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Obamas Still Searching for Church to Call Their Own
The last time the first family attended services was two days before the inauguration, at 19th Street Baptist Church.
Foxnews

Days before Easter, White House aides say the first family still is looking for a Washington-area church to call its own.

The hunt continues, nearly a year after President Obama severed ties with Trinity United Church of Christ following the campaign controversy over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s incendiary sermons.

It’s still unclear where exactly the Obama family might be leaning. The 19th Street Baptist Church is considered a favorite, since he attended services there two days before the inauguration. But Obama hasn’t been to church since.

The Rev. Dean Snyder, the pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church — where 18 presidents including Abraham Lincoln prayed — said the media shouldn’t complicate the Obamas’ search.

“I hope that in this case, for all of us, that we allow the personal and spiritual needs of the first family to be more important than political considerations,” he said.

But every president finds choosing a Washington church has some political considerations. And some find it more complicated than others.

Jimmy Carter taught Sunday school at the First Baptist Church in Washington.

George W. Bush sometimes went to St. John’s Episcopal, across the park from the White House, and sometimes had private services at Camp David.

Ronald Reagan didn’t go to church. He said the security requirements were too much of a strain on the congregation.

Bill Clinton went to Foundry — and his fellow parishioners sometimes found waiting in the security line was a good thing.

“A few months ago I baptized a baby born to a couple who met one Easter Sunday while standing in line to get through the metal detectors,” Snyder said.

Race and politics complicate Obama’s church selection.

The racially explosive sermons of Wright almost derailed Obama’s campaign and ultimately led him to leave the Trinity United in Chicago.

Washington’s historic 19th Street Baptist is much more moderate, though its pastor isn’t trying to entice the Obama family.

“That is a very personal and yet also prayerful decision for any family and certainly for this family. So, we’ll entrust that to them as they continue to move forth and we’ll let God do the rest,” said The Rev. Derrick Harkins.

Choosing a mostly black church would raise questions about an assertion Obama made several times during the campaign, referring to “the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning.”

Yet he might face some scorn from black communities for choosing a church, such as Foundry, that is primarily white after having been a member at a church like Trinity United for most his adult life.

Snyder said his congregation’s diversity is one of its important aspects.

FOX News’ Wendell Goler contributed to this report.