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UCC's Thomas Still Silent on Wright, as Spectator Attacked by Church

By Jeffrey Lord on 6.18.09 @ 10:45AM

So. This fine day finds the official website of the United Church of Christ headlining “The American Spectator Gets It Wrong.”

Really?

In the aftermath of the UCC’s Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s much-noted statement that “them Jews” around President Obama (this would presumably be White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and advisor David Axelrod) were keeping Wright, the President’s controversial former pastor, from speaking to the President, the UCC’s Blogger-in-Chief the Reverend Chuck Currie quickly put up a statement. As you can see, Currie pointedly and quite correctly condemned Wright.

Alas, the denomination president, the Rev. John Thomas, shimmied. Instead of saying a word about Wright he issued a mushy statement, quoted in full in Currie’s post, about the UCC and the Jewish people. Clearly, as any reader of both statements can see, the difference is quite vivid. I congratulated Currie for speaking up forcefully on behalf of our common denomination, observing that Thomas as church president should have said the same.

This morning Currie denies there is any split between him and Thomas on this -- yet, curiously, Thomas is still quieter than the proverbial church mouse on the subject of Wright. It should be noted that when l’affaire Wright surfaced last year, Thomas hesitated not at all in showing up in Wright’s Chicago pulpit to defend Wright. Indeed, the UCC website headlined it this way “Church leaders defend Jeremiah Wright against ‘character assassination.’”

Interestingly, Thomas was quickly out of the box with a statement condemning the Holocaust Museum shooting. He rightly pulled no punches: "This attack on the Holocaust Museum will only heighten fears of increased anti-Semitic violence against Jews in our country. This is why we must stand with people of the Jewish faith in denouncing this brutal act." The UCC statement also repeated support for hate crimes legislation, which, of course, is predicated on the notion that a bigoted thought (hatred for a group) should be prosecuted.

Wright expressed identically the kind of bigoted thought shared by the Holocaust shooter, which spurs the felt-need for hate crime legislation. And from the president of the UCC on such an obvious moral issue inside his own denomination? Deafening silence. No wonder Chuck Currie is antsy over there. The American Spectator got Jeremiah Wright and John Thomas exactly right.

View all comments (1) | Leave a comment

Rev. Chuck Currie| 6.20.09 @ 1:08AM

As a former Reagan White House political director, you see the world in a partisan political context. As the general minister and president of the United Church of Christ, Rev. Thomas sees the world in a theological context. Political and theological contexts offer differ types of perspectives and responses. You wanted a “red-meat” political response ala FOX News from Rev. Thomas in regards to Rev. Wright’s statements but Rev. Thomas offered something pastoral. It is good that Rev. Thomas will be joining the staff of Chicago Theological Seminary and not signing up to be a commentator for The American Spectator.

It must also be noted that you are either dishonest or uniformed when you claim that Rev. Thomas has not directly responded to Rev. Wright’s comments (much as you were dishonest during the 2008 election cycle when you repeatedly wrote that I was a staffer for the Obama campaign even after you were informed that I was not…). Rev. Thomas’ remarks, as quoted in my blog post, were issued directly in response to Rev. Wright’s remarks.

Let’s review the entire text of the press release:

“In response to remarks attributed to the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., in excerpts from an interview published on June 10 in the Newport News, Va., Daily Press, the Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, issued the following statement:

The General Synod of the United Church of Christ has consistently called on its members to speak and act in ways that honor God's enduring covenant with the Jewish people, that nurture deep relationships with the Jewish community, and that recognize how careless readings of our sacred texts, our own use of language, and the perpetuation of negative stereotypes can lend support to persistent anti-Semitism in our culture. Years of rich and thoughtful Jewish-Christian dialogue locally, regionally, and nationally has taught us much about how we speak to and about one another with respect even in the midst of disagreement. I celebrate how far we have come in overcoming the deep prejudices and hurtful rhetoric of the past and call the church to on-going vigilance against anything that diminishes or caricatures our Jewish sisters and brothers. It is true that the General Synod and I have sometimes differed sharply with some Jewish organizations over the policies of the state of Israel, its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, and the route of the Separation Barrier even as we share a broad vision of secure and recognized states for both Palestinians and Israelis living side by side in peace. But that important prophetic witness, no matter how difficult for our Jewish partners, will be effective only within the context of disciplined speech and behavior that honors the broader Jewish community."

You owe Rev. Thomas an apology for falsely claiming, as you did again today, that “Thomas is still quieter than the proverbial church mouse on the subject of Wright.” Rev. Thomas issued his statement eight days ago. How many days will it take for you to retract your false allegation?

Finally, I am a local pastor in the UCC and a blogger. To compare my position to that of Rev. Thomas is simply silly. I am not part of the national leadership of the denomination and whatever influence I have on the UCC is minor.