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Obama calls for 'politics of conscience' in General Synod speech (6/27/07)
By Gregg Brekke, DisciplesWorld contributing writer
HARTFORD, Conn. (6/26/07) — Sen. Barack Obama delivered an impassioned speech to the United Church of Christ’s 26th General Synod on June 23.
Obama, who was booked to speak at the Synod prior to the announcement of his candidacy for president, is a 22-year member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. A video introduction of Obama was offered by his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, who praised the senator for his ability to maintain the separation between church and state while allowing his moral influence to be heard in the public sphere.
Obama began his speech by praising the UCC for changing its venue, from the Hartford Convention Center to the Hartford Area Civic Center in response to fair wage concerns by the UCC for convention center workers.
He made only passing references to his bid for the Democratic nomination for president in his speech — referring to platform initiatives only briefly and in context of the social justice issues on which he focused. These comments have been condemned by commentators opposed to Obama who is himself and advocate for the separation of church and state.
Obama’s message was punctuated with a hopefulness that religious factions in the U.S., who previously considered themselves at odds with one another, are coming together around core issues of justice: assistance for the poor, equity for immigrants, and universal health care.
“I’ve had the chance to talk with Americans all across this country. I’ve found that no matter where I am or who I’m talking to, there’s a common theme that emerges. It’s that folk are hungry for change, they’re desperate for something new,” Obama said. “They’re ready to turn the page on the old politics and the old policies, whether it’s the war in Iraq or the healthcare crisis or a school system that’s leaving too many children behind despite the slogans.”
Citing a new stirring of the American religious conscience, Obama observed, “People are coming together around a simple truth that we are all connected. That I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper. And that it’s not enough to just believe this, to proclaim the words, we have to do our part to make it a reality….That’s something that the UCC has known for a long time.”
In one reference his bid for the presidency Obama promised to make healthcare a priority, vowing to institute universal health care for all Americans by the end of his first presidential term if elected.
Making several references to this current generation being the “Joshua generation,” Obama compared this generation of United States citizens to Joshua in the Old Testament — as those who have inherited the promised land from reformers and shapers such as Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.
“We all have a chance to rise above what divides us and come together to meet the challenges we can’t meet alone. It’s the wisdom Moses imparted to those who would succeed him, us the Joshua generation, and it’s a lesson we need to remember today as members of the Joshua generation,” Obama said.
Concluding his speech, Obama called for citizens of the U.S. to “rededicate ourselves to a new kind of politics. A politics of conscience.”
An overarching belief that people faith, and those who have no faith tradition, can come together to agree on matters of conscience that help the common good culminated his remarks.
“We can affirm our faith without endangering the separation of church and state, as long as we understand that when we're in the public square, we have to speak in universal terms that everyone can understand,” Obama said. “And if we can do that — if we can embrace a common destiny — then I believe we'll not just help bring about a more hopeful day in America, we'll not just be caring for our own souls, we'll be doing God's work here on Earth.”
The 50th year of the United Church of Christ is being celebrated in Hartford, Conn. in recognition of the early U.S. roots of the Congregational branch of the denomination.
