By Barnett Wright
Times staff writer
Birmingham area clergy are becoming more involved in local government because, according to one local pastor, some elected officials have lost their way. This comes on the heels of proposed legislative changes that have resulted in contentious public hearings and battles between Mayor William Bell and City Council members.
Bishop Jim Lowe, senior pastor of Guiding Light Church, pointed to how state lawmakers have handled modifications to the Mayor-Council Act as a prime example of why pastors need to get involved.
Lowe is a member of the Gatekeepers Association of Alabama (GAA), a group of nearly 40 diverse pastors who oppose changes to the Mayor-Council Act, as well as plans to give the mayor additional appointments to the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB).
“The GAA will help people remember who has the will of the people at heart, who is concerned about the betterment of our communities versus the betterment of their self-preservation,” Lowe said.
“It is the responsibility of a pastor of God to protect his flock. Whoever the wolf is —whether it is a mayor, whether it is a city councilman, whether it is a state representative, whether it is a senator or a president—we’re going to call it out. Our job is to protect the people. We are servants, just like they are servants.”
Lowe, who said he is grieving over the current political upheaval, made his comments shortly after members of the Jefferson County House Delegation on Wednesday, April 13, passed out of committee a bill to alter the Mayor-Council Act. The full House could vote on the measure as soon as next week.
Lawmakers also took up a bill that would modify how BWWB members are appointed. Currently, the Birmingham City Council appoints all five members to the board, which is expected to grow to six members next year. Under the new legislation, the council will appoint four members and the mayor will appoint two.
State Rep. Oliver Robinson (D-Birmingham), sponsor of the bills, said the proposals are good for residents.
“It’s going to help Birmingham’s citizens as it relates to how government is run, how the mayor and council communicate, and how services are provided,” Robinson said. “That’s what it was about in the first place—the citizens. It wasn’t about the mayor, and it wasn’t about the council.”
Lowe isn’t the only pastor who has felt compelled to intervene with high-profile government issues.
The Rev. T.L. Lewis, pastor New Bethel Baptist Church Pratt City, was instrumental in settling the dispute between Mayor Bell and Councilman Marcus Lundy that led to a physical altercation—now known as The Brawl at City Hall—and became a national embarrassment for the city.
“I worked hard when we had this situation with the mayor and Lundy,” the pastor said. “I had to say [to them], ‘Listen, you have to hear the voice of God. I don’t care who hit who first. I don’t care who knocked who down. When elephants fight, the whole grass is destroyed—and the grass happens to be our community.’
“Right now, the word of the Lord is a cure all,” Lewis said. “It’s a cure for everybody, and it’s a cure for everything.”
