Ursula Holmes was settled into her usual pew toward the rear of Washington’s Nineteenth Street Baptist Church when President-elect Barack Obama saw her. Both he and his wife, Michelle, paused, stooped down and took hold of her hand as they left church after a Sunday service in January.<\/p>\n
Holmes was too excited then to whisper the advice she now has for them, advice that she says has helped her survive in this city for 92 years. “Find a church family,” she wants to tell them. “There’s no place like the black church.”<\/p>\n
Holmes is far from alone in that sentiment. Everyone in Washington’s church-going community seems to have an opinion about where the first family should go to church — and nowhere is hope higher than among the city’s scores of predominantly black churches, which are in the mix for the first time. Their pastors and members are asking: Will Obama choose one of us? Like so many choices the first family is making in this city, the search for a church has spurred discussions about the state of race relations and a hot competition for its mark of approval.<\/p>\n