Resolution in Support of The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright And Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago

BACKGROUND

The United Church of Christ's New York Metropolitan Association is one of the most diverse judicatories in the denomination. We are composed of nearly 80 congregations – urban, suburban and rural. We are made up of congregations that are predominantly Black, Hispanic, Asian, white and other ethnic groups as well as many of mixed ethnicity. The Association responds with dismay to the attacks in the media on the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, retired pastor of our sister congregation, Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago . Out of our Christian concern for a brother and minister of our denomination and for a congregation whose life has been disrupted and who cannot help but be distressed at so much negative publicity, we offer the following:

WHEREAS scripture reminds us that “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:38 * ) ; and that, as the body of Christ, we are to “bear one another's burdens” (Galatians 6:2) and “love our neighbors as ourselves” (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 19:19, James 2:18);

WHEREAS we believe in the freedom of the pulpit: that a minister is called to preach the word which s/he has been given by the Holy Spirit and which the preacher believes to be the word that the congregation most needs to hear in the given time and place;

WHEREAS sermons of the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright have been quoted out of context, and our brother called “racist,” unpatriotic,” “anti-American” and “dangerous”;

WHEREAS Trinity Church has been characterized as a “separatist cult” in the public media;

WHEREAS media critics of Dr. Wright have shown themselves ignorant of, or unwilling to acknowledge, the long tradition of prophetic preaching in the African-American church, in which the community is held up to scrutiny against the highest standards of faith and called to account where it falls short;

WHEREAS sermons in the African-American prophetic tradition are inspired both by the Old Testament prophets and by Jesus himself, whose ministry held a mirror up to society and “spoke truth to power”;

WHEREAS the congregation of Trinity United Church of Christ, and members and staff as individuals, have suffered pain, harassment, undesired public scrutiny, and the church has been called into question regarding its patriotism and political stances;

WE DELEGATES, GATHERED APRIL 26, 2008 FOR THE SPRING MEETING OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 'S NEW YORK METROPOLITAN ASSOCIATION HEREBY RESOLVE THAT:

We extend to our colleague and brother, the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, our prayerful support for his courageous prophetic preaching that calls believers and our country to take note, and take responsibility, for the nation's historic racism;

We extend to the congregation and staff of Trinity United Church of Christ our sympathy and concern for the harassment and disruption endured by the church and its members;

We condemn the media for its shoddy reporting, use of quotes out of context, harassment and manipulation;

We call upon our congregations to engage in study and dialogue with members, other faith bodies and the community on issues of race, theology and religious expression;

We call upon our Association Board of Directors, Regional Conference Minister and other leadership to continue to create opportunities for dialogue among our diverse churches to learn more about how race/ethnicity may shape religious expression and our understanding of social issues;

We call upon the Association and its member churches to work together to find ways to take action against racism; and

We call upon the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ to receive and act upon this resolution at its Annual Meeting, June 6-8, 2008 .

Submitted by the Metropolitan Association Committee on the Church and the Metropolitan Community

* Scriptural references are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

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