I'm of course disappointed by the events of the past 48 hours, but my commitment to and love for Barack Obama remain as firm as ever. I do not blame Rev. Wright for this mess. Rather, I blame the corporate-owned media, for whom objectivity and fairness are dirty words. I could go on and on about how poorly I feel Rev. Wright has been treated, but that would distract from the primary purpose of this diary.
I grew up in a religious home. I am, in fact, a preacher's son. So, growing up, I had my fill of Sunday morning sermons, Sunday evening services, Wednesday evening prayer meetings, youth group socials, etc. Right up until my second year of college, I had the notion that I might follow in my father's footsteps. But the weird thing was, by then I had stopped attending church altogether. In fact, my church career ended just as soon as I got out of my parents' house. I remained interested in religious issues, intellectually, and even maintained a Sermon-on-the-Mount perspective in developing a personal value system. But, to be honest, church services just bored me to tears. And I could no longer accept the irrationality of the major christian doctrines. I'd much rather read a book on the Radical Reformation, or the search by modern scholars for an historical approach to Jesus the Jewish Rabbi. So, in my life now, Sunday mornings are for sleeping in.
However, one of the most unexpected aspects of the Obama campaign for me is how Barack has got me thinking anew about faith and church and living the religious life. Amazing! An American political candidate ... responsible for putting me under the equivalent of spiritual conviction! Something I could never have anticipated. As has been the case with many of us, I have been moved to tears on more than one occasion by an Obama event. The most memorable occasion was the night of the South Carolina primary, when the crowd, waiting for our candidate to speak, began shouting in unison: "Race doesn't matter, race doesn't matter." A beautiful, touching moment. A religious moment.
We've all by now heard the observation that the most segregated hours of the week in America occur on Sunday mornings. And it's not completely true. Bi-racial churches do exist. But there are, of course, far more churches that are all-Black or all-white. And the gap in worship experience between them is apparently pretty wide. Not to mention the lack of mutual understanding. But hey, it's 2008 - time to move towards understanding and cooperation across the black/white worship divide.
A sensible first step, in my view, is for a cultural exchange movement to arise that would put some white bodies in Black churches and vice versa. This could begin in an informal way, with individuals, like myself, just deciding to haul ass out of bed on the Lord's Day to seek out a Black church in the neighborhood. I live in the Bronx, so this would be pretty easy. In fact, I'm planning to do it. Not to prove anything to myself or to others, but to broaden my experience and understanding, and to engage in some cross-cultural spiritual fellowship that my soul is probably in need of.
At the same time, I think there is a great opportunity for folks who are more tied into the religious community than myself. What if pastors and congregants, some from the African-American church tradition and some from the white European church tradition, were to seek each other out and create affiliations as sister congregations? For example, a Black church and a white church (maybe just down the block from each other) could experiment with shared worship experiences, alternating between each group's facilities. One Sunday the white congregants would forego services at their church and, en masse, attend services at their sister church. And vice versa. Fellowship hour afterwards would give opportunity for new relationships to develop, thus helping to break down that Sunday morning racial divide. I'm confident that unexpectedly positive benefits (blessings?) would result. Anybody else of a mind to try this?
My first diary, quickly written. Thanks for reading. And don't forget to pray for Barack (if that's your kind of thing).