No offense taken Mrst. I am definitely not talking about any Affirmitive Action type of solution. There are qualified minorities within our ranks. There is a whopper of a story about why they didn't amke Dr. Calvin Rock(African American) GC President when he was most qualified at the time. It actually took blacks picketing the 1958(?) GC Session in San Francisco for them to even consider hiring anyone black....an then they hired one.....E. E. Cleveland by the time the 60's rolled around. had nothing for him to do, had secretaries to threated to quit than work under a black man, etc. Here locally, there was only on black person working at the conference office and she was cleaning the building...........
More recently, 15 years ago they start the Net series in Satellite envangelism. Problem one, very few minorities had satellite dishes, and on the right day you heard those in charge actually admitting that series was targeted toward {probably] upperclass whites, as their numbers were declining within the membership. The presenters were whilte for many years. Problem two, African America churches tend to be located in the "hood". The members may move out and commute in for church, but they rarely leave the community, even if they rebuild. Not a good place, or evangelism strategy for reaching poor minorities, disadvantaged blacks, who basically blame a good portio of their misfortune on the "white man". Be it true or not, it is reality, there are trust issues there. We were "encouraged" to participate in this evangelistic effort, because there would be no evangelism monies sent for any other efforts, along with the requriement that the church had to purchase a then $5,000 satellite equipment. Some of the the churches could not afford that.
Also after some years with only white pastors doing the seminiar, they asked Walter Pearson. A good portion of white churches simp0ly refused to carry the New series that year. I believe Doug Bachelor or Shawn Boonstra had something shortly there after in which they did pariicipate. We definitely stillhave our racial issues within the church, which is sad.
Wow, mrst, my upbringing was entirely different, but I know of people(some family), even in Calfiornia, who lived as you did. they struggled, and you are right, it didn't matter who was in office. i thinkit really doesn't make a difference. As we see recently the republicans just flat out siad that if President Obama said the sky was blue, they wee going to maintain it was green, just because..............well, we haven't gotten a good reason yet. Then when the president compromised with the Republicans ont he tax bill, the democrats,, for all their compasssion, were willing to allow milssions of jobless Americans lose the only source of income in Unemployment benefits because...............haven't gotten a good answer on that one yet either......sigh. They ALL get into office and lose focus, and stasart putting priority on party politics, instead of what is right for the people they are suppoed to represent. All are just filthy with special interest.