Something positive to come out of this Wright mess

[PylesMalfunction]

Rather than say something that's been said 1000 times before, I thought I'd share something personal with you all. I read several articles today about Senator Obama's church. I read about all of their outreach programs to the poor and needy. I read about how they try to reach out to those that are disenfranchised in our society. I read about their prison ministy and their ministry for those suffering with HIV/AIDS. I read about a church where they're trying to walk the walk. I read about a church whose parishioners try to be like Christ.

I live in the Bible Belt which is a hard place to live when you're a Christian with progressive ideals. I don't like to label Jesus as any particular party but I feel like progressives are more concerned about the issues that Christ was concerned about. However, I live in an area where a lot of churches are too busy trying to scare everyone with tales of the "homosexual agenda" and "militant feminists". I live in an area where you're not supporting the troops unless you're raising Bush up to the Lord. I live in an area where caring about the environment has nothing to do with being a good steward of the land God gave us - it just means you're a commie tree hugger. I live in a area where there are almost always "white" churches and "black" churches and they don't ever intermingle.

I quit going to church several years ago, as did my boyfriend who was raised in Pentecostal/Southern Baptist churches (shhhh...he even voted for Bush in 92). We both have had our crisis of faith - mine started when I was 17 and Catholic and I saw the hypocrisy of protesting about abortion while doing nothing to prevent unplanned pregnancies. It came to a head when I was 22 and I saw my mentally retarded sister ignored and shunted aside by Christians. His was when he was 23 and he realized that being angry all the time and full of hate wasn't what being a Christian was all about. We both needed some time away to regroup and figure out our personal relationships with God. Now, we both feel like our faith is stronger than ever.

I really miss attending church but it’s hard to find a church to attend in our area. I’m not entirely comfortable with the beliefs of the Unitarian Church (no disrespect is intended – it’s just not for me) and I’m not about to go to a Church where being a Christian means insulating yourself from the “evils of the world” (which are code words for liberals) and putting Jesus fish on your SUV. I’ve been looking into the Mennonite Church near us and we have a Catholic Church nearby that has really made an effort to recruit in our neighborhood (we live in a historic area but it’s a very poor area).

I now have another church to visit. I went to the United Church of Christ’s website and found out they have a Church in our city. Checking out their website, I saw this incredible list of community action:
• Refugee sponsorship and relocation
• Care for the homeless and poor
• Housing and support for the FISH food pantry
• Providing building space for various community organizations
• International hunger and crisis relief
• Care and advocacy for the environment
• GLBT advocacy
• Tax reform and other non-partisan political involvement
• Peace advocacy
• Grass roots community efforts for social change, both locally and abroad

I am so excited to find people who love the Lord and who care about all the causes I care about. So thank you Senator Obama and Reverend Wright. I would never have known about this Church if it weren’t for the fuss we’re hearing about it now.

[Oleladylib]

1. Good luck to you..There is no perfect institution..but, many try to emulate the teachings of Christ.

[PylesMalfunction]

2. I agree

I think you do have to be careful not to make the mistake of equating the Church with God. I've done that in the past. People are flawed and will always disappoint you to some extent. But I really am excited to find a Church that seems to care about the teaching of Jesus, and how to apply them to the real world.