(704) 599-9810 | Worship Sundays @ 10:55 a.m.
(704) 599-9810 | Worship Sundays @ 10:55 a.m.
Nov 13, 2025
This month at Holy Covenant, our theme is still Sabbath: Rest in God, but our focus turns toward active and retired clergy — shepherds of sermons, spreadsheets, sacraments, and sacred exhaustion. So this week, The Digital Disciple is trying something new: looking outward to learn from a congregation
whose witness echoes far beyond its walls — The Riverside Church in the City of New York — and one of its key creative voices, Rev. Jim Keat.
Sometimes, Sabbath isn’t stepping back — it’s learning to see ministry done differently. Riverside and Rev. Keat offer a glimpse into what happens when a historic justice-seeking church leans fully into digital discipleship.
Founded in 1930 through the partnership of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Rev. Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, The Riverside Church was designed as a global cathedral of progressive Christianity — interdenominational, interracial, and international.
Its 22-story bell tower houses the world-renowned Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon, including one of the largest tuned bells ever cast.
In 1967, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered “Beyond Vietnam” from Riverside’s pulpit, a moment that forever linked the church to faith-rooted social change.
Today, Riverside remains proudly open and affirming, proclaiming: “Whoever you are: You are safe here. You are loved here.”
Riverside treats digital ministry not as a supplement — but as a sanctuary.
Rev. Jim Keat is the Minister of Digital Worship & Education at The Riverside Church and the Director of Online Innovation for the Convergence Network.
Jim’s work includes Be Still and Go, The Word Made Fresh, Bible in a Minute, How to Do Digital Ministry, and Church of the Long Run.
Trained at Western Theological Seminary, Jim brings a rare blend of creativity, theology, and digital imagination — treating online platforms as sacred spaces of connection.
Riverside and Rev. Keat invite us to see Sabbath as sacred curiosity — not withdrawing from ministry, but letting someone else inspire us toward deeper faith and fresher imagination.
Try something new in your digital faith life.
Then ask yourself: What small experiment could we try at Holy Covenant?
#TheDigitalDisciple | #TryingSomethingNew | #RiversideChurch | #RevJimKeat | #DigitalMinister | #BibleInAMinute | #BeStillAndGo | #OnlineChurch #DigitalSanctuary | #FaithAndJustice | #ClergyCare | #ProgressiveChristianity | #HCUCCEverywhere | #ProgressiveClergy | #DigitalDiscipleship
✍️ About the Author:
Eric Miner is Holy Covenant’s digital prophet, website artisan, and social media storyteller.
He believes that technology, when touched by justice and grace, becomes sacred space for all who wander in hope.
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