The Chicago Tribune checked in on Obama’s former church, Trinity United Church Of Christ for an interview with the pastor that replaced Reverend Wright; Reverend Otis Moss III.
Authors, Margaret Ramirez and Manya A. Brachear do a great job describing the whirlwind that befell the congregation when the Rev. Wright controversy became a full blown media firestorm, last March.
Sympathetic in tone, the article bemoans how the church was “vilified and attacked”:
On Sundays, media swarmed the church, pressing members for comment. Protesters parked themselves across the street from the entrance, bludgeoning the faithful with vitriol and insults as they made their way inside.
Security costs for the church skyrocketed to $40,000 weekly, diverting money from missions in Mississippi, New Orleans and nearby Chicago neighborhoods. Church attendance dropped, as more members stayed home to watch worship on the Web. Some expressed doubt about Moss’ leadership. Others, like Obama, struggled with whether they should find a new church.
Now, Moss and the more than 6,500 members of his congregation have emerged from the storm, recounting painful lessons and preparing for the future.
What painful lessons did they learn? Although the Trib failed to mention any of the reasons for the controversy, I hoped that the members of TUCC learned that Black Liberation Theology, a marxist, anti-American, and racist philosophy was profoundly wrong, and odious to most Americans. Were they ashamed and embarrassed when it became widely known that their preacher said, “G-d damn America” and our “chickens are coming home to roost” just days after 9/11 …from the pulpit?! Did they figure out why those sermons, and others seen on YouTube, so disgusted ordinary Americans?
Does the church still support Hamas and Hezbollah?
I eagerly read on, hoping to find a chastened, and wiser pastor, and congregation. But no tough questions were asked, and this is all I found:
“It wasn’t Obama. It wasn’t Jeremiah Wright. It was Trinity that was under attack,” said Rev. Clyde White, an associate pastor who came to Trinity nearly 30 years ago. “I knew we would come out better and stronger for enduring the attack. Now we can accomplish what Rev. Wright wants. We can accomplish what Rev. Moss wants. We can accomplish what God wants.”
No introspection at all? Just a 100% victim mentality?
“As things ramped up, I made a decision that I don’t want to be in between,” Moss said. “I didn’t want to put the church in the middle of anything. . . . All we want to do is be a church.”
But what kind of church? Did it not occur to anyone (including the writers of this piece) that maybe black liberation theology is a CRAP theology?!
Establishing new rules, Moss banned cameras and recorders from church. Reporters required approval to enter. Church members were instructed not to speak to any media.
So they decided that the answer to their problems was a gag order: fewer people knowing what goes on in their church.
Church leaders also looked to Scripture. White, the 71-year-old associate pastor, turned to his Bible, anchoring himself in passages that spoke of reconciliation, facing the unknown and trusting God.
“None of us knew how God was working through this,” he said.
In the midst of the media blackout, a renewed sense of purpose began to permeate the congregation. In the fall, Moss unveiled a new “Imagine” theme for Trinity, in which members were encouraged to visualize their ideal church.
Scripture is good… more scripture, and less Cone would be the way to go, if you ask me.
Let’s face it. Obama’s involvement with TUCC should have ended his Presidential aspirations. McCain for some stupid reason (he didn’t want to win?), decided not to make it an issue during the general election. I hope the pastor and congregation of TUCC appreciate that…
Hat tip: Lucianne
