Ms. Perry's Free Press Page 7


 Will the Obama's find a


Black Church to call home? -


 President-elect Barack Obama
has said the African-American
church transformed him from a
skeptic to a believer.
He has spoken appreciatively of its
vibrant worship and written about
how the black church experience
has moved him to tears. And he has
credited African-American congre-
gations for their work in helping the
powerless and in speaking truth to


 power.
 But when he officially takes up
residence in the White House, will
the nation's first African-American
president attend a predominantly
African-American church? And, in
a larger sense, does it matter if he
does or doesn't?
 No matter where the Obama fam-
ily decides to attend church, their
choice will be dissected and ana-
lyzed.
Some observers think he ultimately
may choose a black church, given
his previous attraction to the pre-
dominantly African-American
Trinity United Church of Christ in
Chicago, which he made his church
home before the fiery sermons of its
pastor, Jeremiah Wright, became an
embarrassment.
 Noel Erskine, associate professor
at Candler School of Theology in
Atlanta, suspects the president-elect
is considering another African-
American congregation, after his
mainly positive experience at
Trinity.
 Erskine expects black congrega-
tions to be part of the Obama fami-
ly's search "as a continuation of the
family's experience of church,"
including his wife's and his mother-


 in-law's roots in the African
 Methodist Episcopal Church.
 "I feel that they will give as care-
 ful a search for church as they gave
 for the school of the girls," he
 said."Perhaps the compromise will
 be that since they chose a white
 school for the girls they will choose
 a black church (and) Sunday school
 for them."
 After the controversy surrounding
 Wright, University of Chicago
 Divinity School professor Dwight
 Hopkins thinks Obama might
Choose a black congregation that
 is in some respects milder than
 Trinity.
 "There are various forms of
 preaching and, of course,
 African-American preaching
 has various styles," said
 Hopkins, a theology professor
 who is a member of Trinity. "I
 could see him and the first family
 settling in a church in the D.C. area
 that would have the same liberal
 and progressive theological bent
 but the emotive and bodily expres-
 sion of that element might be more
 toned down, mild in that sense."
 Washington has an array of pre-
 dominantly black churches from
 which to choose, including
 Metropolitan African Methodist
 Episcopal Church, Shiloh Baptist
 Church and Covenant Baptist
 Church.
 Although Hopkins can imagine
 Obama attending a black church, he
 cautioned against making too much
 about Obama, or his feelings about
 race, based solely on where he
 chooses to worship on Sunday
 mornings.
 "It's clear that he enjoys (the)
 black church, he enjoys black wor-
 ship," he said.
 Nick Shapiro, a spokesman for
 Obama's transition team, said,
 "What church President-elect
 Obama chooses is a private deci-
 sion that he will make."
 In his autobiographical books,
 Obama captured the ethos of the
. African-American church and what
he found attractive about it.
 "Out of necessity, the black church
 rarely had the luxury of separating
 individual salvation from collective


salvation," he wrote in The
Audacity of Hope. "It had to serve
as the center of the community's
political, economic and social as
well as spiritual life; it understood
in an intimate way the biblical call
to feed the hungry and clothe the
naked and challenge powers and
principalities."
Hearing Wright preach about "the
audacity of hope" brought Obama
to tears, he wrote in Dreams from
My Father.
 "Those stories-of survival and
freedom and hope-became our
story, my story; the blood that had
spilled was our blood, the tears our
tears," Obama wrote, "until this
black church, on this bright day,
seemed once more a vessel carrying
the story of a people into future
generations and into a larger
world."
 Whether Obama chooses a black
church or not, his choice will be
dissected and analyzed, just as
many of his other choices have
been and will be, said Eddie S.
Glaude Jr., professor of religion and
African-American studies at
Princeton University.
 "No matter what he chooses,
where he chooses to attend, his
choice is already overdetermined
by the legacy, the history of race
and religion in the United States,"
said Glaude. "It's like everything
with this presidency. It is freighted
with symbolic and substantive sig-
nificance. ... It's just uncharted ter-
ritory."


