When Amy Sullivan of Time wrote one of the finest articles about President Obama’s church options, she quoted a creative idea from Flo McAfee, former religious liaison for the Clinton White House. McAfee recommended worshiping in the chapel at the Army’s Fort Meyer, where security already is covered.
Now Sullivan, drawing on reporting by her colleague Elizabeth Dias, breaks the news that Obama will, like his predecessor George W. Bush, worship in Evergreen Chapel at Camp David, where Navy chaplains preside. The story offers some great details, not least that Obama can experience more decorum at an informal chapel than he did during an Easter visit to St. John’s Church, Lafayette Square: “Even at St. John’s, which is so accustomed to presidential visitors that it is known as the ‘Church of the Presidents,’ worshippers couldn’t help themselves from snapping photos of Obama on their camera phones as they walked down the aisle past him to take communion.”
My fellow Episcopalians are snapping cell-phone photos? On their way to Communion, no less? This needs to be a story in itself, under the tag “Signs of the Apocalypse.”
The Obamas will not worship alone at Camp David. “Each week, regardless of whether the President is on-site, Evergreen Chapel holds nondenominational Christian services open to the nearly 400 military personnel and staff at Camp David, as well as their families,” Time reports.
Another great detail: Obama’s new pastor is Lieut. Carey Cash, a Southern Baptist who has served as a chaplain in the Iraq War:
The 38-year-old Memphis native is a graduate of the Citadel and the great-nephew of Johnny Cash. He served a tour as chaplain with a Marine battalion in Iraq and baptized nearly 60 Marines during that time. Cash earned his theology degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth — and, yes, that means Obama’s new pastor is a Southern Baptist.
Cash and his wife also have five children, some of whom may find themselves acting opposite Sasha and Malia in the Christmas pageant. But if the experience of past Camp David chaplains is any guide, Cash won’t necessarily have the opportunity to form a pastoral relationship with Obama. “We used to tell people our job was to run like a five-star resort,” said Patrick McLaughlin, who was chaplain at Camp David from 2002 to 2005, in an interview with Religion News Service. “One of the things you value when you go on vacation is peace and quiet.” His contact with Bush outside worship services, McLaughlin said, was “very little.”
Sullivan does a solid job of explaining the security challenges and intrusions on a church’s weekly atmosphere involved in any presidential visit, especially since the 9/11 terrorist strikes. Obama’s choice is bound to be as disappointing for pundits as it is for any camera-weilding worshipers at St. John’s. I’m not sure there are many better options, unless Obama’s weekly worship choice becomes as chaotic and disruptive as his dropping in on Five Guys Burgers and Fries with Brian Williams.
Update: David Brody of CBN News quotes Jen Psaki, deputy White House press secretary, as disputing Time’s report.
Photo: The choir at Washington National Cathedral, which — despite the lobbying efforts of Sally Quinn, may not claim Obama as a new member.
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Comments (15) |
June 29, 2009, at 10:45 am
Wow…
Ya just can’t make this stuff up.
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June 29, 2009, at 11:13 am
Lord, give Pastor Cash wisdom to guide all those who are under his spiritual care. May he give them ancient words of truth. May he direct them toward a personal relationship with You instead of just an outward ritual of religion. May he especially be blessed as he offers hope, peace and spiritual guidence to our President. We are reminded oh Lord that the “heart of the king is in Your hand” and this is simply one more proof of that truth. Amen.
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June 29, 2009, at 11:17 am
I pray Pastor Cash will be used mightily to proclaim the gospel calling our president to repentance of sin and faith in Christ alone, crucified and risen again for salvation. I pray for our president that God will save him and his family and use him to lead our country to honor God
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June 29, 2009, at 11:39 am
Or maybe not??
http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2009/06/29/president-obama-has-not-chosen-official-church-home.aspx
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June 29, 2009, at 12:28 pm
We here at the Washington Times are saying the same thing. Here’s our White House reporter Jon Ward’s latest twitter on this:
“No final decision has been made on church membership the white house tells me. I should have something on the record shortly.”
