President Barack Obama and his family attended church last Sunday at a US Marines Corps base in Hawaii where the first family is spending the Christmas and New Year holidays.

This is the eighth public church attendance Obama has made since the start of his presidency in 2009, Fox News said. Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Sasha and Malia went to St. Michael church at 11:00 a.m. and sat at the front row pew, AFP reported.

Some 100 parishioners were at the church when the Obamas arrived, The New York Times said. The Christmas song, Joy to the World was being sung and churchgoers clapped when the first family walked in.

The chaplain expressed thanks for the presence of the Obamas, and delivered a Christmas sermon based on the biblical passages in Matthew 10:29-31, Fox News reported. Afterwards, the first family received communion.

The last time Obama attended church publicly was on September 19, when he went to Sunday service at St. John’s Episcopal Church near the White House. He is said to shy away from public church attendance due to heavy security precautions and so as not to inconvenience other worshippers, the AFP reported.

Instead, his spiritual regimen usually consists of praying with pastors over the phone and reading daily devotionals on his blackberry. He has also gone to private services in Camp David, Fox News said.

A poll this year indicated that some 18 percent of Americans believe Obama is Muslim, which Fox News said is up from preceding surveys. Obama has oftentimes clarified that he is Christian.

While in Hawaii the president has been golfing, going to the beach, and is receiving regular intelligence and economic briefings. On Christmas Day the first family had dinner with the troops, The New York Times said.

Before attending church Obama worked out at the Marine base gym. After service he played golf, The New York Times said. The AFP reported that Obama also spent Christmas at the base in 2008 and 2009.

Obama was born in Hawaii and went to school in the island state when he was young, the AFP said.

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President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters, Sasha and Malia, sit for a family portrait in the Green Room of the White House. Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons

On Easter Sunday morning, April 4, President Obama and his family attended a church service at the Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historic black church located in one of the poorest districts in Southeast Washington.

The visit marks the first time that the president has attended a church service since he attended Vermont Avenue Baptist Church in Washington on January 17. Some news sources, however, report that various pastors have been sending devotionals to the president’s Blackberry.

Allen Chapel pastor Reverend Michael E. Bell Sr. welcomed President Obama and his family, which included Obama’s mother-in-law Marian Robinson, and called the day “a monumental moment for us as a community.”

Bell also added that it “is no accident that he [Obama] is here [at the church] in light of what happened here last Tuesday.” Bell was referring to the tragic drive by shooting which took place just three miles from Allen Chapel, leaving four people dead and five injured after four armed men in a minivan went on a shooting spree.

Politicsdaily.com reported that the church was “already jammed by the time the Obama motorcade arrived, entering through a side door at 11:05 as congregants were standing, clapping and singing ‘Alleilua.’ As the First Family walked to the second pew, the congregation erupted with applause, and many snapped photos of the scene with cell phone cameras.”

President Obama also noted that, for now, he and his family have decided to attend a single church, rather than multiple locations across the U.S., so as to avoid disrupting congregations with press, etc.

He also said that he enjoys attending the chapel services at Camp David because “it’s just families up at Camp David. There’s a wonderful chaplain up there who does just a great job. And so usually when we go to Camp David, we go to church on Sundays there.”

Today, April 5, The First Family attended the White House’s annual Easter Egg Roll, along with several celebrities, including the cast of “Glee,” Canadian pop/R&B singer Justin Bieber and British authoress J.K. Rowling of the popular “Harry Potter” children’s book series.

President Obama read the famous Dr. Seuss story “Green Eggs and Ham” to the hundreds of children gathered on the White House lawn. Other children’s stories were read by actress Reese Witherspoon, Betty DeGeneres (mother of Ellen DeGeneres) and, of course, Marian “First Granny” Robinson.

Other than the egg rolling race competition, the event included costumed children’s characters, such as Dr. Seuss’s Cat in the Hat, and opportunities for kids to play basketball, football and even golf, according to “The Washington Post.” The sports were Mrs. Obama’s attempt to incorporate activities which would represent her campaign against childhood obesity.

“We’re going to have 30,000 people in our backyard today,” said Michelle Obama at the outset of the event, “and we want every single one of you to have fun.”

As far as future church attendance is concerned, President Obama has, as he noted he would last year, continued to avoid officially joining a specific congregation so as not to disrupt the city or local churchgoers.

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Servant: Mr. President and First Lady, has my service been satisfactory?

Mrs. Obama: Quite

Mr. Obama: And not at taxpayer’s expense.

–Maurice Williams, The Underground staff

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