Rev. Bruce Wall throws up some obstacles

Rev. Bruce Wall throws up some obstacles

The headline on the Rev. Bruce Wall’s latest e-mail blast spoke for itself: “The Black Church Will Determine Who Will Be The Next Mayor of Boston.”

Wall, pastor of Global Ministries Christian Church in Dorchester, followed that with a second unequivocal statement: “It is true, the black pastors in Boston are now split regarding who they will support in the mayoral election.”

If that is indeed the case, then the insurgent members of Boston’s black clergy have chosen to remain anonymous – at least for now. Bruce does not name those ministers who may be leaning toward the Michael Flaherty-Sam Yoon hybrid, aka “Floon,” over our current Mayor for Life. And the Floon ticket has yet to announce any endorsements.

It is no secret that relations between Tom Menino and Bruce Wall turned ice cold in the aftermath of the Chiara Levin murder two years ago, when the minister declared that Boston was in a “state of emergency.”

Still, the mayor did travel to Bruce’s church Sunday night to do a half hour on Wall’s local radio show, followed by Michael Flaherty for another 30 minutes.

But in yesterday’s release, Wall insisted that high-profile organizations within the black church, such as the Ten-Point Coalition and the Black Ministerial Alliance, enjoy what he called a “cozy relationship with the mayor.”

“I’m not too sure what’s going on with Bruce,” sighed one of his fellow pastors who preferred to remain anonymous. “Is he right when he suggests that the black clergy are not monolithic? Absolutely. But I believe even Bruce would have to admit that . . . Menino has shown a willingness to reconsider how things are done – and most importantly, how they can get done.

“He’s turned what was a barren field in Grove Hall into a mall that’s helped to revive the community. He’s built new homes on vacant lots and worked to revamp a couple of the most notorious housing projects.

“On the whole,” this clergyman said, “the mayor has paid no small amount of attention to forging a relationship with the community that’s produced tangible results. And while we may be in the midst of generational change on both the national and local levels, I’ve yet to see how a younger challenge to the mayor will deliver as effectively as he does.”

In other words, as another preacher put it: “If it ain’t broke, why do I want to fix it?”

Near the end of Bruce Wall’s statement there’s a kind of grudging validation of Menino’s presence in the community. He writes: “Pastor Wall will not endorse a candidate because it will hurt his ability to be objective in rallying the community to take their heads out of the sand.”

No need to burn any bridges just yet.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1202792