If any Cathedral of Hope members are considering running for office, they might first want to go back and read some of the Rev. Mike Piazza’s sermons. That’s what Piazza, dean of the Cathedral of Hope, says in this recent blog post about the media firestorm involving Barack Obama’s ex-pastor, Jeremiah Wright.

The Cathedral of Hope and Obama’s church, Trinity UCC, are both members of the United Church of Christ denomination. Trinity is the largest congregation in UCC, and the Cathedral of Hope is the fourth-largest. However, the Cathedral of Hope is predominantly LGBT and white, while Trinity is predominantly straight and black.

There is plenty of fodder here, especially given that many Hillary Clinton supporters in the LGBT community have suggested that Obama is too closely tied to conservative black churches that view homosexuality as a sin. When the Wright controversy broke, some speculated that if Wright said, “God damn America,” he surely at some point must also have said, “God damn homosexuals.”

Turns out, that is not the case. Well, at least not really. Overall, Wright appears to be pretty darn gay-friendly for a preacher in the mainstream black church. However, as noted in The Washington Blade article, there may be some exceptions.

In this piece, the Rev. Irene Monroe argues that Obama’s handling of the Wright controversy shows that he’s willing to sacrifice anybody to save his political hide. “If Obama can throw his pastor under the bus, what will he do to LGBTQ voters on his way to the White House?” Monroe asks.

— John Wright

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