Local Faith Community Endorse Barack Obama by Kevin R. Scott
Sat, Apr 5, 2008  The Rochester, NY Faith Community for Barack announced it's official start up and endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President along with other prominent faith and community leaders at a news conference held on March 31st at Power House Church on the city's south west side.
The faith based action committee-- co-chaired by Bishop Ronald J. Hoston, Pastor of Greater Bethesda COGIC and Bishop Jeffery L. Melvin, Pastor of Power House COGIC-- seeks to not only rally support for the presidential candidate but to also impact local voter registration and create dialogue amongst its respective congregations on the issues that directly affect them.
"All of us collectively serve a constituency that Barack Obama has touched with his plan for this country," says Bishop Hoston. "We all are engaged with them in the social challenges that they face-- health care, jobs and education. We believe that Barack Obama brings some resolve to those issues."
The endorsement from the local faith community comes at a crucial time for the senator who has recently been plagued by criticism with regard to comments made by his now-former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. According to both co-chairs, Senator Obama stands out as the best candidate for president most importantly for his own personal religious beliefs. The committee highlighted defining moments from Senator Obama's keynote address at the last Democratic National Convention as well as themes throughout his New York Times best-selling book, The Audacity of Hope, where he openly expresses his belief in God and the importance faith and values as the key aspects that should be boldly addressed by politicians.
"Our failure as progressives to tap into the moral underpinnings of the nation is not just rhetorical, "writes Obama in The Audacity of Hope." Our fear of getting "preachy" may also lead us to discount the role that values and culture play in addressing some of our most urgent social problems."
RNYFCFB contends that its endorsement of Senator Obama is based solely on his beliefs, his proposed policies, his opposition to the war in Iraq and major poll results and is in no way related to race as many have assumed.
"There may be a tendency to think that we are supporting Barack primarily because he is of African American persuasion, when in fact he is bi-racial. He is just as much white as he is black," Bishop Melvin asserted. "We support his policies. We believe that he is the best person to bring this country together."
The issue of race and the rift it has caused in this country is something RNYFCFB hopes Senator Obama will help resolve once elected.
"There is this divide between the ethnic groups that has existed for years. We believe that Barack Obama has the tools, the desire and the ability to include the traditionally excluded without excluding the traditionally included," says Bishop Melvin.
Although the committee has significant influence on it congregations with regard to the presidential endorsement, there is no assumption that their collective congregations will follow suit.
"We are standing as individuals that are leaders in the community. I pastor a church that may not be 100% for Barack Obama," says Bishop Melvin who believes the committee's priority is voter registration. "Each of the congregants has their own right to chose they think will be the best president."
In the coming weeks, RNYFCFB's group administrator, Rev. Gwendolyn Dorsey, with the help of local NYS Delegate Ken Preston, are taking the lead in planning an upcoming rally to broaden it's presence in the community and strengthen the impact of Senator Obama's presidential campaign's grass roots efforts to "build an America rooted in compassion and a government that reconciles the beliefs of each with the good of all."
|
