Posted on 03/29/2008 6:54:50 AM PDT by KeyLargo
Church builds mansion for Obama's former pastor
March 29, 2008
By Kristen Schorsch, Staff writer
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright's four-bedroom home in Tinley Park will feature an elevator, a large family room with a fireplace and bar, a butler's pantry, a rubberized exercise room, a circular driveway, a four-car garage, a spare room for a future theater or swimming pool and a master bedroom with a whirlpool and custom shower as well as a fireplace and under-counter fridge, building plans show.
He would add to the mix of townhomes and multimillion dollar single-family homes that make up Odyssey Club, which backs up to Odyssey Country Club and golf course.
The subdivision has some of the largest homes in Tinley Park, said Trustee Greg Hannon, an avid golfer at the country club.
"I think it's where people kind of decide to get away from things," he said.
Wright's Tinley Park mansion is estimated to cost $1 million, a building permit shows. Trinity United Church of Christ, 400 W. 95th Street, Chicago, is listed as the landowner on the permit.
Wright could not be reached for comment. A business manager with the South Side church did not return a phone call for comment.
The pastor has made national news in recent weeks as one of his congregants - presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama - has been forced to comment on controversial words Wright has said from the pulpit.
Among the minister's inflammatory remarks was that U.S. foreign policy was to blame for terrorist attacks on Americans. He also blasted Obama's Democratic rival, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton.
"I am sick of negroes who just do not get it," Wright said. "Hillary was not a black boy raised in a single-parent home, Barack was. Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich, white people. Hillary can never know that. Hillary ain't never been called a nigger."
Wright has retired from preaching. Obama said on a Friday television appearance he would have left Trinity otherwise.
"Had the reverend not retired and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn't have felt comfortable staying there at the church," the Illinois senator said.
The Rev. J. Bennett Guess, communications director for the United Church of Christ national office, said local congregations decide how to spend their own money. At Trinity, pastors spend cash based on the contributions to their church, Guess said.
He added in a prepared statement: "It is customary and appropriate in many Christian denominations, including the United Church of Christ, for local churches to offer housing provisions for retiring clergy, especially in cases where pastors have served long-term pastorates.
We support efforts by our 5,700 local churches to ensure that retiring pastors and spouses have continuing housing, adequate pension and health care, as an expression of our continuing appreciation for their years of service. Each local UCC congregation is free to honor a retiring pastor in ways it feels most appropriate to address the needs of that clergyperson's circumstances."
Sounds like "Wright flight" to me!
Meagre profit for a man who sold out his pastoral obligation for the pottage of false, wicked theology.
I don’t know, but a person could get the idea that he prefers the company of rich white people.
This white person sure wouldn’t want “Rev.Racist” as a neighbor.
This upscale residential development is located in Tinley Park, Illinois. A gated, luxury golf course community in and around the championship Odyssey Golf Course. Featuring estate size single-family home sites and distinctive maintenance-free town homes. Ranch and two story town home models are available for viewing. Please come and visit us.
Nick Halikias, President
Map
Always said there was money to be made in the Race-Baiting Industry.
I think there is a course for this at ITT Tech.
Why do we care what type and size home does a church give it's pastor of over thirty years?
Granted the man is a racist, hate monger, anti American Marxist, but he didn't take a taxpayer dime to build it.
If his church wants to do this for him, so what? It's between him, his congregation and the IRS
He isn't the first guy to profit from peddling evil
He better make sure that the plans include several well grounded lightening rods!
It’s not the house - it’s the hypocracy.
There goes the neighborhood!Imagine owning a house on his street and trying to sell it.Think you’d get many offers when people found out Wright could be their neighbor?
The church doesn't pay income taxes.
The church is building this home with tax free money and the Rev. isn't paying any taxes on the money used either. There's no indication he's even paying the property taxes.
So relative to the rest of us who had to pay taxes on the money we used to buy a home this guy is off scott free. Hardly equitable.
Actually there is money to be made in the Jesus industry too. Preachers do it all the time. Wright didn’t need to go as far as he did.
http://www.modernconservative.com/the_metablog/1632_New_Hood_for_Obama%27s_Pastor.html
Jeff Goldblatt (Fox News) also reports that Wright purchased the property for $345K in 2004 and sold it to his church (Trinity) in 2006 for $308K, with the proceeds going to a living trust shared with his wife. His church then secured a $1.6 million mortgage for the home with a $10 million credit line.
Huh, I thought he was raised by his mother and Indonesian stepfather untill he was 10 or so, then by his grandparents?
True, so what about the thousands of small churches that have a small parish home for the local pastor?
We going to throw the baby out with the bathwater over one abused incident?
“He isn’t the first guy to profit from peddling evil”
Maybe why people get worked up is because of your last sentence. Worked up sometimes leads to thinking outside the box and finding ways to right the wrong, so to speak. Taking a ho-hum attitude insures that this kind of stuff continues. Yes, it’s legal, but that is such a cop-out. Too many discussions stop at, well it’s legal so let it be. No. Ho-hum was how Clinton handled Al Qaeda. Worked up is how Bush has handled Al Qaeda. This Reverend has personally profited from pedaling hate. That’s just not okay with me.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.