Obama's Church Battles `Negative Forces' in Uproar Over Pastor
By Kim Chipman
March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Trinity United Church of Christ -- the 8,000-member black congregation in Chicago at the center of a national firestorm -- is gearing up for spiritual warfare.
The church of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is under scrutiny for comments made by its senior pastor, Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright. Now, its incoming leader is calling on congregants to shun reporters, battle ``negative forces'' and step up donations to counter what he calls a smear campaign against the church.
``I know it may seem like we are being crucified at times, but I'm here to let you know they are just lifting us up to give us an opportunity to speak love into this situation,'' Reverend Otis Moss III, who will succeed Wright as senior pastor in June, said during an Easter Sunday service March 23.
The controversy over Wright erupted this month when excerpts of his sermons were broadcast on television and distributed over the Internet. Wright's detractors call him a black separatist, pointing to comments such as ``God damn America'' and ``U.S. of KKKA.'' Wright also suggested that U.S. policies were responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks and that the government spread the HIV virus within the black community.
In an effort to defuse the controversy that has threatened his candidacy, Obama delivered what his aides billed as a major address on race on March 18. The Illinois senator condemned Wright's remarks, though he said he wouldn't disown his pastor any more than he would his own family.
`Wrong' and `Divisive'
Wright's comments ``were not only wrong, but divisive,'' said Obama, 46.
At the church, the strain is clear.
Moss, 37, has encouraged members not to talk to the media. Church personnel and volunteers police the lobby. The church bookstore stopped selling DVDs of Wright's preaching and wouldn't allow certain items to be purchased by anyone suspected of not being a member.
``I've been at Trinity so many years,'' said Julia Speller, a professor of church history at Chicago Theological Seminary and author of ``Walkin' the Talk: Keepin' the Faith in Africentric Congregations.'' ``To see this happen is just hurtful to my spirit, emotionally and spiritually.''
Distorted Picture
In interviews, parishioners say the true character of their church and pastor is distorted by the coverage of Wright and his words.
``It has to be put in the context of the black church, which grows out of a situation of slavery, where the message of Jesus Christ has always been linked to political and social issues,'' said Dwight Hopkins, a Trinity member and religion professor at the University of Chicago.
Trinity has posted full-length versions of Wright's sermons on the video-sharing Web site You Tube, which Moss said allows people to put the comments in context.
Some churchgoers said Wright, 66, is being unfairly targeted in an attempt to crush Obama's quest to become the first black U.S. president.
``There's a big element of racism involved in this,'' said Kevin Tyson, 51, a Trinity member who works at the Chicago Stock Exchange. ``The black church itself is under attack.''
Wright, who is on sabbatical and declined requests for interviews, has rejected claims that his sermons are anti-white.
Mark Sawyer, who previously attended Trinity, said the accusations are absurd because the church attracts black professionals, as well as some whites.
Middle Class
``Trinity is largely tax accountants, teachers, professors, stockbrokers -- middle-class black people coming in from other parts of the city,'' said Sawyer, a visiting professor of political science at the University of California at Berkeley. ``They aren't leaving Trinity and going back to their paramilitary organizations to attack white people.''
Obama has said he won't leave Trinity, where he was married by Wright and both his daughters were baptized.
The church has a long history of raising racial questions - - going back to its founding in 1961, when 12 families gathered in a local elementary school gym to worship. The initial idea was for Trinity to have both black and white co-pastors, yet it was ultimately deemed impossible because of racial tensions within the city, according to Speller's book.
When Wright, a former Marine, arrived at Trinity in 1972, the church had fewer than 90 members. By the time Obama came to Wright as a young community organizer in the late 1980s, the church's ranks had swelled to more than 4,000.
`Unashamedly Black'
Under Wright, the church, whose motto is ``Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian,'' has established about 70 ministries, including many with international reach.
The church spoke out against the destruction of public housing in the city and displacement of thousands of residents. It also fought to pressure not-for-profit hospitals to provide charitable care for those in need.
Trinity drew the ire of nearby black churches when Wright began advocating tolerance of homosexuals and set up a program to fight AIDS.
``Pastor Wright, to his credit, has built the church that cares for people on the margins,'' said Ed Shurna, a longtime community organizer who is executive director of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Chipman in Chicago at kchipman@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: March 26, 2008 00:01 EDT |
