Concert Series

Love Fights Back: Singing Truth to Power

Sunday, Dec 14 at 5 PM
209 Madison Ave. (Church of the Incarnation)

The Concert of the Season: Our Love Fights Back concert series returns on Sunday, Dec. 14 at 5 PM at 209 Madison Ave.

We’re pulling no punches. Democracy is disintegrating. Genocide is raging. The military is occupying American cities. Our neighbors are being kidnapped.

Joy is our resistance.
Community is our power.
Love is our center.

Joined by Director of Music Darnell White, Assistant Director of Music Matt Podd, and singers from all over the city, we are raising our collective voices. If you need this as much as we do, we hope to see you there.

  • Dear Singers,

    This past year has been incredibly difficult for so many in our country, and of course across the world. As we approach the holiday season, The Community Church of New York is committed to seeking both JUSTICE and JOY in our programming to meet the moment we’re in. How can we uphold the musical celebrations we cherish, and also raise our voices loudly against ongoing assaults on humanity, dignity, and democracy?  If you, too, are looking to find meaningful ways both to find strength in community and to be heard, then I have an invitation for you:

    Please join the Community Church of New York choir to take part in our Love Fights Back: Songs of Justice and Joy concert on December 14th (more details below). Choirs and individual singers are invited to join us and raise their voices in love and resistance, creating music and building collective power in this moment of uncertainty and fear. There is a link to the participation form HERE and at the bottom of this message.

    The Community Church of New York is a 200-year-old Unitarian Universalist congregation with a powerful music program and a rich history of social justice activism. If you missed our last “Love Fights Back” concert, you can view it here to get a sense of what we’re about. It was an incredibly powerful event last spring, and we are looking forward to what will be the third concert in this series.

    For this concert, we are looking to add more voices to our choir, and welcome anyone and everyone wanting to speak out and sing out in community and push back against the wall of hate being built around us. The program will feature songs of strength, resistance, and yes, JOY, including songs for the holiday season. It is designed to be accessible for those that sing at all levels, not just trained singers, and we will be accompanied by a full band of fantastic musicians as well!

    The “Love Fights Back” Concert will be held on Sunday, December 14th, at 5:00 inside the Church of the Incarnation on the corner of Madison and 35th St. in Manhattan. We are asking participants to attend three rehearsals leading up to this concert, as well as to RSVP in advance (by Dec. 1st).

    To participate as part of the choir, please fill out this short form. Each singer participating must fill this out.

    There is no cost to participate. Please feel free to share this invitation far and wide!

    Concert: Dec. 14th: 3:30pm arrival. 5pm concert.  209 Madison Ave. New York, NY

    Rehearsals (same location):

    Dec. 3rd (Wed): 6:30pm-9pm
    Dec. 6th (Sat): 11am-1:30pm
    Dec. 10th (Wed): 6:30pm-9pm

    We would LOVE to have you join us

    Sincerely,
    Darnell White & Matt Podd
    Music Dept. at The Community Church of New York

Love Fights Back!

Following the success of Love Sings: A Winter Concert in December, 2024, the Community Church of New York followed up with a Spring Concert: Love Fights Back!

Taking place on Sunday, May 18 at 5 PM at 209 Madison Ave., the concert aimed to create music and build collective power in these times of uncertainty and fear.

Director of Music Darnell White and Assistant Director of Music Matt Podd, members of our amazing choir, musicians, and performers from all over the city provided an evening of uplifting, empowering music.

Love Sings: A Winter Concert

On December 22, 2024, our professional choir, under the leadership of our incomparable Music Director Darnell White and Assistant Music Director Matt Podd, performed a wide array of holiday and winter pieces for the Community Church of New York’s Love Sings: A Winter Concert. Some are likely to be familiar, but we guarantee there is nothing “standard” about these performances. Anyone who follows us on social media or takes part in our services, either online or in person, knows how special this music team is - and we are excited to share the recording of this phenomenal concert!

Donations collected during the concert went to support the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Disaster Relief Fund, which gives grants to UU congregations and non-profit entities in the wake of disaster and emergency situations. Funds like these provide urgently needed mutual aid to communities like those in Western North Carolina, which were devastated by hurricane-related flooding in October, 2024.