Short Bio of US Senate Chaplain Barry Black

[Key Guy]

From the Washington Informer

http://www.washingtoninformer.com/wi-web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1074:african-american-pioneers-from-the-hood-to-the-hill&catid=50:regional&Itemid=113

Quote:

When Barry Black received the call to become the 62nd Chaplain for the United States Senate, Black enthusiastically accepted. The appointment to the chaplaincy of the United States Senate would make the Seventh Day Adventist preacher the first person of color to ever serve as chaplain in the legislative branch of the government.

When he entered the chaplain’s office in 1963, Black said he was “filled with gratitude to God”, who moved him from the inner city project Cherry Hill in Baltimore to Capitol Hill to provide spiritual counsel to the 100 Senators, their spouses, staff and the more than 7,000 men and women who make up the workers on the Senate side. Black was among more than 100 ministers, priests, rabbis, and other chaplains to be interviewed for the position.

The final interview was two hours with then Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Republican from Tennessee.

“I was blessed to be selected. I try not to be surprised by God’s providence. I knew that my position as Chief of Chaplains for the Navy brought me to the attention of many of our legislators. I knew they knew my name and they were exposed to my ministry. So, I wasn’t surprised, but I was extremely pleased,” Black said.

As Chaplain, Black conducts five Bible studies a week, a prayer breakfast, spiritual mentoring classes, officiates at weddings and funerals, coordinates seasonal observances for various religious traditions, and provides counsel to the Senators and their staff. “I ensure that the spiritual needs of non-Christians are met,” Black said. He also advises the Senators and members of their staff on the ethical dimensions of various issues being debated in the chambers.

In his autobiography, “From The Hood to The Hill,” Chaplain Black describes his journey and the significant role his mother Pearline played in his life.

“My mother was baptized when she was pregnant with me and prayed that God would accept her unborn child for service in His cause. From my earliest memory, I felt that God had set me apart for ministry. The desire to be a minister never had a rival in my affection. That is all I ever wanted to be or do,” Black said.

Black added that his mother limited the interaction he and his siblings had with other young people in the community. “One of the ways she did that was ensuring that my siblings and I matriculated to Christian schools from grade one through graduate school,” Black said.

Black also gives credit to his wife of 36 years, Brenda Black, for encouraging him to pursue his doctorate degrees. “My wife had far more confidence in me than I’ve had in myself,” he says. “She is my number one cheerleader. When we first got married, I was trying to decide what I would do academically.”

“I couldn’t decide whether I should get a PhD in Theology or Psychology. She very casually said why not do both. The way she said it sent me in those two directions because I was too ashamed to admit I couldn’t do one let alone two,” Black said.

As the only African American to sever serve as a fleet Chaplain and coordinator of the Joint Commands US Command, which coordinates ministry for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, Black said he considers himself blessed.

“I’m blessed to have had one pioneering opportunity after another and this is certainly a wonderful culmination to that pilgrimage.”

(photo online)