Wright cancels two Philadelphia appearances

Reportedly fatigued by the national attention he received as Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. has withdrawn from two appearances scheduled here for next week.

Wright, who grew up in Philadelphia and preaches here often, was scheduled to lead a revival May 28 and 29 at St. Thomas African Episcopal Church in Overbrook Farms, and to preach June 1 at Canaan Baptist Church as part of that congregation's 100th anniversary celebration.

The Rev. Martini Shaw, rector of St. Thomas', said yesterday that Wright's office advised him last week that Wright, recently retired as senior pastor of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, asked to reschedule the revival.

"Dr. Wright has been exhausted by all the media attention and desired some time for refreshment and refueling," according to Shaw, who has known Wright and Obama for years.

Shaw said Wright had preached at St. Thomas the previous two years and hoped to reschedule the revival in the "next couple of months."

A woman who answered the phone at Canaan confirmed that Wright would not be preaching there next month.

Heroic and prophetic to some, viewed as anti-American by others, Wright, 66, became controversial this year when Obama's political opponents posted fragments of his fiery sermons on the Internet.