Building relationships across racial lines
(The Christian Science Monitor) A low hum sweeps across the sanctuary, drifting above the bowed heads of huddled prayer groups, beyond the joined hands of black and white worshipers. Whispers carry words such as harmony, unity, forgiveness, and peace. Outside, a police car idles as day fades to dusk at Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
The service is the product of a bond established between the mostly white Oak Mountain church and the predominantly black congregation of Urban Hope Community Church.
For pastors Alton Hardy and Bob Flayhart, the goal is to maintain that unity no matter what the circumstances.
