In his Timely Re-emergence on Thursday, Rev. Wright Takes a Shot at the Media

Given the hate-mongering misogyny that emanated from Trinity UCC during the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s tenure there, it’s hard to take seriously anything Wright says months after Barack Obama separated himself from his former pastor. Nevertheless, Wright has managed to make a public appearance at a forum in Connecticut just two days after the election, knowing full well he’d steal at least part of the limelight from Obama.

Rev. Wright’s credibility for me was permanently damaged when I first watched the video of his vicious trashing of Hillary Clinton from the pulpit of Trinity UCC. Later on, I was shocked by Father Pfleger’s scornful mockery of Clinton from that same pulpit.

The Rev. Susan Thistlethwaite, president of the Chicago Seminary (UCC) and also a member of Trinity, was not to be outdone by Wright or Pfleger. Rev. Thistlethwaite abused her office in her post at On Faith (Washington Post) in which she used a Bible story to demonize Sen. Clinton even further.

Not one to miss an opportunity, Wright used his recent appearance to take a shot at the media. Gregory Hladky of the NY Times reports:

‘“In response to questions from the audience, Mr. Wright, who has made few public appearances since his controversial remarks prompted Mr. Obama to distance himself from him in the spring, said the news media had taken many statements from his sermons out of context in an effort to damage Mr. Obama. ‘Their intent was to use me as a weapon of mass destruction to destroy that man’s candidacy,’ he said.”’

As a seminary graduate who has served as an ordained minister, it’s my understanding that any church that supports a political candidate from its pulpit could lose its tax-exempt status. I wonder how Trinity UCC stands on that issue.