Corrie Aune Portfolio:
Women Photograph Mentorship Application

Surrounded by quiet pews and warm afternoon light, Vicki paused and took a breath, composing herself.

“I was always looked at with some kind of disdain,” she said. “They called me a troublemaker when I questioned the way women were treated.”

A decade ago, Vicki Moss was ostracized by her previous church community for questioning gender inequity and bringing attention to abuse she witnessed. Today, she is the pastor of her church in Queens, New York City. Here, Vicki leads initiatives to decrease gun violence, create safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth, and empower women to pursue leadership roles.

For Such a Time as This documents women pastors across New York City who are confronting the historic exclusion of women from Church leadership. These women span a variety of backgrounds, denominations, ages, and New York City boroughs and are all leading social justice work in their communities.

(Above) Reverend Vicki Moss, Pastor of Ridgewood Presbyterian Church in Queens, prepares for a service in November, 2022.

(Above) Dr. Lisa Jenkins Brown, pastor of St. Matthew's Baptist Church, in her home in Yonkers in April, 2023. Jenkins Brown was forced out of her church in her early twenties when she became pregnant out of wedlock. Her boyfriend, a leader in the same church and the father of her child, was not. Since then, Jenkins Brown has aimed to lead church communities that are inclusive and accepting to people in all walks of life. She also leads DEI courses for churches and organizations across the nation.

(Above) Reverend Vicki Moss waits in a stairwell outside the sanctuary of Ridgewood Presbyterian Church in November, 2022.

(Above) The desk of Reverend Kelsey Brown, pastor of Jehu's Table Lutheran Church, a small church in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn. Brown is the first woman and first queer person to pastor Jehu's Table. At 30, Brown is also the youngest person to lead the church.

(Above) Reverend Adriene Thorne, pastor of the Riverside Church, stands in front of a portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preaching at Riverside in 1967. This historic church has welcomed other noteworthy speakers like Cesar Chavez and Desmond Tutu. Since its beginning, the Riverside Church has worked on the forefront of social justice and faith.

(Above) Light filters through a stained glass window in a prayer room at St. Matthew's Baptist Church in Harlem. In 2013, Dr. Lisa Jenkins Brown became the first female pastor of the church.

(Above) A member of St. Matthew's Baptist Church leaves the church's annual Thanksgiving Celebration in November, 2022. The congregation prides itself on their history of social justice work and community outreach in their Harlem neighborhood.

(Above) A bulletin board in the entryway of Advent Lutheran Church where Reverend Danielle Miller is pastor. Advent Church is extremely active in their community, offering everything from meals to free counseling for their neighbors.

(Above) A beam of morning light enters Advent Lutheran Church before a Sunday Service in April, 2023.

(Above) Reverend Kelsey Brown prepares the sanctuary of Jehu's Table for a Lent service in February, 2023. Brown is the only full-time staff member of her church.

(Above) Reverend Vicki Moss leads a service for Ash Wednesday at Ridgewood Presbyterian Church in February, 2023. She made the decorations alone, by hand. The service was attended by one person: her secretary Dan.

(Above) A member of the Riverside Church arrives early on a Sunday morning to prepare for the church's multiple worship services. Photographed in March, 2023.

(Above) Reverend Danielle Miller, pastor of Advent Lutheran Church on Manhattan's Upper West Side

(Above) An elementary school student passes by Advent Lutheran Church in the late afternoon.

(Above) Reverend Kelsey Brown preaches at Jehu's Table Lutheran Church on a Sunday service in March, 2023. The church's congregation, mostly older Black women, has dwindled since the COVID-19 Pandemic. On this Sunday, Brown preached to an audience of nine.

(Above) Katie Crockford in the Union Theological Seminary chapel in March, 2023. Despite her recent struggles with injustice she witnessed in her childhood church, Crockford will graduate this year and begin her career as a pastor. She hopes to create more inclusive, diverse church communities than the one in which she was raised.

(Above) Katie Crockford through a window at Union Theological Seminary

(Above) Pastor Tiffany Henkel-Triplett in her office at Metro Baptist Church in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen. Located on the same block as the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the church serves large numbers of Central American migrants through their food distribution program, clothing closet, and life skills classes.

(Above) The sanctuary at Jehu's Table Lutheran Church on an early morning in March, 2023. Each Sunday, Reverend Kelsey Brown arrives long before the weekly worship service begins, unlocking the building, turning on lights, making last minute powerpoint adjustments, and arranging the wafers and wine for communion.

(Above) Reverend Adriene Thorne in one of the Riverside Church's many libraries.

Corrie Aune Portfolio:Women Photograph Mentorship Application

Corrie Aune Portfolio:
Women Photograph Mentorship Application