Love Fights Back: Songs of Joy & Justice
Love Fights Back: Songs of Joy & Justice
Sunday, Dec. 14 at 5 PM at 209 Madison Ave. (Church of the Incarnation)
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After an incredibly powerful and moving concert this past May, Love Fights Back at the Community Church of New York returns this holiday season to raise our collective voices in singing Songs of Joy & Justice.
The Community Church of New York, which celebrates its 200th anniversary this year, serves as a home for liberal religion, justice-based values, and activism for liberation that keeps love at the center of everything we do. These tenets of our community are foundational to all of our programming and offerings, including our Love Fights Back concert series.
The aim of this concert is to provide an opportunity for those disheartened by the daily headlines of regression and suffering to share joy and build our resolve to face these injustices. Be it the genocidal campaigns of ethnic cleansing against the peoples of Palestine and Darfur, or the erosion of democracy in the United States and nations across the globe, we know that despair and apathy will only benefit the perpetrators and lead to further suffering. By coming together to find joy in this holiday season, build community, and stand together in love, we are strengthening our resistance and building our power, all with love firmly at the center.
Our first Love Fights Back concert took place on May 18, 2025 at the Church of the Incarnation.
To watch a video of the full concert, click here.
Under the guidance of Darnell White and Matt Podd, the Director and Assistant Director of Music at the Community Church of New York respectively, a large and diverse choir from all corners of the metropolitan area will provide a tour de force of music grounded in the history of righteous struggles that produced songs both poignant and powerful. These movements were defined by the music spawned from those on the front lines. As the battle for freedom and equality rages on these songs remain just as relevant today in our efforts to carry the torch ever forward.
Taking place amidst the buildup to the Christmas season, the concert will also include music that evokes joy, peace and reverence that are at the heart of the holiday. We remind ourselves and each other that, though it is a season of celebration for many, others will still face the threats and injustices this concert confronts with no likely reprieve. In a time when this season has become heavily geared towards consumerism and hollow platitudes, we aim to reclaim it as a season of both reflection and resistance against suffering of any variety. To that end, we are also happy to present this concert free of charge and encourage individuals, groups, families, and people of all ages to celebrate alongside one another.
If you attended our previous concert and felt moved, or if you are looking for a space building joyful resistance and community, we invite you to join us for this concert, and all that follow.