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June 29, 2009, at 1:05 pm
I certainly will pray with Julia Duin and simply place ‘mega ditto’s’ along side her statement. But add that the Chaplain will be able to have that freedom among the pluralistic gathering of faiths……might not be so simple. His congregants are a mixed bag, not a bad thing, just makes his task all the more difficult….
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June 29, 2009, at 1:52 pm
I’ll add that to my list of why I think the apocalypse is upon us. Maybe I can add to that to the file that contains “Would Jesus do the moonwalk?”
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June 29, 2009, at 2:42 pm
This is already getting coverage on the Progressive sites:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/6/29/748078/-Obamas-New-Pastor:-First-we-get-the-military,-then-we-get-the-nation
Seems Pastor Cash has a lot of Dominionist baggage, which is setting off Obama’s base.
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June 29, 2009, at 6:10 pm
A) “Time Magazine reported this morning that President Obama has chosen the non denominational Evergreen Chapel at Camp David his primary place of worship BUT that report IS NOT ACCURATE.”
What? Time not accurate? I’m shocked! Truly shocked…Next you will be telling me the Cubs didn’t win the World Series!
B) ” the search for a DC Church home continues.”
And I predict will continue to continue till Jan 20, 2012.
Obama talks religion, but except for the Easter church/photo-op, the Obama family hasn’t been to church since the inaguration, as far as I know. Going once every six months doesn’t imply a serious spiritual faith-life.
Bottom line, When push comes to shove Obama’s relgion is “Secularist, Socalist, Selfish.” Like most progressives the guy honestly believes that mankind is self-perfectable, that such perfection can be achieved through governmental action, and that HE is just the man to make it happen. He doesn’t need a church to worship, just a mirror.
C)”worshippers couldn’t help themselves from snapping photos of Obama on their camera phones as they walked down the aisle past him to take communion
That is a truly sad thing. When people who have before them the Lord and Creator of the UNIVERSE, choose to ignore Him so they can catch a glimpse of a temporal polticial leader… Obviously we are talking about folks who are unclear on the concept of just what communion is, and who Jesus is.
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June 30, 2009, at 6:12 pm
LARRY:
I don’t think your view fits the evidence.
As stated before, it appears that Obama is having trouble finding an African-American congregation with clout, AND his views on crucial doctrinal-social issues.
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June 30, 2009, at 9:11 pm
[…] MESSIAH AT CHURCH– Obama Decides to Declare No D.C. Church Home; Obama chooses worship over spectacle …. (newsbusters, […]
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July 2, 2009, at 5:23 pm
In this morning’s meeting between the president and members of the Catholic media, the president cited the family’s negative experiences with what happened after Trinity as a reason why they still haven’t selected a church in Washington, D.C. to attend. You can read his remarks here:
http://www.ncregister.com/daily/president_to_catholic_press_on_church_attendance/
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July 3, 2009, at 12:35 pm
President Bush never chose a congregation while he was in D.C., yet his evangelical constituency gave him a pass. You are playing God if you assume you know President Obama’s religious beliefs and practices. The best we can judge anyone’s religion or lack of it is by that person’s actions: “by their fruits you shall know them.” So far I have seen President Obama’s actions to indicate a presence of the Holy Spirit in his patience, tolerance, compassion and willingness to forgive and work with people who hate him. I don’t care if he never goes to church: the body of Christ is not a building. I pray for his guidance every day AND I pray for his protection from the haters.
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July 4, 2009, at 2:07 am
[…] Interesting: "Obama’s new pastor is Lieut. Carey Cash, a Southern Baptist." See http://www.getreligion.org/?p=14189 […]
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July 8, 2009, at 2:00 am
I’m sorry to disagree with several people who have commented that Time wrongly reported the President had chosen Evergreen Chapel as his place of worship for the remainder of his presidency, but as a loyal Time reader I must object. In Time Magazine the penultimate sentence of the article is “Officially, ‘the President and First Family continue to look for a church home.’”
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