Bishop T.D. Jakes


Bishop Eddie Long


Watchdog Group Places Popular Pastors

 on List of Predatory Preachers List


An independent group that moni-
tors just how "Christian" certain
ministries are when it comes to
handling the money has put several
African-American ministries on its
"donor-alert" list.
 Cited among its top 30 untrust-
worthy religious organizations are
the Atlanta-based ministries of the
Rev. Creflo Dollar and Bishop
Eddie Long, and the Dallas-based
ministry of Bishop T.D. Jakes.
Traditionally, the Matthews, N.C.-
based Wall Watchers releases its list
of "Shining Light" ministries and a
regular bulletin of "donor alerts" to
help unwary givers avoid falling
prey to what it deems as question-
able ministries. This is the first
year, however, that it has released
an official list of "30 Donor Alert
Ministries" through its Web site,
MinistryWatch.com.
 "Most donors expect charitable
organizations to act on behalf of


others and not for greed, personal
aggrandizement, or other reasons;
however, ministries are operated by
human beings who are subject to
the shortcomings common to man,
including what some may call the
'principle of ethical entropy,' or as
Christians call it, sin," the evangel-
ical organization states in introduc-
tion of the newly released list.
"Donors do not always have the
power or know-how to pursue
accountability; however, each
donor can do their part by making
an informed giving decision by
looking at various factors and
issues," it added.
The group takes into consideration
such issues as lack of transparency,
high salaries, misleading marketing
efforts, revocation of tax-exempt
status, ties to cultic practices, and
current investigations.
The ministries of Dollar and Long,
along with four others, are being


investigated by a Senate tax over-
sight committee for their spending
practices, which allegedly included
fat salaries and extravagant pur-
chases like private jets, Rolls-
Royces, sprawling cribs and tons of
other tax-free goodies. Others mak-
ing the bad list are Long Paula
White Ministries, Bennie Hinn
Ministries, Joyce Meyers Ministries
and Kenneth Copeland Ministries.
 "As a Christian myself, and one
who believes in tithing, I feel I have
a right to know where my money
goes," he explained. "If a person
gets a tax deduction for a donation,
the deduction and donation should
be for a legitimate purpose."
 TD Jakes Ministries earned a
"Transparency Grade of 'F,'"
Inspirational Network (INSP) for
"High Salary," and Trinity
Broadcasting Network (TBN) for
four previous "Donor Alerts" that
covered several issues.


Civil Rights Presidential Inaugural Gala and Breakfast Planned
 Washington, D.C. In honor of on Washington in 1963 with SCLC Coalition. Holder, President of the Coalition
the legacy of Martin Luther King founder Dr King in pursuit of his In addition, SCLC will also host of Black Trade Unionists AFL-


Jr. and in celebration of the elec-
tion of Barack Obama as the 44th
President of the United States,
Charles Steele, Jr., President and
CEO of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference (SCLC)
announced that it is partnering
with leading civil rights organiza-
tions to host an inaugural ball'-on
the evening of January 20th. The
evening will feature the nation's
civil rights pioneers who marched


dream, and who helped paved the
way for this momentous day.
Co-hosting organizations include
the A. Philip Randolph Institute
(APRI), MLK National Memorial
Project Foundation, Inc., National
Action Network, National
Coalition on Black Civic
Participation (NCBCP), National
Council of Negro Women, Inc.
(NCNW), the National Urban
League and Rainbow Push


a Prayer Unity Breakfast on
Monday, January 19th Martin
Luther King Jr. Day to honor Dr.
King and pay tribute to many of
the organizations and individuals
that participated in the historic
1963 March on Washington.
 Expected attendees include
Martin L. King, III, Rev. Jesse
Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, the
Hon. John Lewis (D-GA),U.S.
Attorney General nominee Eric


CIO Bill Lucy, Chair Emeritus
NCNW Ms. Dorothy Height, Rev.
Walter Fauntroy, President of
APRI Ms. Clayola Brown, Rev.
Joseph Lowery and Ms. Juanita
Abernathy. Gospel singing sensa-
tion Dottie Peoples will perform at
the breakfast. To purchase tickets
or for more information, go to:
www.thedreamcometrue2008.com


 ___________._.....__. ..



Colr, utPedcur & elaerQA ermnen Coor



 MaicreSei4o 4 u


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