How Did President Obama Celebrate Easter?

On Easter Sunday morning, April 4, President Obama and his family attended a church service at the Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historic black church located in one of the poorest districts in Southeast Washington.

The visit marks the first time that the president has attended a church service since he attended Vermont Avenue Baptist Church in Washington on January 17. Some news sources, however, report that various pastors have been sending devotionals to the president's Blackberry.

Allen Chapel pastor Reverend Michael E. Bell Sr. welcomed President Obama and his family, which included Obama's mother-in-law Marian Robinson, and called the day "a monumental moment for us as a community."

Bell also added that it "is no accident that he [Obama] is here

Politicsdaily.com reported that the church was "already jammed by the time the Obama motorcade arrived, entering through a side door at 11:05 as congregants were standing, clapping and singing 'Alleilua.' As the First Family walked to the second pew, the congregation erupted with applause, and many snapped photos of the scene with cell phone cameras."

President Obama also noted that, for now, he and his family have decided to attend a single church, rather than multiple locations across the U.S., so as to avoid disrupting congregations with press, etc.

He also said that he enjoys attending the chapel services at Camp David because "it's just families up at Camp David. There's a wonderful chaplain up there who does just a great job. And so usually when we go to Camp David, we go to church on Sundays there."

Today, April 5, The First Family attended the White House's annual Easter Egg Roll, along with several celebrities, including the cast of "Glee," Canadian pop/R&B singer Justin Bieber and British authoress J.K. Rowling of the popular "Harry Potter" children's book series.

President Obama read the famous Dr. Seuss story "Green Eggs and Ham" to the hundreds of children gathered on the White House lawn. Other children's stories were read by actress Reese Witherspoon, Betty DeGeneres (mother of Ellen DeGeneres) and, of course, Marian "First Granny" Robinson.

Other than the egg rolling race competition, the event included costumed children's characters, such as Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat, and opportunities for kids to play basketball, football and even golf, according to "The Washington Post." The sports were Mrs. Obama's attempt to incorporate activities which would represent her campaign against childhood obesity.

"We're going to have 30,000 people in our backyard today," said Michelle Obama at the outset of the event, "and we want every single one of you to have fun."

As far as future church attendance is concerned, President Obama has, as he noted he would last year, continued to avoid officially joining a specific congregation so as not to disrupt the city or local churchgoers.

©2010 Joshua D. Givens and The Underground Christian E-Magazine

For more news, feature articles and commentary on pop culture from a Christian perspective, visit The Underground at: www.theundergroundsite.com. This article was originally published here: http://theundergroundsite.com/index.php/2010/04/how-did-president-obama-celebrate-easter-11347