This is the statement in the "About Us" section of Barak Obama's longtime church, the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago (no affiliation with churches of Christ).

Until recently, this was the front page of its web-site. Its senior minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a longtime personal friend of Obama who married him, has stirred controversy over excerpts from some of his sermons. Without condemning nor affirming Obama's religious preference, I do believe this deserves careful and thoughtful perusement.


We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian... Our roots in the Black religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and remain "true to our native land," the mother continent, the cradle of civilization. God has superintended our pilgrimage through the days of slavery, the days of segregation, and the long night of racism. It is God who gives us the strength and courage to continuously address injustice as a people, and as a congregation. We constantly affirm our trust in God through cultural expression of a Black worship service and ministries which address the Black Community.

Trinity United Church of Christ adopted the Black Value System written by the Manford Byrd Recognition Committee chaired by Vallmer Jordan in 1981. We believe in the following 12 precepts and covenantal statements. These Black Ethics must be taught and exemplified in homes, churches, nurseries and schools, wherever Blacks are gathered. They must reflect on the following concepts:

1. Commitment to God
2. Commitment to the Black Community
3. Commitment to the Black Family
4. Dedication to the Pursuit of Education
5. Dedication to the Pursuit of Excellence
6. Adherence to the Black Work Ethic
7. Commitment to Self-Discipline and Self-Respect
8. Disavowal of the Pursuit of "Middleclassness"
9. Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available to the Black Community
10. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting Black Institutions
11. Pledge allegiance to all Black leadership who espouse and embrace the Black Value System
12. Personal commitment to embracement of the Black Value System.

The Pastor as well as the membership of Trinity United Church of Christ is committed to a 10-point Vision:

1. A congregation committed to ADORATION.
2. A congregation preaching SALVATION.
3. A congregation actively seeking RECONCILIATION.
4. A congregation with a non-negotiable COMMITMENT TO AFRICA.
5. A congregation committed to BIBLICAL EDUCATION.
6. A congregation committed to CULTURAL EDUCATION.
7. A congregation committed to the HISTORICAL EDUCATION OF AFRICAN PEOPLE IN DIASPORA.
8. A congregation committed to LIBERATION.
9. A congregation committed to RESTORATION.
10. A congregation working towards ECONOMIC PARITY.


What's new: Obama's church fires back at pastor's critics

Some of the campaign and political news making headlines this morning:

• The Chicago Sun-Times -- Obama's church defends Rev. Wright: "Sen. Barack Obama's church staged a strong defense of its senior pastor Sunday, comparing criticism of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright to the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. ... 'Nearly three weeks before the 40th commemorative anniversary of the murder of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.'s character is being assassinated in the public sphere because he has preached a social gospel on behalf of oppressed women, children and men in America and around the globe,' the church said in a statement released Sunday."

Among the statements Wright made were one in which he said blacks should sing "God damn America," not "God bless America."

Friday, after days of controversy stirred in part by video clips from some of Wright's sermons, Obama issued a statement calling the things Wright said "inflammatory and appalling." Obama said he "vehemently condemns" and "rejects" them. On Sunday morning's political talk shows, liberals and conservatives split over whether the Wright controversy will continue to follow Obama.

Sources: The Web-site of the Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, Illinois, and Wikepedia