Lessons from black churches

(BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/BLOOMBERG NEWS)

I ATTEND a black church in my hometown, and I love the fire and brimstone sermons and the outcry for social justice that spew from the pulpit. As an educator, I mentally compartmentalize thoughts that do not mirror my own or statements that cause internal conflict because I read and study for myself.

We value diversity and difference, and give praise to a competitive spirit that drives us to excel. Given that we subscribe to this philosophy, I do not understand why so many people link Senator Barack Obama to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, or why the country, or political pundits, expect Obama to apologize for the rhetoric of his former pastor. Doing so might be politically motivated, but I am saddened and concerned when I read "Obama repudiates ex-pastor" (Page A1, April 30).

I suggest that we get back to the business of ensuring that this country elect a leader who can move us beyond recession and the constant threat of war, and to the restoration of economic stability and a good name that propels us as ally and friend to countries around the world. If you agree, let's put the one person into office who can accomplish this goal: Obama.

JEAN R. HAMLER
Brockton

I AM an ordained clergyman in the United Church of Christ, and when I was working in Chicago in the late 1960s, I knew many black clergymen. I remember being invited to preach at and make my first visit to a primarily black church. As I observed the service before my sermon, I was struck by how different it was from my predominantly white church. Expressed emotions were more visible and dramatic, rhetoric was more exaggerated, ideas were more starkly put. I found I needed to present my sermon more strongly than I had planned, and as the service went on the congregation encouraged me to be more emotional.

I took this style back to my white church and found myself saying things and saying them in a manner that I would not have done before I met and worked with African-American clergymen. I, like the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, probably went over the line in some statements (this was the '60s).

Wright makes an important point about the difference between white and black churches and that to take to task styles and statements from either type is unwarranted.

The Rev. PHILLIP MAYFIELD
Brookline