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Originally posted by Rasobasi420
Scrub, this is common in any community group based in the black community. They are about empowering the disempowered black community. It doesn't make them racist.
Originally posted by Rasobasi420
Is it that they wouldn't welcome you, or that you would feel uncomfortable going to the church?
I don't se anything here that would show me that they wouldn't welcome you.
I am white so a church that is unashamedly black doesn't sound like I'd be very welcomed as a white person
About Us
We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black
Again, I don't fit their profile or belief system
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.
Again, not fitting in here...might be seen as tainted as those who actually oppressed them and their people. In fact, ancestrally it would be true to some extent.
God has superintended our pilgrimage through the days of slavery, the days of segregation, and the long night of racism.
I am not part of the black community or black ways of worship or cultural expression
We constantly affirm our trust in God through cultural expression of a Black worship service and ministries which address the Black Community.
We believe in (snip)
2. Commitment to the Black Community
3. Commitment to the Black Family
(snip)
6. Adherence to the Black Work Ethic
(snip) 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.
A congregation with a non-negotiable COMMITMENT TO AFRICA.
A congregation committed to ADORATION. A congregation preaching SALVATION. A congregation actively seeking RECONCILIATION. (snip)A congregation committed to BIBLICAL EDUCATION. A congregation committed to CULTURAL EDUCATION. A congregation committed to the HISTORICAL EDUCATION OF AFRICAN PEOPLE IN DIASPORA. A congregation committed to LIBERATION. A congregation committed to RESTORATION. A congregation working towards ECONOMIC PARITY.
Originally posted by centurion1211
Since you brought that up, marge.
Well, according to both CNN and Ted Kennedy ... they are the very same person! That would make them pretty closely related.
Originally posted by Scrub
Like I said before I just think it's unfair that if obama was white going to the same kind of church the press would be all over it calling him racist.
Originally posted by thelibra
God forbid we ever live in a society that dull. I dread the day we're all the same color, culture, language, and so forth. Frankly, I rejoice in the fact that women are different from men, blacks different than whites, and jews different from christians, and so forth forth. It is these differences that are the STRENGTH of the human race. Once you homogenize humanity you breed weakness in our species. I hope to god we never achieve the racist dream of colorblindness, but rather instead learn to accept each other's differences and embrace them.
Originally posted by thelibra
See, there's the thing. I don't consider it discrimination. Now if their mission statement read something like "Kill Whitey, Kill all the white people!" or to advocate harm or negativity towards another race, I'd have a different opinion. However, it doesn't do that. It strives for the advancement of black people. I have no problem with that. Since when did someone trying to improve their brothers and sisters become a hate crime?
Originally posted by jsobecky
Tell me, the libra, why do you feel the need to state your opinion of me? Is this some kind of attempt to denigrate me, and by default to mimize the story? I suggest that you leave the personal commentary on me out of the discussion. You are the only person that I see doing it; do you have a problem with me?
Originally posted by thelibra
I don't mean this as an insult, but if someone were to say "Who's the most right-wing members of ATS you can think of?" I'd say you, Marg, and Centurion. Now, that might not be accurate, compared to the actual composition of ATS, but of the threads I read involving politics, you three are pretty much the neocons in the room.
Well, for that matter, I don't recall Christ telling people to burn books, discriminate against homosexuals, or turn Muslims into second-class citizens, but there sure does seem to be a lot it going around by his followers
You need to realize that "Christian" really means jack squat when it comes to politics.
See, there's the thing. I don't consider it discrimination.
A rather dubious claim. Christian churches promote Christians. They actively do so across the entire world. They seek to evangelize and spread "the good word" to anyone and everyone, and inject their belief system into politics as an unabashed way of delivering the country into Christ's hands.
Well, that's fine. Everyone's got an agenda. Just be honest about it. You can't tell me that a Church that specifically focuses on the advancement of Black people is any more bigoted than a Church that focuses on the advancement of Christians, that's a ridiculous claim to make. Using your logic, all Christian churches must completely do away with their overt favoritism to christians and christian values and instead work to advance ALL religions.
Using your logic so far, "people of color" should be just as offensive a term.
Hello,
My name is ***** *******. I’ve recently heard that Barack Obama was a member of your congregation. Senator Obama already has my vote for president long before the election. I feel that it is important to have a black president. More than that, I feel it’s important to have a new point of view in the white house, other than the accepted good ol’ boy persona that has continuously been forced on many, election after election. We need a point of view that doesn’t marginalize poor communities because of their lack of wealth, and resources to line political pockets.
With that said, I’ve been reading through your website, and see that your church has a very active roll in strengthening the community. You have youth programs for the children and computer training courses for all. This is critical in closing the opportunity divide that exists between the classes. I’ve personally been affected by similar programs that eventually led me to a well paying job in the IT field. At this point, I feel it needless to say that I am a black man. My mother is white, but I identify with my black side much more because of the position my skin color has put me in life. My youngest sister however is all white.
While reading your mission statement, it seems that your church is rightly very community based, and does what it can to help the community. By that token, is anyone in your congregation white? Would my sister feel comfortable going to this church, being that she grew up in the exact same community as me. Basically, would I worry that there would at any point in the pastor’s sermons be any mention of how white people have kept us down? I understand that historically, the dominant power has been white, but does this transfer to all white people? Would my sister be shunned by your congregation because her ancestry doesn’t stem from Africa?
Thank you for your time, and please, don’t take these questions as a criticism of your church, or your mission statement.
Best regards,
Originally posted by Rasobasi420
I figured I'd cut to the chase and ask them what you are all wondering about. Do they discriminate against whites?
Originally posted by Rasobasi420
I've sent an email to those at TUCC, and am waiting for a response. Here's the content.
Do they discriminate against whites? Do they have anyone white in their congregation? If not, would a white person feel welcome if they joined?