Senior Minister
The Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr.
Senior Minister of The Riverside Church

Dr. Forbes has earned three degrees and has been awarded 13 honorary degrees. He earned a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Colgate-Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, NY, in 1975; a Master of Divinity Degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, NY in 1962; and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1957. He earned his Clinical Pastoral Education Certificate from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, VA, in 1968.

His honorary degrees are: Doctor of Divinity, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 2002; Doctor of Humane Letters, Central University, North Carolina, 1998; Doctor of Humane Letters, Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY, 1996; Doctor of Humane Letters, Keuka College, Keuka Park, NY, 1993; Doctor of Divinity, Franklin College of Indiana, Franklin, IN, 1992; Doctor of Divinity, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, 1991; Doctor of Divinity, Trinity College, Hartford, CT, 1991; Doctor of Humane Letters, DePauw University, Greencastle, IN, 1990; Doctor of Laws, Fairleigh Dickenson University, Rutherford, NJ, 1990; Doctor of Divinity, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, 1989; Doctor of Divinity, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, 1987; Doctor of Divinity, Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary, Alexandria, VA, 1986; Doctor of Sacred Theology, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA, 1983.

A well-known preacher and lecturer in the United States and abroad, in 1986 Dr. Forbes gave the Lyman Beecher Lecture at Yale University. The lectures in this series have been published by Abingdon Press as The Holy Spirit and Preaching, 1989. In 1993 he gave the Sixth Annual Leslie R. Smith Lectures in Preaching, entitled “Spiritual Revitalization of the Nation through Preaching” and in 1995 his “Healing the Spirit of America” was edited from The Davison Lectures at Warren Wilson College. He has participated in the Charles Finney Colloquium at Colgate-Rochester Divinity School and the World Pentecostal Fellowship in Nairobi, Kenya. In 1998 he completed a semester as the inaugural Luce Lecturer at the Harvard Divinity School, devoting his lectures to the theme of urban ministry. Also in 1998, in addition to participating in the Department of Justice Round Table on Youth Violence at the White House, Dr. Forbes delivered the keynote address at the President’s Initiative on Race meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. For 1992 to the present, Dr. Forbes has been co-chair of A Partnership of Faith, an interfaith organization of clergy among New York’s Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim communities. He is on the board of Manhattanville College, the Interfaith Alliance, Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, and the United Way. He is a consultant to the Congress of National Black Churches and past President of The Martin Luther King Fellows. In October 2000, he received the prestigious Earle B. Pleasant Clergy of the Year Award from Religion in American Life and delivered the Raymond J. Peterson Lecture. In 2000, Dr. Forbes also accepted board appointments to: The Values Institute of America, The Bertram M. Beck Institute on Religion and Poverty at Fordham University, and The Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. In April 2001, Union Theological Seminary presented Dr. Forbes with the Unitas Distinguished Alumnus Award, and in May 2003, Teachers College awarded him their Distinguished Service Medal.

Forbes has led numerous workshops, retreats, and conferences for the National Council of Churches of Christ USA, the National Association of Campus Ministry, the American Baptist Churches, the United Church of Christ, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Episcopal Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the United Methodist Church, and the Presbyterian Church (USA). His sermons are aired weekly on WLTW 106.7 FM in New York City, NY.
Born in 1935 in Burgaw, North Carolina, Dr. Forbes is married to Bettye Franks Forbes, formerly of San Antonio, TX. They are the proud parents of one son, James A. Forbes III.