Otis Moss III

Rev. Otis Moss III is a pastor at the Trinity United Church Of Christ in Chicago, of which presidential candidate Barack Obama is a member. Moss replaced the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose politically-charged sermons have become a major issue in the Democratic primary campaign and inspired Obama's March address on the subject of race. In his Easter Sunday sermon, titled “How to Handle a Public Lynching," Moss defended Wright's comments and compared his treatment in the media to a public execution.

Fast Facts

1. Studied religion and philosophy at Morehouse College
2. Received a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University
3. Served as pastor at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia
4. In 1999 he published his first book, Redemption in a Red Light District
5. Created the Issachar Movement to bridge the youth ministry gap
6. Spouse: Monica Brown Moss
7. Has a son and a daughter

Quotes

"..we are completely committed to our culture and to Christ, that we do not separate, to say that we are Christian over here and we are black over here. But God made us who we are and we celebrate what God made us and being African Americans. We’re Africans who’ve been displaced and who live in America." -Otis Moss III¹

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