Senate Chaplain Cancels Out After Finding Conference's Political Slant

The Associated Press reports today that U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black has cancelled a speech he was scheduled to give at next month's Reclaiming America for Christ Conference after conference promoters put his photo-- along with those of prominent conservatives-- on a brochure promoting the event. Black told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he was concerned that his appearance would violate the Senate chaplain's "historic tradition of being nonpolitical, nonpartisan, nonsectarian". Black is the first military chaplain, the first African-American and the first Seventh-day Adventist to hold the post of Senate Chaplain. When Black agreed to appear at the Reclaiming America for Christ Conference, he was not aware of the conservative slant of the event or who the other speakers would be. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the link, and to Steven Sholk for a heads up on the story.]