Barack & Michelle Obama Resign From Trinity UCC

From WaPo.com

Obama Resigns Church Membership
Updated 9:15 p.m.
By Keith Richburg

ABERDEEN, S.D. -- Sen. Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, resigned their membership in the South Side Chicago church that had been their spiritual home for two decades but which, in recent months, had become a political liability in Obama's campaign for the presidency.


The Obamas announced their decision in a letter to Trinity United Church of Christ's Rev. Otis Moss III on Friday, saying, "We are writing to make official our decision to end our membership at Trinity."

"We make this decision with sadness. Trinity was where I found Christ, where we were married and where our children were baptized," the letter said. "But as you know, our relations with Trinity have been strained by the divisive statements of Reverend Wright, which sharply conflict with our own view."

Obama's unexpected decision came after a second controversy involving incendiary remarks from a pastor at the Trinity United Church of Christ, this time the Roman Catholic Rev. Michael Pfleger, who sharply ridiculed Sen. Hillary Clinton in a sermon last Sunday.

Obama scheduled an unplanned news conference Saturday evening here in Aberdeen, after news of the resignation began to spread. In the half-hour news conference, Obama said he and Michelle had been discussing leaving the church since his former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.'s theatrical and controversial appearance at the National Press Club in late April.

"It's not a decision I came to lightly, and it's one I make with some sadness," Obama said. But, he added, now that he is a presidential candidate, opponents were using the pastors' words to criticize him.

Obama said he never anticipated the storm of controversy his membership in Trinity Church would ignite. "This was one I didn't see coming," he said. "I did not anticipate my fairly conventional Christian faith being subject to such challenge and such scrutiny."

He also said his heightened profile was drawing unwelcome attention to the church. "It's also clear that Reverend Moss and the church have been suffering from all the attention my campaign has visited on them."

"I have no idea how it will impact my presidential campaign, but it's the right thing to do, for my church and for my family," he said.

Asked about choosing a new church, and whether he would more carefully vet his next pastor, Obama said, "I'm not going to approach this as a political exercise." He said in "whatever church you join," pastors may say things that members disagree with. But, answering a question, he acknowledged that joining another black church might be equally problematic. "There's a different religious tradition, or a worshiping style, in some of the African American churches," he said.

"I'm confident we're going to be able to find a church we're comfortable with," he added.

"Our faith remains strong," Obama said. "I suspect that we will find another church home for our family."

Rest of story at link above.


Can't say that I'm happy about this, but after the Father Pfleger incident, I'm not surprised. Just went through all of this yesterday listening to the radio, and still didn't know how I felt about it. I'm just sad about it, but I'm not sure when it would have been the ' right' time to leave the church.

Blogging Light

I may be missing in action for the next week or so. I have some issues to deal with.

I'm a little tired of blogging at the moment anyway. It is beginning to drain me.... with all the negative news. There is George Bush with his usual stupidity, and the (s)election campaign and the Swiftboating of Barack Obama (I knew it was coming... But I wish they would have gotten it over with earlier before our "hopes" got too high). Then there is the beast Hillary Clinton with her race baiting tactics.... where she has now turned everything around to make it Obama's fault. This adds a whole new meaning to "blaming the victim".

It's amazing that Obama's "Blackness" will end up being his downfall afterall.... even though he tried his damndest to run a smooth, clean, race neutral campaign that tried to put a focus on the issues. He was smeared anyway. Clinton's aim was to brand him with the "Black candidate" label, and with the help of her allies in the White Corporate media, she has now been successful. Gravity will take over & do the rest now. That says a lot about the United States of Amerikkka....when you are a Black or minority political figure and you try to deal with the merits of issues... they still find a way to use race against you. But it should be no surprise in one of the most racist nations in the World. It just confirms all many of the reasons why I hate being a Black man in this Country.

How do you have all of this scrutiny aimed at Obama regarding his former Pastor Reverend Wright.... and there is no one asking John McCain to denounce, reject, etc... a known bigot and hate monger who's endorsement McCain happily and publicly accepted? This is so ass backwards that I can't even begin to rationalize it... It raises my blood pressure too high.

And what about Hillary Clinton? This woman virtually has a goddamn Cemetery in her closet. David Axelrod is either too stupid or too weak & spineless to find any of the bodies buried inside. It wouldn't be hard to find any.... that scene from Hotel Rwanda comes to mind when Paul Rusesabagina steps out of the car on one of the main roads...and ends up tripping over bodies stacked two deep.

When will someone ask Clinton about her relationship with sweatshop tycoon Willie Tan...ask her to explain everything and ask her if she returned his money...& if not, why not? Mrs. Pro-Labor Rights my ass!!!

