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Gary McCants - General Interest -Statecraft

Presiding Elder Gary McCants has spent his life in two seemingly different and yet compatible worlds. From 1975 to 2012 he worked in the Illinois legislature, first for the House Democrats, and from 1988 as a lobbyist for the Illinois Banker's Association. But in 1979 he began a spiritual journey that eventually led to him becoming an African Methodist Episcopal minister, accepting his own church in Kewanee, Illinois in 1985, even while continuing to work in the legislature. He found that his ministry in the legislature (informal though it was) was just as important as the several congregations he had ministered to since first answering the call in the late 1970s. One of those he ministered to was then Senator Barack Obama.

Interview Links

Feature Excerpt

Receiving a call to lobby for the State Capital prayer room.

Abstract

Interview Session 1

Years as an IL House legislative staffer through 1990 and ERA fight

Interview Session 2

Lobbyist for IL Bankers Assn during housing crisis and memories of Obama

Interview Session 3

Reflections of a lobbyist on legislative leaders and closing comments

You can listen to Reverend McCants' entire interview in our People of Faith collection.

Photos

Caption
All the Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church laid hands upon Unites States Senator Barack Obama and prayed for him following his address at a session of the AME Church General. 

Where:

St. Louis, Missouri

When:

July 2008

Ownership:

May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.



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