Observant Presbyterians are always part of gatherings at Rutgers Presbyterian Church. But much of the time, so are Roman Catholics and Jews, as well as a smattering of people who consider themselves vaguely spiritual. Valerie Oltarsh-McCarthy, who sat among the congregation listening to a Sunday sermon on the perils of genetically modified vegetables, is, in fact, an atheist.
"It's something I never thought would happen," she said of the bond she has forged with the church's community, if not the tenets of its faith. She was drawn to the church, she said, by "something in the spirit of Rutgers and something in the spirit of the outside world."
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