Obama’s Ex-Church Focuses on Social Justice

(Rev. Otis Moss)

*Trinity United Church of Christ hasn’t changed its priorities.

However, four years after the Protestant church on Chicago’s South Side came under siege during the 2008 presidential campaign, it faces fewer distractions, says the Chicago Tribune.

Now, as Trinity’s most famous former member, President Barack Obama, seeks re-election to the White House, the Rev. Otis Moss III is seeking to renew the church’s vision for its surrounding neighborhoods and enlarge its definition of social justice.

This month, the church is rolling out its plans for Imani Village, a 27-acre community next door to Chicago State University. The property is now occupied by a charter school. Church members hope to build sustainable housing, an urban farming and agricultural center, retail stores, community health centers and an NCAA-certified sports complex.

“We’ve moved into a completely different mode of developing a sustainable, green ministry, recognizing that green is the new area of social justice for our community,” said Moss, Trinity’s senior pastor, in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. “People would be able to raise their children in a unique and affirming, powerful environment. Send them to preschool, and send them to college next door.”

Read the full story at the Chicago Tribune.