Saturday evening Senator Obama announced that he will no longer be attending church service at Trinity United Church of Christ.

Sen. Obama told reporters at a news conference in Aberdeen, S.D. that the church had been notified via a letter the day before that the senator and his wife, Michelle, would no longer be members of the church.

Politico:

Obama said he began contemplating such a move after the “National Press Club episode” in which his former pastor and longtime spiritual mentor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., made comments that the senator later denounced as offensive.

“We had prayed on it. We had consulted with a number of friends and family members,” Obama said. “Frankly, it’s one that I made with some sadness. Trinity was where I found Jesus Christ, where we were married, where our children were baptized.”

So while Sen. Obama has headed off some criticism by stating during the same news conference that “Our faith remains strong and I expect that we will find another church home for our family,” there has to be some question of this action.

I begin to wonder tonight if this seemingly reactionary move will hurt Obama amongst fellow Christians, or if it will strengthen him among moderates. I doubt that it will have much effect, but I can be fairly certain that while Sen. Obama avoids having Trinity as a target on his back, now he’ll have the choice to leave Trinity brought up by his opponents.

Darned if you, darned if you don’t.