Why Brite Divinity School is honoring the Rev. Dr. Wright
March 23, 2008
Brite Divinity School has a long history and tradition of hosting people of different perspectives and points of view for the purpose of opening dialogue and understanding.
In the 1950s, at the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement, Brite professors Harold and Alberta Lunger and Brite student Vada Felder—the first African-American to graduate from Brite--provided hospitality to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a Fort Worth, Texas, not yet ready to welcome him.
Since its beginnings in 1873, Brite’s mission has been educating women and men for the ministry, witness, and outreach of the Church of Jesus Christ in the world—an increasing diverse context for ministry. Religious leaders must be responsive to this context, and our curricular concerns include preparing our students to serve as religious leaders who know and understand the challenges posed by issues such as racial and economic injustice. Effective ministry involves an ability to recognize, confront, and change these inequities in church and culture. The Divinity School now includes students from 30 denominations where 26% of our students identify as racial-ethnic minorities. Brite not only celebrates this diversity, but relies on our Asian, Black, and Latin@ Church Studies Programs, as well as Catholic Programming and the Jewish Studies Program, to help all our students be better equipped for ministries of reconciliation and justice.
Brite’s Black Church Studies Program has as its goal, “linking divine justice with social justice.” This goal reflects a central biblical theme and a long held value in religious leadership. It certainly informs Brite’s decision to honor the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright this year on the occasion of his retirement after nearly forty years of ministry.
The Advisory Board and Director of our Black Church Studies Program follow a careful process to select the honoree from a roster of exemplary candidates representing a wide denominational spectrum. The selection is made in light of the candidate’s life and ministry; contributions to the church and society; and depth of theological insights and contributions to the life and legacy of the Black Church. Dr. Wright emerged as the clear choice for this year.
As is the case with all persons recognized by Brite, we do not endorse all Dr. Wright’s statements, but we honor the accomplishments of a man who has had a remarkable career as an effective pastor and preacher. He has led a ministry that has touched the lives of thousands with the power of God’s love, mercy, and grace.
All speeches, sermons, and documents need to be understood through the setting, historical moment, issues, and audience they address. Religious leadership always includes the prophetic responsibility to speak and act in behalf of God’s justice. As a religious leader, Dr. Wright’s preaching is clearly in the broad stream of scholars and preachers who stand on the biblical foundation of prophets such as Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Jesus who also spoke words of God’s judgment to the political and religious community of their day. Such prophetic preaching is especially valued in the tradition of the Black Church which serves for many as the only safe place where African Americans may speak honestly about the experience of racial injustice in this country. The righteous anger of a prophet, as shown in scripture, must not be confused with hate speech. In the tradition of the biblical prophets, Dr. Wright is challenging forms of oppression that demean any of God’s children. He preaches regularly to persons who daily experience the stigma and oppression of racial and economic injustice that have plagued us since the earliest years of this country. As a minister of the Gospel who relies on scripture, his preaching and teaching support the dignity and worth of all people while challenging actions and policies that threaten God’s vision for peace and justice.
Dr. Wright’s career and contributions provide an excellent model of ministry and profound theological vision that ensure the ongoing legacy of the historic Black Church tradition. He served as pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ (UCC) in Chicago from 1972-2008. During this period, Trinity UCC grew from 87 adults to over 8700 members. Today this south Chicago congregation provides numerous ministries ranging from Food Share programs, Dance and Math tutorials for youth, and small groups that benefit families and individuals. The congregation tithes its annual revenues to support other congregations, denominational missions, and agencies supporting mission work in Liberia, Haiti, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, Brazil, and South Africa. Trinity has also birthed four new congregations of the UCC—two in Atlanta, Georgia, one in Gary, Indiana, and one in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 2001, Dr. Wright was the Wells Preacher for Brite’s Ministers Week of lectures, a continuing education event that draws pastors and lay leaders from across the nation. No Wells Preacher in recent years has been better received than Dr. Wright. Unfortunately, many have not heard segments from his sermons such as the one in which he says, “I am glad I follow a God who taught me to love my enemies.”
Like the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Brite trusts in a God whose love and justice are never divided. In this spirit of Christian witness, Brite Divinity School honors and celebrates a tradition of dialogue, diversity, and finding common ground.
Nancy J. Ramsay
Executive Vice President and Dean
Brite Divinity School
Eugene Brice
Retired Senior Minister, University Christian Church
Trustee, Brite Divinity School
