by Dante Mozie
March 12, 2009
Lisa Ramsey was at Bible study one Tuesday night and, afterward, saw emergency lights as she went to her car.
“I was in the parking lot thinking, ‘I hope nobody died tonight.’”
But someone did, two blocks from St. Sabina Church in Auburn-Gresham.
“That young man died while we were in Bible study,” Ramsey said. “And I said, ‘You know what? That is unacceptable. What can I do to make a difference?’”
Ramsey, now a member of St. Sabina’s Steering Committee Against Gun Violence, is just one example of how members of predominantly African-American congregations – known collectively as the black church – are not only committed to their faith through praise and community involvement, but also through social and political activism.
According to a study from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 61 percent of blacks say houses of worship should express their views on social and political matters, while 36 percent say churches should avoid these topics.
St. Sabina and its pastor, the Rev. Dr. Michael Pfleger, have long been involved in social and political issues in Chicago. Since becoming the church's pastor in 1981, Pfleger has led a relentless campaign against racism, drugs, alcohol and gun violence not only in its neighborhood, but throughout the city of Chicago.
Pfleger said that he believes a person can’t truly be a follower of Christ unless he or she is an activist.
“People say, ‘Well, why do you do what you do?’ My question,” Pfleger said, “is, ‘Why aren’t you doing it?’ I think that you cannot follow Christ without being an activist.”
One example of a church becoming involved in the community was the “Do You Care?” anti-gun violence rally in Garfield Park last Wednesday. St. Sabina, 1210 W. 78th Place, was one of the sponsors of the event that called for stricter gun laws and an end to the killings of Chicago’s youth.
Chicago resident Cleora M. Murff, who lost her daughter, Vanity, to gun violence last year, said the church’s support “shows they’re concerned.”
“It is pertinent that the churches, and next-door neighbors, get involved,” Murff said. “It’s going to take us all collectively to get something done.”
Although most blacks say they support the black church expressing its views on social and political issues, according to the Pew Forum’s study, support among the general population is not as strong. More than half of the general public, 52 percent, believe the church should stay out of politics, while only 45 percent say churches should get involved in those issues.
“Some people say the church is only limited to preaching. I don’t think so,” said Pastor Steve Jones, president of the Baptist Pastors Conference in Chicago. “The Bible doesn’t say that.”
Although some may identify the black church and social activism historically with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement, the beginnings actually go back as far as the slavery period, according to Dr. Dwight Hopkins, theology professor at the University of Chicago.
Hopkins said the black church in that period was referred to as the “invisible institution,” when secret worship services would take place when owners thought enslaved blacks were sleeping or working.
“They were focused primarily on slavery and overthrowing the slave system in the South,” Hopkins said, referring to the slaves.
Politics had a large part in founding a major black denomination: the African Methodist Episcopal church, in 1787. Hopkins said the white churches in Philadelphia would not let blacks pray in their churches unless they went to the segregated section.
“They wanted to have their own prayer, their own preaching and power,” Hopkins said, leading to the church’s founding by Richard Allen.
Today, that power makes the black church very influential. So much so that politicians make trips to black churches to garner support – and votes. Jones said the seat of power in the community is the church, with membership sizes ranging from 50 to 15,000.
“Who talks to more folks in a sitting than a pastor? The politicians understand they need us for the votes,” said Jones, pastor of Praise Tabernacle Deliverance Baptist Fellowship Church, 9511 S. Commercial Ave. in South Deering.
“But after the election, you don’t hear from them anymore. To me, that’s a travesty.”
Along with having politicians come and talk to their members, some ministers use services or other special events to speak out on issues that affect not only the black community, but the general public.
Pfleger, for instance, has been involved in protests dealing with the War in Iraq, from placing a “We Oppose War!” sign on the windows of St. Sabina’s rectory, to taking part in protests and rallies in downtown Chicago.
“The Christ I follow calls me to be a peacemaker,” he said. “I’m a believer in nonviolence. I think we’ve studied war. It’s time we studied peace.”
But one topic that some ministers don’t touch is telling their parishioners or members how to vote. And according to the Pew Forum’s study on the black church, 58 percent of blacks say churches and other houses of worship should not come out in favor of political candidates. For the general population, 66 percent agree.
Pfleger said he has never told anyone who to vote for from the pulpit, adding that would be an “insult to my people.”
He was offended, however, when Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, told Pfleger that he couldn’t mention any candidate’s name until after the election.
“As a priest in the pulpit, I do not have a right to say who to vote for, and I respect that and believe in that,” he said. “But I think as a citizen out on the street going to the store, going to a meeting, do I have a right to say who I’m voting for or wear a button of some candidate? Yes, I believe that’s my right as an American citizen.”
One of the most well-known events involving Pfleger happened in May 2008, when he delivered the now infamous sermon at Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ that involved comments critical of then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Pfleger said he was invited by Trinity to speak on the topic of race.
“First of all, I did not know that it was to a public audience,” Pfleger said, referring to the video of the sermon. “I was speaking to that church. No one ever told me this was going to be going out public.”
Pfleger said he apologizes for his mannerisms in the now-infamous sermon.
“But I do not apologize for speaking about entitlement,” Pfleger added. “I do believe entitlement is a reality in American society today.”
Pfleger is referring to his comments at Trinity about Clinton, saying he believed that she felt entitled to the presidency.
And while some approve of the black church tackling political issues – as well as gun violence, drugs and other problems – some wonder why some churches are more silent on issues such as homosexuality and abortion.
Praise Tabernacle’s Jones said that every activist, as well as churches and neighborhoods, should tackle issues that are more prevalent in their community. But in the black community, people dealing with medical care issues and poverty are his priority.
“I’m dealing with life and death and immediacy needs,” Jones said, “and so are my pastors.”
Although Pfleger is against abortion in a womb, he said he sees abortion as much more than that.
“If our scriptures teach us that every child of God has a divine destiny and purpose,” Pfleger said, “then I believe that anything that keeps that purpose from being realized is a form of abortion.”
But there’s also a spiritual connection and purpose for activism. For Jones, it’s all about equality.
“Everyone should be treated the same,” Jones said, “and everyone should have a say.”
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