United Church of Christ denomination supports Obama's church

[sabra]

http://www.wandtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8091569

CHICAGO (AP) - One leader from the Cleveland-based United Church of Christ has told members of Barack Obama's church that the national denomination stands behind them.

The Reverend Edith Guffey is associate general minister of the church. She spoke at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago on Sunday. The church has been in the spotlight since Obama condemned certain sermons given by its fiery former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright Junior. The sermons were broadcast on TV and viewed by millions on YouTube.

Guffey told church members Sunday that they support and encourage a strong sense of identity as African-Americans and as an African-American church in the predominantly white denomination.

More:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-wrightwatch_31mar31,0,6727413.story

Members of Sen. Barack Obama's church got pep talks from the pulpit Sunday, as their new pastor and a representative from the national denomination urged them to stay strong in the coming months.

But it was a sermon delivered by high school senior Anita Pennington during Trinity United Church of Christ's monthly youth service that brought the crowd to its feet and moved about a dozen visitors to answer the altar call.

"Let your enemies in your fight bring out the best in you," urged Pennington, 18. "Let your enemies in your fight bring out the God in you."

...

The church's new pastor, Rev. Otis Moss III, urged the congregation to pray for Wright and his family. He also asked members to consider their foes nothing more than "confused friends."

[mntleo2]

1. I Asked My UCC Minister ...

...after missing church a couple weeks if he had done a sermon about it and how he felt about Rev Wright's take on racism, 911, and the rest (I did not see what was so wrong about them but did not voice that at the time). He said, "I did not give a sermon about it, but if I had, I would have said I agreed completely with Rev Wright's take on things!" We were with a bunch of other UCC members (all white btw) and we all cheered.

I too believe that 911 is "blow back" and that racism is alive and well in the US. Am raising my mixed white/black grandniece and cringe to think of what she will grow up in and to see Mr Obama become president would be the best thing for her and her generation I can think about. This will say to her that in SPITE of the racism in this country, people like Mr. Obama can rise above it and so can she.

My 2 cents!

Cat In Seattle

[sorrybushisfromtexas]

2. At my Southern Baptist Church in Texas

my pastor in Wichita Falls preached that
that he was sure Jesus heard remarks he didn't like or agree with growing up in synagogue in Nazareth. He didn't quit his synagogue. His implication was clear, why was everyone making such a big deal about Obama staying at his home church?
This is in a small city in Texas, the church of 500 is predominately Republican, and would be considered to be a conservative church.
I was so happy to hear my own Pastor tell people to get over it.

[thevoiceofreason]

5. Interesting - thanks for posting that!

[Rosemary2205]

3. So does Hillary's preacher.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Election2008/Default.aspx?id=73809

[mntleo2]

4. Boy, That Link ...

"...Mark Tooley, with the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD), has written a column on Clinton's former church titled "Lost and Foundry." He is not surprised Snyder is lauding Wright because he believes Wright preaches the same anti-American, anti-Semitic views espoused by white mainline Protestant clergy on the "religious left."

Uhhh... liberals are not anti-Semites. We ARE pro-justice. As a UCC member, I do not care what race, creed, nationality or religion someone is who causes starvation, war or misery, an injustice is an injustice. I do sympathize with Palestinians, but so does the synagogue my church shares spiritually with as we both also share our dismay with the local mosque against kooks like bin Laden. I also feel for Israelis who are sincere and want peace as many Israelis also do. And I love my country enough to stand up to correct it when it is doing wrong ~ something I would do with my own kin if they did something unjust (and have). We are *not* anti American or anti-Semites! I believe many of my fellow parishioners would say the same.

Sounds like this Mark Tooley is living up to his name: a religious TOOL of the right wing nuts who would like nothing better than to destroy God's beautiful Earth in God's name and then actually thinks he will rapture out of the terrible and immoral war-torn mess he and his cohorts created.

Dream on Tooley ...

Cat In Seattle

[kwassa]

6. Another link to right-wing opinion site, and you call yourself progressive?

The Institute for Religion and Democracy is a conservative activist religious group trying to overturn liberalism in mainline churches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Family_Association

The American Family Association (AFA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that promotes conservative Christian values.<1><2><3><4> It was founded in 1977 by Rev. Donald Wildmon as the National Federation for Decency and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi. Donald Wildmon serves as AFA chairman; his son, Tim Wildmon, is AFA president.<5>

The AFA defines itself as "a Christian organization promoting the biblical ethic of decency in American society with primary emphasis on TV and other media"<6><7> It pursues its views and other issues through a number of activism efforts, including boycotts, "action alert" e-mails, publications on the AFA's web sites or in the AFA Journal, broadcasts on American Family Radio, lobbying,<8> and legal efforts by the AFA Center for Law and Policy. Chief among its efforts are the compulsory recognition of Christmas in seasonal print advertisements; the criminalization of homosexuality<9><10> and lobbying to oppose equal-rights and hate-crime legislation that would benefit homosexuals;<11><12><13> and advocating censorship of print and electronic media.<14>

The organization has an annual budget of roughly US$14 million and owns 180 American Family Radio stations in 28 states.<15>

[Rosemary2205]

7. Sigh -------here

the damn thing was already posted here and I googled to find the info and grabbed the first one. MassDemm is on here bitching about the poor poor Hillary supporters getting attacked on a personal level and yet you want to come on here and question my standing in this community because of a quick grab on freaking google?

Here, from the man's own damn church website. Now go read it and stuff it somewhere. -- and I better not see even one more whine from a Hillary supporter about "going personal" because they will get slapped with your post.


http://www.foundryumc.org/pdfs/Statement%20concerning%20Rev.%20Jeremiah%20Wright.pdf

[babylonsister]

8. Hmm, MassDemm has been ignored by me for months, but

I'm not surprised. And furthermore, thank you, Rosemary2005! :yourock:

[kwassa]

9. yeah I do question your standing, do your homework ...

and stop this plague of right-wing mouthpieces being spread on DU.

You call this personal? I call it sloppy. It isn't about Hillary or Obama, it is about becoming a mouthpiece for right-wing organizations and commentators, from supporters on both sides, in a desperation to smear either candidate.

[Rosemary2205]

11. Hey

fuck you.

Seriously.

This is a coversation, not a thesis. You got the info straight from the horses mouth. Obviously the "right wing mouthpeice" grabbed off google got the info correct. There's NOTHING sloppy if the info is CORRECT. You have a problem with the info given then go whine at Hillary's preacher.

[mntleo2]

10. Hang In There Rosemary, Mistakes Happen!

...I was not questioning your loyalty, just commenting on Mark Tooley and his disturbing reference to folks like me who passionately speak to power around injustice ~ which IMO is WHY I am a UCC member. I am sure you are not spreading wing nut crap on DU, and hey I have done major faux pas myself. And then gotten "bitch slapped" for doing so. God forbid if you are not a Professional Journalist that gets every single link politically correct and every word is polished to the Nth degree. Seriously, I believe you are sincere and meant only to show that Clinton's pastor was supportive of Wright and this was your point. That Tooley also included in the article was actually kind of insightful since every opportunity to kick Clinton's ass is something wing nuts WILL do. I am an Barak supporter but I will vote for Hillary if I have to and do somewhat sympathize with her role as a major female candidate.

Cat In Seattle

[Rosemary2205]

12. The info was correct.

Hillary's preacher supports Obama's preacher. There's no mistake anywhere if the info given is correct.

The rest is a matter of opinion, not fact.