“Reverend Wright is a child of the 60s, and he often expresses himself in that language of concern with institutional racism and the struggles the African-American community has gone through,” Mr. Obama said. “He analyzes public events in the context of race. I tend to look at them through the context of social justice and inequality.”

Despite the canceled invocation, Mr. Wright prayed with the Obama family just before his presidential announcement. Asked later about the incident, the Obama campaign said in a statement, “Senator Obama is proud of his pastor and his church.”

In March, Mr. Wright said in an interview that his family and some close associates were angry about the canceled address, for which they blamed Obama campaign advisers but that the situation was “not irreparable.” adding, “Several things need to happen to fix it.”

IF OBAMA IS indeed using religion to win votes, he unfortunately placed himself in a difficult quagmire — not only with LGBTQ voters, but also with religious liberals. He worships in a conservative black church within a liberal denomination.

In July 2005, the UCC General Synod overwhelmingly passed a Resolution of Marriage Equality. But in August 2005, Obama’s pastor and inspiration for the title of his recent memoir “The Audacity of Hope,” Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, spoke against the Synod’s position.

“While our denomination grappled with how to address that human problem, the denomination also, at that Synod, voted to ordain a homosexual. Guess which item made the newspapers? Maybe I missed something!”

And in his closing tirades on gay issues, Wright stated: “Are 44 million Americans with no health care insurance less important than ‘gay marriage’? Why aren’t black Christians in an uproar about that? Maybe I am missing something!”

It was disheartening for many of us to learn that Pastor Wright broke ranks with his liberal denomination to stand in solidarity with a more conservative black church position.

U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.), an active UCC member since 1988, has accepted an invitation to speak at UCC General Synod 26, June 22-26, in Hartford, Conn.

Obama — a member of the 10,000-member Trinity UCC in Chicago — will speak to delegates and visitors during a special day-long "Synod in the City" event on Saturday, June 23, at the Hartford Civic Center.

Indeed the public airwaves should be used to enhance the common good, by accurately and fairly reporting the news, including diverse voices in public dialogue about important issues facing our country and the world, and promoting a respectful, thoughtful and constructive exchange of opinions and ideas. If the media were more justly owned and run, there would be people of color involved in producing Don Imus’ show, people who would not have let his remarks slip by unchallenged.

I have just returned from picking up the congregation's mail at the post office, and in it was a letter addressed to "The President of the Church". Now I'm the preacher, pastor, chief bottle washer and secretary for this congregation, so one of the things I do with full knowledge and approval of the Council is to open the mail to determine if it is something I have to let that person know right away, or if it can wait until they come to church next (unless it's marked personal or confidential).

...it was from Rev. Robert Thompson of FWC inviting the recipient to share their enclosed brochure with the congregation, and to attend the "Healthy Church Workshop" coming into the area. Let me repeat this was sent 1) to the church mailing address, and 2) to the generic title of President of the Congregation", so it wasn't something the moderator requested.

****

I hope that this was just an innocent happening, a lapse in judgment. But this is the type of thing that fuels the conspiracy theory of people trying to "steal" churches and going around the pastor to do so. Perception can become "reality" for people.

Here's the scoop. We were given a MS Excel database with every UCC church on it. The database went directly to our office staff person who printed the almost 6,000 labels and affixed them by hand to the envelopes we had specially ordered and printed. It was toward the end of this process that I opened the database for a different reason and noticed that the the first column was "President of the Consistory."

Our staff member told me that many of the labels misprinted, and that the "President of the Consistory" line did not show up. However, she painstakingly took a white out strip and covered that line in as many labels as she could. She apparently missed some.

The reason I asked her to make the effort is that we want to avoid any appearance of a "conspiracy theory." To whatever degree we failed, I apologize. It was unintentional on my part, and the individual we have hired to do this work has very little experience in UCC political issues or perspectives.

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We at FWC are making every effort to work above board and listen to our critics. We want the conversation to be about the faithfulness of the UCC to the historic Christian faith and to its own heritage, not about our methods and motives. If we were involved in a conspiracy to hurt the UCC or its churches, we could certainly do a lot better job than sending out respectful letters, persistently encouraging churches to stay in the UCC, and sponsoring workshops on "Healthy Churches."

