I know this subject has been diaried nigh unto death, and originally I was going to post this as a comment in haremoor's outstanding diary on his personal experience with Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But when I finished my rant, the length of it compelled me to make it into a diary instead. It didn't seem fair to post a remark which might be seen as a diary hijack, even an unintentional one.
Hillary Clinton's remark in her interview the other day leads me to two possible conclusions: she made a glib, flip remark in order to take a cheap shot against a political rival; or, she has never put down deep roots in a congregation--she's never walked in the shoes of someone who's ever had to face the decision to leave a parish where they've developed deep ties to the clergy and congregants.
I know which of those two conclusions I believe more, but I'm infuriated because I and members of my extended family have faced the decision of whether to leave a church or to stay and try to be a force for positive change--as I believe Barack Obama has done and will continue to do as a member of Trinity UCC.
The first time I decided to leave a church, there was no controversy at the root of it. There'd been a changing of the guard at the church I'd grown up in in South Bend, Indiana and the church we transferred to was led by a man who'd stood by my family through some seriously tough times, and has continued to be a friend ever since (this man married my wife and I 12 years ago). Still, there was some pain here. It wasn't easy, but it was ultimately the right decision. In a post-script, this pastor went on to lead a church in New Orleans, coming in shortly before Hurricane Katrina, and did yeoman work. He's now a bishop.
My mother-in-law chose to stay at the church she still attends after she bravely spoke out against a clergyman who was having an inappropriate relationship with the parent of one of the youth he ministered to. Inappropriate because the minister and the other party were both married to other people. My mother-in-law persevered despite receiving hate mail from fellow parishioners who were prepared to condone this behavior.
About 6 years ago, the congregation at the church I currently attend split over the then-pastor. At the time, he was the second or third pastor whose tenure had gone quickly awry. It was a predictably nasty scene--people chose sides and a lot of people we were friends with chose to leave the church. We chose to stay and try to be a positive force for healing. I don't regret that decision for a second, and I'd make the same one tomorrow if I had to, because even though I can choose my church, I would choose to stay with the church family that has been unstinting in its spiritual and even material support over the years when need has arose, where my wife and I have seen the youth we've helped with grow up to be fine men and women, and where our son was baptized last year.
So at the risk of being labeled a "Hillary hater," I have to take umbrage at her comment that she could leave a church over one (or even two or three) controversial sermons. Barack Obama did what he had to do--indeed, what the Bible says Christians should do when they have a disagreement with a fellow Christian: he took it up with Rev. Wright first, then went public.
If I could, I'd love to ask Sen. Clinton--what will you do when someone close to you does something that angers you or causes you pain, as will inevitably happen if you become President?