Despite the efforts of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) to get beyond stories linking him to the fiery rhetoric of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the retired pastor of his church, Trinity United Church of Christ, the matter is not going to go away soon. The new minister, Rev. Otis Moss III said in a statement issued this Palm Sunday that Wrights character is being assassinated.
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, Moss said.
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. Wrights ministerial legacy to present his global ministry within a 15- or 30-second sound bite.
I asked Trinity spokesman Angila M. Faison if a lot of reporters came to the church today. As you can imagine, she said.
click below for full statement
Statement from Trinity United Church Of Christ
400 West 95th Street
AN ATTACK ON OUR SENIOR PASTOR
AND THE HISTORY OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCH
Chicago, Il (March 15, 2008) 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. Wrights ministerial legacy to present his global ministry within a15 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 (UCC) denomination.
It saddens me to see news stories reporting such a caricature of a congregation that has been such a blessing to the UCCs Wider Church mission, said the Rev. John H. Thomas, UCC General Minister and President, in a released statement. Its 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 Christs ministry is inclusive and global. The following ministries have been developed under Dr. Wrights 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 oclock 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.