For their part, clergy members say they can understand why their profession leads to happiness, despite its reputation as a tough job. "I feel enormously privileged in that my work overlaps with my passion and sense of calling," says Lillian Daniel, senior minister at the First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Glen Ellyn, Ill. "There are parts of the ministry that feel like work, but most of my day is spent doing things that I would love to do as a volunteer."

In the past week, for instance, Reverend Daniel read 26 faith papers written by eighth-graders preparing for confirmation and wrote specific blessings for each child. "It was creative, meaningful, exciting," she says. "Even in the midst of funerals you feel that it's the most crucial work you do. It might be hard, but you'd never get to the end and say, 'What's the point?' "

Don Imus is the latest media star to be caught up in the ugly excess of his own self-importance. His racist remarks, like the anti-semitism of Mel Gibson, have no place in public or private discourse and cannot be expunged with a simple apology and a brief leave of absence or stay at a rehabilitation center.

Imus should express his profound regret to the Rutgers team, resign, and use the next months to determine how he might use his talents to contribute to a culture no longer awash in the racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic rhetoric of radio and cable talk show hosts.

"I became more of a pastor to him than the facilitator of the meeting," [Soaries] said.

"We didn't even talk about what I was supposed to be there for. I needed to be with him spiritually. This was a man who'd just got big, bad news and he needed me to listen to him."

I have come across a most interesting and compelling piece of, dare I say it, evidence.

It is an internal document of the IRD entitled "2001-2004 Executive Summary." It does not make clear to whom it is addressed. I came across it on the website http://www.theocracywatch.org/internal_document_ird.html.

SYNOPSIS: Liberal Theology failed America's mainline churches in the Twentieth Century. Striving to become "relevant," they instead lost millions of church members. These diminished but still influential denominations are now starting to acknowledge their mistakes. Even their leaders are open to new directions. The IRD believes that the next four years offer a rare opportunity to redirect these churches away from their reflexive alliance with the political left and back towards classical Christianity. Conservatives have won surprising victories on key theological and sexuality issues at recent church conventions. Now is the time to translate those victories into real influence for conservatives within the permanent governing structures of these churches, so they can help renew the wider culture of our nation. We will emphasize the importance of ecumenical alliances with social conservative Roman Catholics and Evangelicals.

Everywhere I go and talk about the issues confronting our churches in the wake of a decades long attack on Mainline denominations, someone invariably asks for proof. It is one of the latest strategies developed by the countless allies in this ongoing attack, and clearly a stated talking point (though, of course, there is no proof of that - just the evidence of its consistent and repetitious occurrence every where I go).

Dorhauer was nominated by Eden students Rick Oberle, Leah Atkinson and Jeff Mignerone. In making the nomination, the students said, “We feel that Reverend Dorhauer has exhibited this courage and leadership in exceptional ways in his ministry with the local UCC churches in the Missouri Mid-South Conference. Over the past year, as local churches reacted to the resolutions approved at General Synod XXV during the summer of 2005, Rev. Dorhauer’s efforts have redoubled in an attempt to open lines of communication, heal perceived wounds caused by distrust and misinformation, and be a pastoral presence to congregations, clergy and laity who are seeking to discern God’s will in their lives and their congregations.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — On a marquee outside and on a banner inside, Pilgrim United Church of Christ proclaims, “All are welcome.” Sustained by the belief that embracing all comers is a living example of Christ’s love, Pilgrim now faces a profound test of faith.

In late January, Mark Pliska, 53, told the congregation here that he had been in prison for molesting children but that he sought a place to worship and liked the atmosphere at Pilgrim.

Mr. Pliska’s request has plunged the close-knit congregation into a painful discussion about applying faith in a difficult real-world situation. Congregants now wonder, are all truly welcome? If they are, how do you ensure the safety of children and the healing of adult survivors of sexual abuse? Can an offender who accepts Christ truly change?

“I think what we have been through is a loss of innocence,” said the Rev. Madison Shockley, Pilgrim’s minister. “People think of church as an idyllic paradise, and I think that is a great part of that loss.”

Pilgrim’s struggle mirrors those of other congregations, of various faiths, across the country.

He also wanted the congregation at Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Carlsbad to “know that I'm not this monster that the press keeps portraying sex offenders as. There are those of us who are trying to change and put our lives together and be acceptable members of society.”

He believes the Lord has forgiven him. He wants the church to forgive him, too.