When will someone in the White corporate media corner Hillary and ask her about her true involvement in all of the fraud surrounding her Senate Campaign? When will they ask her to talk about her involvement with her finance director David Rosen, who was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury?

When will someone in the White corporate media ask Hillary "The Feminist" Clinton why she violated her feminist principles and defended a brutal wifebeater when she was at the Rose Law Firm?

When will the White corporate media go back and talk with the folks at the Rose Law Firm about Hillary? (The Rose Law Firm = The Rose Cemetary for Clinton).

When will the White corporate media look into Clinton's background at Wal-Mart and her work fighting AGAINST labor rights?

When will the White corporate media investigate Clinton's relationship with Healthcare Industry lobbyists leading up to...and after the absolute failure of her Universal Healthcare campaign?

And there are still a lot of questions left unanswered regarding Travelgate....and a whole host of other issues.

There are enough Skeletons in Hillary's closet to keep a team of good investigative Journalists and Campaign chiefs busy for months.... IF THEY WOULD ONLY LOOK.
And the above is barely the tip of the iceberg.

On top of all of this... The Country seems to be going broke... although it has been broke for a long time. But now it may trickle down to the entire Country. I posted a couple of times...back in 2006 and 2007 on the fact that the American system, as it is today, is unsustainable. Just last year people thought that $90 per barrel oil was a problem, but now it is at $110.00 per barrel.

There has been some more recent analysis on the U.S. economy, but I have not gotten around to posting that information. I am hoping that this is a normal financial correction....and not a global recession...or worse. But the dollar could tank any day now.... it has been on shaky ground for some time. The nation's leaders had a long time to do something about it....but due to a lack of leadership... no action was taken to fix fundamental problems in the nation's economy and with the currency in particular.

On top of all of that, I have issues at home to take care of.... including my own lack of funds. It's one problem after another.

Blogging, usually cathartic, has recently become a drag on the psyche.

______________________________________

On another note... I lost a co-blogger last week. Liberal Arts Dude (Redante) decided that he could no longer contribute. I would like to add another blogger... and my choice will be made with diversity in mind.

I am looking for ways to improve the blog. I am considering scrapping the site and starting over from scratch, because I am not satisfied with the readership situation, or participation (although that has grown by leaps and bounds from what it was a year ago). The bloggers here work hard....

It's annoying to see blogs of lesser quality with much higher readership.
I also find it hard to blog as a "Black" blogger. It's like having a weight attached to your leg when you are trying to sprint (Barack Obama knows a little something about that)....and it never goes away. Bolt cutters can't set you free. It's hard posting the right balance between so-called "Black" issues, and other broader issues that interest me...and issues that we should all be concerned with. Furthermore, there is just so much going on that it's hard to narrow things down...although I have it down to a science.

But I am calling out to anyone who has suggestions on improving the blog (in fact, I am always open to suggestions).

*What kinds of topics would you like to see discussed?
*How could we diversify and broaden the readership? (which is a long term goal of mine)
*More videos/multi-media....less...or just right?
*More original writing? (My time is limited....and so is Rikyrah's i'm sure).

Well... it's time for me to go....

If you have any complaints... contact Rikyrah. Whatever it is... it will probably be her fault anyway.

Good Night ...and Good Luck!

Trinity UCC's Palm Sunday Statement

Hat tip:Prometheus6:

From the NYTimes.com:

While Senator Obama has distanced himself from the incendiary remarks by his former pastor, including comments about how the United States brought on the Sept. 11 attacks by its own actions abroad, the Chicago church’s current pastor, the Rev. Otis Moss III, issued this statement on Palm Sunday.

Nearly three weeks before the 40th commemorative anniversary of the murder of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.’s character is being assassinated in the public sphere because he has preached a social gospel on behalf of oppressed women, children and men in America and around the globe.

Dr. Wright has preached 207,792 minutes on Sunday for the past 36 years at Trinity United Church of Christ. This does not include weekday worship services, revivals and preaching engagements across America and around the globe, to ecumenical and interfaith communities. It is an indictment on Dr. Wright’s ministerial legacy to present his global ministry within a 15- or 30-second sound bite,” said the Reverend Otis Moss III, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ.

During the 36-year pastorate of Dr. Wright, Trinity United Church of Christ has grown from 87 to 8,000 members. It is the largest congregation in the United Church of Christ denomination.

“It saddens me to see news stories reporting such a caricature of a congregation that has been such a blessing to the UCC’s Wider Church mission,” said the Rev. John H. Thomas, UCC general minister and president, in a released statement. “ … It’s time for us to say ‘No’ to these attacks and declare that we will not allow anyone to undermine or destroy the ministries of any of our congregations in order to serve their own narrow political or ideological ends.”

