social and economic disparities. Mother Emily Lukanich is the direct contact for any guest who is unsure how they will get food in a given week.
Beyond its own pantry, the parish points to other neighborhood efforts it supports. The Friendly Fridge at 3016 Bailey Avenue - run by the accounts @thefriendlyfridgebx and @momsfeedthebronx - allows neighbors to drop off or pick up food at any time. The Kingsbridge Heights Community Center, at 3101 Kingsbridge Terrace, runs an emergency services program with distribution on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and accepts donations Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The parish's food-justice work also connects it to a broader Riverdale-wide mutual-aid network.
Walking with ELLIS Students
For more than seven years, the parish has partnered with ELLIS, a New York City public school that serves newly arrived immigrants aged sixteen and older. Students come to ELLIS from West Africa, Central America, Yemen, Bangladesh, and other places, and the school equips them with a college-preparatory education. Christ Church Riverdale supports ELLIS through the Mission Society's Level Up program, providing volunteers who help with college applications, career exploration, networking, and a sense of welcome.
Each August, the parish gathers to send ELLIS students off to college. The most recent cohort included students heading to Ithaca College, St. Lawrence, upstate SUNY campuses at Oneonta, Albany, Buffalo, and Potsdam, CUNY schools including Lehman, Guttman, and Hostos, and Parsons / The New School. The students have described plans that range from architecture and law to pre-med, nursing, and psychology, and many have spoken of their desire to stay connected to the school and give back. Financial support and volunteer hours from the Riverdale and Kingsbridge neighborhoods have been central to making those college acceptances possible.
Christ Church Riverdale recently added a new community partner in this work: Riverdale Neighborhood House. The relationship is built around a single verse from Leviticus - "the foreigner residing among you" - and the parish frames the volunteer work as a direct expression of that biblical call.
Social Justice and the Work of Becoming Beloved Community
The Social Justice Ministry is a multicultural group of parishioners who have responded to the Episcopal Church's policy for action against racism and discrimination within and beyond the criminal justice system. The ministry maintains a Google group listserv and convenes book discussions and forums on issues like mass incarceration, redlining, fair housing, and the legacy of Jim Crow. Previous events have included a community forum on the New York Health Act with State Senator Rivera, a march for justice, a Black History Month forum, a vigil for Black lives, and reflections on the witness of Bishop Michael Curry and the martyrdom of Jonathan Myrick Daniels.
The ministry has offered several members of the parish the chance to take the free online course "Becoming Beloved Community: Understanding Systemic Racism for Individuals" through ChurchNext, a six-week curriculum that explores how systemic racism has shaped U.S. culture and the church's history. The parish encourages everyone to take the course and to join in the Zoom discussions during Lent.
Christ Church Riverdale is affiliated with several interfaith and diocesan efforts in this work. The parish sits on the Enslaved Peoples Project task force at Van Cortlandt Park, partners with the Fair Housing Justice Center through the Building the Beloved Community interfaith initiative, and takes part in the Episcopal Diocese of New York's anti-racism and reparations programs. The New York Diocesan Reparations Committee leads the church-wide response to the transatlantic slave trade and its aftermath, and the Social Justice Ministry helps parishioners stay engaged with that work.
Pastoral Care, Fellowship, and Twelve-Step Groups
Pastoral care at Christ Church is coordinated by Mother Emily and a dedicated group of lay eucharistic ministers and lay eucharistic visitors who are available for home visits. Anyone who wishes to receive Holy Communion at home, share prayer, or simply have someone sit with them during a difficult time can ask for a pastoral visit. Names can also be added to the parish's weekly prayer list by contacting the church office.
Fellowship is described as a hallmark of the parish. Coffee hour follows both Sunday services, parishioners gather for "nibbles" at the Rectory, and a small group bakes communion bread on Saturday mornings. Zoom evening prayer is offered on Mondays and Thursdays at 7:00 p.m., with the link sent through the weekly eNews. Adult faith formation also includes a Wednesday-evening Phone Line Prayer at 9:00 p.m., shared with St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church and Christ Episcopal Church, that includes healing prayers, scripture reading, and reflection.
Christ Church Riverdale also opens its doors to community groups, including twelve-step recovery meetings, and the calendar lists the regular meeting times for those organizations. The parish's openness to outside groups is part of how it understands itself as a neighbor in Riverdale.
The Altar Guild, the Sacristy, and a Campus in Bloom
The Altar Guild prepares and beautifies the church for every service, caring for the altar linens, vessels, and banners, and arranging the flowers that decorate the sanctuary. Members serve on a rotating basis, approximately one Sunday every five weeks. The Sacristy was remodeled in 2019 with a grant from the New York Altar Guild, and the parish Altar Guild's annual meeting drew the highest attendance of any parish in the region that year. Floral offerings can be dedicated in memory of loved ones, in celebration of a milestone, or in thanksgiving for a particular blessing.
The parish campus is made up of three buildings: the Church, the Parish Hall, and the Rectory. The grounds are "an oasis of greenery and flowers" that supports the spiritual life of the congregation, with the bounty of the gardens used throughout the year to glorify the Lord at the altar and throughout the church. The sexton and verger, James Onyango, lives on the grounds and is responsible for keeping the buildings and gardens in good condition. The campus is also available to rent for outside events.
Sacraments, Stewardship, and Becoming a Member
The parish celebrates the five baptismal days set aside each year, and weddings, funerals, and other major life events are scheduled through the parish office. The rector can be consulted about preparation for any of the sacraments, and policies for weddings and funerals are posted on the parish's Sacraments page. Confirmation and Reception take place during the bishop's annual visitation; Bishop Matthew Heyd of the Episcopal Diocese of New York presided at a recent confirmation at Christ Church Riverdale, and Bishop Mary Glasspool has also visited for confirmations in past years.
Stewardship at Christ Church Riverdale is built around an annual pledge. A 2026 pledge form can be printed and mailed, and an online pledge form is also available. Beyond the annual pledge, the parish accepts cash and check gifts, credit and debit card gifts (single or recurring), gifts of appreciated stock, tax-free qualified charitable distributions from IRAs, and grants from donor-advised funds. The parish's tax ID is 13-1740151, and Christ Church Riverdale is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. Planned giving options are coordinated through the Episcopal Church Foundation and include bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, pooled income funds, life-insurance gifts, and charitable lead trusts.
Becoming a member happens through Baptism, Confirmation, or Reception. The parish recognizes Confirmed Communicants (those confirmed or received in the Episcopal Church), Baptized Members (those enrolled by baptism, transfer, or personal request), and Prospective Members (those still discerning). An Inquirer's Class is offered each year in preparation for the bishop's visit, and anyone interested in joining is encouraged to contact the rector or the parish office. Adult visitors from other Christian denominations can be received into the Episcopal Church at the same annual visitation, and a letter of transfer from a previous parish can enroll new members from another Episcopal congregation.
Christ Church Riverdale remains, after more than a century and a half, what its founders resolved to build: a fit and proper temple for the worship of Almighty God on the Henry Hudson Parkway, in conversation with the changing Riverdale neighborhood around it.