News & Observer | newsobserver.com | Acts of Faith: 2004

February 6, 2004 Scott Lewis
Marta Barillas, holding her daughter Yesenia, waits for her husband at the end of the monthly health clinic at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Raleigh. Volunteers run a basic care clinic the first Sunday of the month after the church's weekly Spanish mass. "I"m grateful that they have this service for the community now," Barillas said. "They really care for us." The clinic's services and products are donated by the doctors or pharmaceutical companies. "People working together with a faithfulness can go a long way," said Dr. Tom Flaherty, one of the founding doctors. There's a pureness to this that we don't see (in our private practice)."
About This Project


Ethan Hyman
"Acts of Faith" explores the different belief systems that co-exist in the Triangle area. Ten years of heavy migration has brought many new faiths to the region, turning the Bible Belt home of Billy Graham into a spiritual coat of many colors. Mosques, Buddhist and Hindu temples, Sikh Gurudwaras, synagogues and scores of Christian churches have become spiritual and social centers for a radically changing population. The demographic shift has pushed congregations to find innovative ways to keep their members while attracting new arrivals. "Acts of Faith" was born as a way to show this new religious diversity and analyze the role spirituality plays in people's daily lives.


Pailin Wedel
When covering an event for Acts of Faith, we look for situations that evoke strong emotion and try to bring readers into the moment. Though holidays and major celebrations are important, we also look for unexpected expressions of faith and quieter moments of solitary exploration. We hope to give readers insight into the breadth and depth of faith by showing how people incorporate it into their everyday lives.


Ted Richardson
For two years, Sher Stoneman and Susana Vera produced this column. In 2004, they handed it over to Ethan Hyman, Scott Lewis and Lisa Lauck. In 2005, Ted Richardson replaced Scott Lewis on this project. In 2006, Pailin Wedel replaced Lisa Lauck.

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