By Matthew Mosk and Hamil R. Harris
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, June 10, 2006

The early morning breakfast gathering at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden was intended to promote economic empowerment for African Americans.

But the long roster of prominent politicians packing the small church meeting room last week signaled that the coming election season could bring parishioners something else they've been seeking: political clout.

The candidates for Maryland's open U.S. Senate seat, in particular, have turned the state's predominately black churches into a key battleground for both the primary and general elections.

"This is where you've got to be," said the Rev. Jerome Stephens, a Baltimore minister who is helping execute an outreach strategy to black churches for U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, one of a half-dozen Democrats seeking the Senate seat. "Everybody who wants statewide office knows they have to be seen in church."

Attracting the support of black voters has always been pivotal to Democratic candidates because African Americans make up roughly 40 percent of the party's primary voters. This year, these voters have also become a crucial target for the best-known Republican contender, Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele.

Steele recently predicted he needs 25 percent of the black vote to prevail in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly two to one.

Aware that the best place to reach black voters is in church, Steele, Cardin and Democratic contender Kweisi Mfume have been a steady presence in the pews over the past year.

"All politicians seeking African American votes know they have to go through the churches," said Mark Clack, Mfume's communications director. "That's where the black community first received its political inspiration, and it's where the center of the community still remains."

Mfume is making inroads by virtue of friendships he made during a decade as president of the NAACP. Cardin's four-decade career in public service has helped him forge bonds with church leaders in Baltimore, and he has hired Stephens to help him reach leaders in Prince George's, home to some of the state's largest black congregations.

But it is Steele, the first African American elected to statewide office in Maryland, who appears to be investing the most energy into winning church support. "They're going to play a huge role in this process for me," Steele said. "The church is a big part of the anchor for the black community."

The lieutenant governor is aided by his personal history -- he spent three years as a Catholic seminary student and at one point considered joining the priesthood -- and by conservative social views that resonate with many churchgoers.

Steele has been most aggressive in highlighting his opposition to same-sex marriage, including an appearance at an Alliance for Marriage Foundation workshop at Hope Christian Church in Lanham. One recent survey showed 70 percent of African Americans oppose same-sex marriage, a greater percentage than in the general population.

On the morning Steele went to Glenarden, he moved easily among pastors and churchgoers who greeted him as an old friend, locking arms and pulling in for a warm embrace. He and Cardin worked opposite ends of the same small meeting room, at one point nearly colliding at the buffet table as Steele poured coffee and Cardin grabbed an apricot danish.

In another part of the room, Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), a candidate for governor, strolled past Del. Anthony G. Brown (D), who is on the gubernatorial ticket with Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley (D). Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) watched the scene unfold, marveling at the turnout.

The ministers typically avoid actual endorsements, for fear of endangering their churches' tax exempt status. But their congregations can often pick up on their preferences, particularly if a candidate is allowed to sit in the pulpit, rather than the pews, and address the crowd.

The event's organizer was the Rev. Jonathan Weaver, pastor of Greater Mount Nebo AME and founder of the Collective Banking Group, which includes about 200 pastors and business leaders across the Washington region. He said he welcomed the presence of so many elected officials. "I sense there is a changing dynamic today because politicians understand the power and influence of the church," he said, "and I think the church and its leadership recognize that it is our responsibility to hold elected officials accountable."

Although some people travel from the District or Virginia for services, most parishioners in the larger Maryland churches come from within the state.

Not all welcome the visits from politicians. "You shouldn't mix politics and faith," said Rebecca Holley, a Girl Scout leader at the Glenarden church. "We need leaders to support our youth and programs and not just come looking for votes."

But religious leaders believe the attention can only help. Many large churches operate a host of ancillary enterprises -- schools, senior centers, day-care facilities and community housing -- that could benefit from state and federal assistance.

Earlier in the year, when Cardin accepted the endorsement of the Rev. Marvis May, the two took time to tour Macedonia Baptist Church and its faith-based community projects in Baltimore.

"I have always been committed to partnering with our faith leaders to help them better serve their communities and to create hope and opportunity for every Marylander," Cardin told the gathered church leaders.

Steele, too, has championed faith-based programs, though it is unclear how successful the enterprise has been, given the limits placed on spending state money on religious activities.

The Rev. John Heath, who oversaw the start-up of Maryland's faith-based program under Steele's direction, said the intent was to provide churches with technical assistance and point them to available grant money, most of it from federal programs.

"This wasn't about giving money to churches or having a slush fund to try and buy off black churches," said Heath, who now oversees community initiatives at the Maryland Department of Human Resources.

Not all churches are interested in building up political clout, however. Last weekend, when the Rev. John A. Cherry held a four-hour service at Verizon Center to step down from the helm of the 22,000-member Full Gospel AME Zion Church, he welcomed Mfume, Duncan and other political leaders.

"There are enough votes in this room to turn any election," Cherry said. "But we are not about threats, we are about righteousness. I am not looking for political strength, I am looking to the grace of God."