Hall, president of missionary ministry at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, represented her congregation.

“It was very enlightening to see all the different faiths: Muslim, Jewish, Unitarian, Christian, Catholic, Protestant etc.,” Hall said. “We were all interrelating with each other. I think it’s wonderful.”

Mecklenburg Ministries - a non-profit organization which fosters interfaith collaboration, promotes racial and ethnic understanding and addresses the social needs of the community - hosts meetings twice a week regarding its 12 programs.

Ebenezer Baptist is one of approximately 90 congregations that belong to Mecklenburg Ministries. There are 21 African American churches or faiths and 13 that are multicultural, says Maria Hanlin, director of Mecklenburg Ministries.

“It’s essential to our mission that we try to bring interfaith cooperation from the entire faith community,” Hanlin said. “Charlotte is a better community when all people are working together from diverse backgrounds. Their voice and their service is needed to be represented at the table and working for the good of Charlotte.”

Since 1987, Mecklenburg Ministries has brought different ethnicities and faiths together. Some of the programs the organization sponsors include Food For Thought, a lunchtime presentation about issues affecting the community; Coffee Conversations, a program to bring people together to discuss hot topics from a faith perspective; Friday Friends, which bridges the gaps between races and cultures; and the Souls of White Folks group, a project designed to increase understanding of issues on race, power and privilege.

Perhaps one of the biggest events is Mecklenburg Ministries’ annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service.

The Rev. Monica Redmond of St. Paul Baptist Church, a member of Mecklenburg Ministries, said the 2010 Thanksgiving service will be held at her church.

On Oct. 29, Mecklenburg Ministries hosted the “Homelessness to Housing - Models that Work and Why We Must Do More” workshop for clergy and community leaders concentrating on poverty. The luncheon was designed to provide information and practical ways congregations, organizations and individuals can work together on the issue of affordable housing.

“We work hard, but we’re passionate and dedicated to the difference we’re making in the city,” Hanlin said. “We also deal with (other churches) who have participated but have not joined.”

The Rev. Walter Pegues, pastor of Simpson-Gillespie United Methodist Church, said his church was a member of Mecklenburg Ministries long before his arrival six years ago.

“All of us are trying to get the same things done but we’re all taking different avenues to get it done,” Pegues said. “It doesn’t mean we can’t come together to do it.”

For more information about Mecklenburg Ministries visit www.meckmin.org.