CONGRESSMAN JAMES CLYBURN AND SCOTT MURPHY AT SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH
Carole Osterink
ccSCOOP News
03-30-09 - It’s been said that the country is never more segregated than it is on Sunday morning, and on a typical Sunday morning, the African-American Shiloh Baptist Church in Hudson proves the truth of that statement. But on Sunday, March 29, there were a number of white faces among the regular faithful—among them Hudson Mayor Richard Scalera, Chris Nolan and Cyndy Hall from the Columbia County Democratic Committee, a reporter from the Register-Star, this writer, and—the reason for the others’ presence at Shiloh—Democratic Congressional candidate Scott Murphy.
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Scott Murphy addresses the congregation at Shiloh Baptist Church. Seated are Reverend Ronald Grant and Congressman James Clyburn.
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But the high-powered guest of the morning was Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina—majority whip in the House of Representatives, third from the top in the political power structure, and, until a few months ago, the highest-ranking African American in the country—who was in town to lend his support to Scott Murphy’s bid to become the Congressman from New York’s 20th District.
Introducing the morning’s guests, Reverend Ronald Grant, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church, made reference to the Babylonian captivity of the Israelites—the theme of his Martin Luther King Day address on the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration—linking politics and faith by saying, “We have seen how God can work,” and urging the faithful to get “all of your relatives and all of your friends” out to vote on Tuesday.
William Hughes, Supervisor for the Fourth Ward in Hudson, credited with arranging Clyburn’s appearance at Shiloh, introduced the Congressman, pointing out that Clyburn, who was first elected in 1992, was the first African American since 1887 to represent South Carolina in national government and praising his work for “the less fortunate and the disenfranchised.” In his remarks, Hughes stressed the need for the community to “turn out big” at the polls on Tuesday and named the issues which would—with some variation—recur in the remarks by Clyburn and Murphy: affordable homes, health care, and jobs.
Congressman Clyburn chose on this occasion to talk not about his role as majority whip but about another position that House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi asked him to accept: chair of the Democrats’ Faith Working Group. He explained that Pelosi was disturbed by what she felt was a disconnect between the Democratic caucus and the faith community. Uncertain that he was best qualified for this position, since two ordained ministers—
John Lewis (D-GA) and Edolphus Towns (D-NY)—serve in the House of Representatives, Clyburn sought the counsel of his pastor, Joseph Darby, who referred him to the Book of James.
Clyburn explained that in 44 A.D., when the Book of James was written, there was a debate about what the followers of Christ needed to do to carry out his work. The prevailing thought was that it was enough to express your faith to others. Clyburn told the audience, “James took issue with that, saying it was not enough to tell your brother and sister who come to you hungry and naked to go in faith. You feed them and you clothe them, because faith without works is dead.” Clyburn took from this the message that the social welfare programs championed by Democrats are the modern-day manifestation of feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. |
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Clyburn went on to say that “every now and then I see a person running for office who has internalized what James was talking about.” For Clyburn, Scott Murphy is such a person, and he explained, “That’s why I’m here today—to send to Congress one who understands and will carry out the agenda,” which he defined as providing health care, education, and jobs.
In his remarks, Murphy focused on family. He talked about his three children—the youngest of whom was celebrating his fourth birthday that day—and his thirty nieces and nephews. He elicited applause when he told about his extended family of fifty-seven, who get together every Sunday night at his mother-in-law’s house.
Murphy talked about working with Barack Obama to bring about economic recovery. He talked about health care. But the theme that resonated most was the theme of keeping families together, and the most enthusiastic response from the audience, brought up in the call-and-response tradition, came when Murphy declared his commitment to creating jobs to “give kids the chance to stay here.” |
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Scott Murphy, Reverend Ronald Grant, and Congressman James Clyburn
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