Seems that every church in Washington D.C. is eagerly anticipating the increased prestige and revenues associated with President-elect Barack Obama’s decision as to where he and his family will worship once he takes office. Cynical? Perhaps. But according to an AP-Yahoo (whose CEO, Jerry Wang is stepping down, btw) News article, since resigning from Trinity United Church of Christ in return for four of Hillary Clinton’s delegates, Obama has not attended any church he wasn’t slamming black fathers in, preferring instead to go to the gym:
Obama has attended church sparingly in the past several months. Since winning the election, he has spent Sunday mornings at the gym. Many Washington-area churches hope that will change after he is inaugurated.
Why anybody would expect that the Obamessiah would deign to go to church when he could spend his Sunday mornings worshiping himself, and Michelle and the kids could sleep in, is beyond me. Besides, there was no more political advantage to be gained by regular church attendance once the Rules and Bylaws Committee essentially handed him the nomination on May 31, so why go? And anyway, AP-Yahoo says some presidents don’t go to church at all:
Or he could choose, as many presidents have done, not to attend services at all. President George W. Bush, for instance, has only infrequently attended services in Washington, occasionally going to St. John’s.
Now that he’s been elected, a lot of people, especially black Christians, will be expecting a little something in return for their support:
Churches in the nation’s capital have started extending invitations to President-elect Barack Obama and his family, touting their African-American roots, their ties to presidents past and to Obama himself.
While any number of Christian churches of all denominations are launching an all out public relations assault for the president-elect’s attention, they acknowledge there may be pitfalls associated with his attendence:
“I’m sure he’s going to be careful. He got burned,” Balmer said, referring to the Wright controversy. “He probably will be a little bit cautious with whom he associates.”
Pastors at D.C. congregations said they understand that their own words would be scrutinized more closely if the First Family were sitting in the pews, but universally said they wouldn’t change what they preach.
“I hope that I am deliberate and thoughtful about what I say every Sunday,” Snyder said.
He got burned? Wright burned Obama? Who sought who out? Who brought scorn and ridicule on whose life’s work? Who disowned who? Why are Columbia University religious history professors like Randall Balmer re-writing history this way? Are these eager-beaver preachers sure they want to compete with a guy who can make “lights shine down” and “oceans rise?” Who will they be asking their congregants to pray to, “Our Father, Who art in Pew 54?”
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