Easter, Preaching, the Racial Divide

I was in Starbucks this morning before heading out for church. I noticed the NY Times headline "Obama's Talk Fuels Easter Sermons." I will admit that I didn't address the controversy this morning. I spoke on Jeremiah 31:1-6 and Jeremiah's vision of restoration that calls forth celebration. But I was intrigued by the idea that some would use Easter, a Sunday that usually has high attendance, to address this most important issue.
What ever one did today in the pulpit, the article is interesting for laying bare our differing understandings of race, the pulpit, and politics. A number of Black preachers sympathized with Wright. The pastor of Foundry UMC in Washington, DC, a church that has has had as members both the Doles and the Clintons, noted that the focus of his congregants was not on White racism but the Wright remarks. He noted that most Whites seem to have no idea about the Black struggle in our society. Leith Anderson, a leading White evangelical pastor, said that he wasn't going to address the issue today -- nor he said would most white evangelical churches.
Now, I've already confessed not to addressing the issue this morning, so I don't condemn anyone for not, but it remains an issue that we'll need to address.

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