Trinity United Church of Christ’s ministry is inclusive and global. The following ministries have been developed under Dr. Wright’s ministerial tutelage for social justice: assisted living facilities for senior citizens, day care for children, pastoral care and counseling, health care, ministries for persons living with HIV/AIDS, hospice training, prison ministry, scholarships for thousands of students to attend historically black colleges, youth ministries, tutorial and computer programs, a church library, domestic violence programs and scholarships and fellowships for women and men attending seminary.

Moss added, “The African American Church was born out of the crucible of slavery and the legacy of prophetic African American preachers since slavery has been and continues to heal broken marginalized victims of social and economic injustices. This is an attack on the legacy of the African American Church which led and continues to lead the fight for human rights in America and around the world.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached the Christian tenet, “love thy neighbor as thyself.” Before Dr. King was murdered on April 4, 1968, he preached, “The 11 o’clock hour is the most segregated hour in America.” Forty years later, the African American Church community continues to face bomb threats, death threats, and their ministers’ characters are assassinated because they teach and preach prophetic social concerns for social justice. Sunday is still the most segregated hour in America.

We talked with Angela Faison, a spokeswoman for the church, just moments ago, who verified the statement from the Reverend Moss. We asked her if Senator Obama or his campaign cleared the statement, and she asked: “Why would we do that? We are two separate entities.”

Obama on his Pastor

On My Faith and My Church

Trying to Attack Obama Through His Church

Well, those of us who have been observing the Obama Campaign knew that this day would come.

Faux News has been obsessed with Trinity UCC from the beginning of his campaign.

I know that most of the Black readers on here understand that the attack on Trinity is basically an attack on the best traditions of the Black Christian Church. For our non-Black readers, here is my take on Trinity UCC.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trinity UCC is about empowerment. It is not full of 'radicals'. It's full of 'Strivers' like Barack and Michelle Obama. It is full of what has to be called ' The Talented Tenth'. These folks are not radicals; they are the most connected to 'The System' within the Black community.

Dr. Wright is an old-fashioned Black preacher; not one of these Prosperity Gospel Sellout Hustlers. His Jesus is the one that helps the sick, the poor, the least amongst us. In fact, I believe, with conviction, if Wright WERE a Prosperity Gospel Hustler, then Faux News and Others wouldn't be saying JACK about him.

Wright demanded of his congregation that they have an active part in the world in which they live. Trinity is one of the most affluent congregations, regardless of race, in the entire state. That they show some self-respect; that Dr. Wright, and now Rev. Moss challenge them to give back - how is that a bad thing?

They are about self-reliance; doing for one's self. Not expecting anyone else do to for you what you won't do for yourself. Sounds like pretty conservative values to me.

When they were building their new multi-million sanctuary, they could have gone anywhere in the city or suburbs - they would have been welcome. THEY CHOSE to locate, literally across the railroad tracks, from a housing project. This was a display of their commitment to the community. Jews send their children to Hebrew School on a weekly basis; what is the purpose of that, if not to reinforce a sense of pride, values, history and tradition in their children.

That is what Trinity provides for its members - a sense of community, and pride. A source of religious inspiration that reinforces the conservative values that many of the parents are attempting to raise their children with, despite being surrounded by a BET/Hip Hop culture. A church that reinforces to their children that respect for family and community and education are not, nor have they ever been, the exclusive pervue of Whites. To surround their children with living and breathing examples of Black professionals who have 'achieved' doing something other than dribbling/carrying some sort of ball, or shuffling in front of a microphone degrading themselves. That success in America is quite attainable, through education and hard work. For Black children to SEE those examples up close, on a consistent basis, is invaluable. To have a sense of self-worth and pride be instilled in them will make them more productive citizens as they grow up in this society. Part of the development of that self-worth is to provide those children for a context about the world in which they live. Only by admitting and confronting White Supremacy and all the traps that it can set for their children, will their children be provided with the armor to go forth and succeed in this world. It's the time honored lesson of ' how to get over' that has been passed from generation to generation in the Black community. Jeremiah Wright just wrapped it up in a bow of Pan-Africanism.


When I see the 'reports' on Faux News and elsewhere, it's obvious that they are getting their information from people who have never been to Trinity, spoken to members from Trinity, and are getting their gross mischaracterizations from people who obviously have nothing but ill-intentions towards Senator Obama. The members of Trinity are not unlike the professional African-Americans in your office. The same middle-class, upper middle-class folks that you work with......do you really believe that THOSE folks leave the office and turn into the second coming of Angela Davis and Huey P. Newton on Sunday morning?

Puleeze.

No different with Barack & Michelle Obama and the nearly 10,000 members of Trinity UCC.