Obama drops by Lima to attend church

LIMA - It was a fairly typical Sunday worship at St. Luke Lutheran Church: singing and sermons and the occasional crying baby. Oh. And the man who may one day become leader of the free world sitting in the second row.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, stopped by Sunday morning to attend service at St. Luke in downtown Lima. Word of the appearance caused a stir outside the church, where more than a hundred people stood across the street waiting for a glimpse of Obama. But inside the church, it was, surprisingly, business as usual.

"This wasn't a worship service for Barack Obama. This was a worship service for our Lord. He wanted to join us for that and we were very happy to have him with us," said the Rev. Lars Olsen, head pastor at St. Luke.

Obama's bus arrived shortly before 10 a.m. He waved to those outside as he got off the bus, saying, "I'm late for church, I'll see you afterward."

While Secret Service agents and local police officers stood guard around the church, members and visitors were free to come and go. The 10 a.m. service drew a few local dignitaries and just regular folks hoping to get a look at the potential president, but the bulk of the congregation was made up of members surprised to discover who had joined them.

"We just wanted to find a congregation we could come to worship and make a visit to the community without disrupting the service," said Isaac Baker, the campaign's Ohio communications director.

Rumors of an Obama visit began circulating late last week. By Thursday, campaign aides said he may stop in for a church service on his way to Toledo where he was scheduled for an afternoon rally to discuss the economy. Olsen said he was told Friday the candidate may choose his church, but didn't find out for sure until about 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

"I talked to them Friday, but they told me not to tell anybody. I didn't even tell my wife," Olsen said.

Olsen said despite the celebrated audience, he resisted the temptation to pepper his sermon with points specific to Obama. Still, the sermon for the morning was apropos, centering on the idea of not selling out on your principles.

"Certainly, there was a little temptation to get my voice in when I had the chance, but I decided I wasn't going to do that," Olsen said.

Obama did not speak during the service, but took time during the traditional passing of the peace and after the service to shake hands and pose for pictures. Ruby Simms found out where Obama would be just minutes before the service. She packed up her two grandchildren and rushed to church. The chance to meet and worship with him was well worth the trouble.

"It's great, just great," she said as she moved up to shake Obama's hand and get her granddaughter, Zaire, an autograph. "We are here seeing history in the making."

Jan Niece said she spent most of Sunday morning trying to find out where and when Obama would hit town. She was on her way to Trinity Methodist, just up the street, when she saw the police blocking off North Street. Her diligence was rewarded with a photo and a chance to tell the candidate how much his campaign meant to her.

"I gushed but I don't care. I just told him we all need him to win and he was up there for all of us. He said he knew that and would keep knowing it. That's what I wanted to hear," Niece said.

Like pretty much everybody else, Mayor David Berger found out about Obama's visit just minutes before his 10 a.m. arrival. The two men spoke briefly as the senator was leaving the church and Obama even offered some advice. When Berger said his 19 years as mayor did not mean everybody in town loved him, the candidate told him he was not alone.

"If everybody likes you, you're doing something wrong," Obama said.

Obama's visit to Lima lasted two hours. His bus left St. Luke at 11:55 a.m. with hopes of grabbing a few Kewpee hamburgers on the way out of town, according to Baker.

The Lima visit was the first time in at least 50 years a Democratic presidential candidate has visited Allen County, which is a longtime Republican stronghold for Ohio. Vice-presidential candidate John Edwards visited Lima during the 2004 campaign.