Sen. Barack Obama’s chief political strategist sits on the finance committee of the Chicago church led by controversial pastor Michael Pfleger, who claimed in a sermon last weekend Sen. Hillary Clinton cried in public because she thought being white entitled her to the Democratic presidential nomination.

Pfleger, whose remarks about Clinton were condemned by Obama, several times hosted at his church Nation of Islam head Louis Farrakhan. Pfleger practices black liberation theology, is a regular guest speaker at Trinity United Church of Christ, and was identified by Obama as a key source of spiritual guidance.

David Axelrod, Obama’s top strategist, serves on the finance board of Pfleger’s St. Sabina Catholic church, which is seeking to raise $1 million to offset the costs of reconstructing sections of the cathedral found to have structural problems.