Dear Hillary Supporters: Church Going Is About More Than Hearing A Pastor Deliver A Sermon

[KittyWampus]

People go to Church for a lot more than just hearing a pastor deliver a sermon.

In fact, a lot of church goers attend services IN SPITE of their pastor's sermon :)

When I was growing up, I stared at the stained glass windows during very boring sermons.

My joy was singing hymns in the choir and still miss singing in harmony with others. Oh, and smoozing after the service was over.

Church is about a lot more than just sermons.

Church is also very much about Fellowship and Mission.

Fellowship is being connected to other like-minded people. Helping friends, congratulating and consoling each other.

Mission is about what the congregation does to improve their community. Food pantry and clothing drives and daycare.

Obama's church has a large, thriving congregation where I'm sure he has a lot of friends who'd send casserole if someone was sick.

Obama's church has a very active Mission. It does a LOT Of Good Work in its community. Money is tight. People rely on churches for help.

One wonders if those who attack Obama and Wright have ever actually belonged to any kind of Fellowship or organized group.

[Zynx]

1. To be fair, I stop going to my church from time to time when something

gets said by either the usual priest or some visiting priest. Like one time when a visiting priest went into a tirade against atheists, agnostics, and liberals I didn't go for weeks after that.

[AZBlue]

2. Excellent points!

I've been an active member of 6 different churches in my life as I've moved around. There's only been one that had a minister I truly liked and enjoyed hearing. But, even at that one, the most important thing to me was the congregation and what the church as a whole stood for and acted on. Ministers come and go, the "personality" of a church doesn't.

[tblue]

3. I guess some folks believe going to church is making a political statement

and you sure as hell better make the statement they want you to make and no other.

Can a man do what he wants to do on a Sunday or what?

[MichiganVote]

4. So the FUCk what? Its not about fighting with each other. Its about winning.

WHO cares about their churches? The fucking corporate media that's who. STOP buying into the media spin.

[Ravy]

5. I stopped going to the church I was born into because

the pastor encouraged prayer and support for Kit Bond when he was running for state auditor. Bond's family is a member of the congregation.

[KittyWampus]

6. brrrrrrr. I didn't like hearing Wright bring up Obama/Clinton. And sorry about Kit Bond

I live in a real liberal area of a blue state (NY)

[hfojvt]

15. Well you should have been praying for Kit Bond

that the Lord would comfort him after his devastating electoral loss. The devastating electoral loss that you were praying for.

[Ravy]

18. Yeah. That would have been the thing to do, all right.

I was hosting a large Dukakis rally in my hometown, years later, in front of a large business establishment. On the day of the event, the afternoon before Dukakis arrived and spoke to about 3500 people, Kit Bond visited that business establishment.

I was outside making large display signs for the event when I saw him go in, and I mentioned it to some of the travelling Dukakis campaign workers. When Kit came out of the building, he was greeted by a 20 foot long sign that said:

"Buy a Bond. Everyone else has."

[seriousstan]

7. Not for 20 years. After a while, you start to look around.

This entire subject hinges on whether Obama had heard these sermons for himself. He said, in his interview tonight, that if he had heard this sort of rhetoric repeatedly he would have left the church. If proof comes out otherwise, I think he is toast. I am sure any evidence of him not being truthful is being searched for like The Holy Grail. Clintons and the entire GOP won't sleep tonight.

[KittyWampus]

10. Did you even read my post? Church FOR MOST PEOPLE isn't about the sermon.

It's about Fellowship.

It's about the Mission of the Church.

What part of that Truth eludes you?

And you don't seem to grasp that the few raw comments that you obsess overh probably don't comprise the entirity of Wrights sermons.

[seriousstan]

8. Dupe, sorry

[BenDavid]

9. excuse me, does not the peachers sermon count for something?

Is not a person there to listen and hear the pastor preach the word of G-d? Maybe Obama's defense could be the Sidney Dean concept about listening and hearing: "Just because your listening to him doesn't mean you're hearing him."

[LadyVT]

11. Would YOU go to Wright's church?

[KittyWampus]

12. possibly. They're liberal and actively seek social justice. Looks like they have great music.

depends on the Congregation. If I got along with the people who attended.

Endorsing gay marriage is also a plus as I like diverse congregations.

I certainly support that Church's community efforts.

[JohnnyLib2]

13. Church goer here, even married a preacher's daughter.

1. I think the public opinion on this matter is still out--we'll see what rolls out in the next few days.

2. I'm totally guilty of spacing out during sermons (and missing some services) as many others surely are.

3. On a few occasions, I've felt the back of my neck tingle at some statement by the pastor--or heard the congregation murmur--or seen a family member grimace. Y'know? It's the same kind of awareness of a lively crowd turning ugly. So, yes, I would expect the very bright Senator Obama to have sensed something awry in time.

4. The rest of your points, about fellowship and mission, are familiar and welcome.

Heck of a dilemma, this one.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

14. To your point #3

Yes, it's sad to say that Obama should have anticipated that a bunch of uptight white ignoramuses, led on by a rapacious RW media smear machine, would be appalled enough by what his fiery preacher said to have it affect their voting decision. I wish I were being sarcastic here, but I'm not.

[KittyWampus]

16. oddly, one wonders if many church goers can relate to this.

[JohnnyLib2]

17. Well, presidents must have Congressional votes and public

support (in an overall sense) to send their programs forward.

I'm going to drop out of the Wright/Obama chatter across this weekend. The overlap of church and state is a slippery slope during campaigns, for sure.

[KittyWampus]

19. kick