Enlarge Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and faith leaders at the Selma Civil Rights March in 1965

Posted: January 14th, 2010 Brant Aycock

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

We are one day away from our month-and-a-half long series of sermon exchanges, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Clergy in Charlotte have occasionally spoken at each others' houses of worship, on a limited basis, but through the efforts of Crossroads Charlotte and in partnership with Mecklenburg Ministries and Temple Beth El--for the first time this will be a citywide effort! Excitement is building!

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Posted: January 14th, 2010 Greg Lacour

What will Charlotte’s infant mass transit system look like 20, 30, 40 years from now?

Will it be a drab, utilitarian collection of buses sporadically serving only people who can’t afford to drive?

Or will it be a source of civic pride, a system with trains, trams, trolleys and buses, something that catches the eye and defines the city, something people want to use?

Urban designer Darrin Nordahl prefers the latter.

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Posted: January 13th, 2010 Ken Garfield

In a sense, Rabbi Judy Schindler’s involvement in the Xchange Sermons is a sermon in itself, for the new initiative embodies the message to which she has devoted her life and ministry.

“This helps build bridges of connection,” says Schindler, among the first clergy to swap pulpits through the Crossroads Charlotte/Mecklenburg Ministries program. “We open our doors and we open our hearts, and, as we do that, we open our minds.”

Spiritual leader of Temple Beth El for the past six years, Schindler is committed to the care and nurture of the 1,100 families that belong to her Charlotte synagogue. But she is committed as well to the community beyond her congregation. The mission, to her, is clear: Bring together people of different faiths to pray, serve, study and push one another respectfully to think harder about what they believe and why.

“When we dialogue,” she says, “we need to challenge each other.”

Schindler, a frequent and passionate speaker in other houses of worship, has led her congregation into an abiding relationship with Myers Park Baptist Church and Masjid Ash-Shaheed, a Muslim congregation on West Sugar Creek Road.

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Posted: January 13th, 2010 Meaghan Clark

On Wednesdays, Crossroads Charlotte Correspondent Meaghan Clark will give you a round-up of community-building news and events (click items for full stories):

1. Captains in every division of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department receive congratulations for lower crime statistics and crime reductions.

2. A current Charlotte City Council member with “leadership experience” will run for MecklenburgCounty district attorney.

3. Pool halls are no longer haunted by gamblers, drinkers and low-life’s. Today’s patrons include women, kids, and people from all walks of life.

4. Neighborhood Theatre fights to stay alive. Despite hosting some of the best shows in town, the local music spot struggles to keep its doors open.

5. Fort Mill hospital plans have been put on hold again. Presbyterian Healthcare and Carolinas HealthCare System have both appealed a ruling, which would allow them to get in the game.

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