On the surface, they have nothing in common. Margaret James is a single black woman from Roselawn. Judy O'Brien is a 60-year-old white mother of seven. Hernan Osorno is a newlywed from Colombia, South America. But after nearly a year of meeting together, the three found they are more alike than different. They share the same foundation: faith.

        “I have learned that even though we're from different beliefs, we still serve the same God,” says Ms. James, 40 and a member of New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Carthage.

        And they are members of local congregations involved in the Faith Community Partnership Program, which pairs congregations to meet in small groups to work on service projects. The aim is to bring together people from different faiths, races and cultures to form relationships.

        A group passed out Cokes and water on Cincinnati street corners in June. The next month, they held a picnic together. In August, they put stickers on ducks for the FreeStore/FoodBank's Rubber Duck Regatta.

        Today, some members of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic parish will join two other churches to volunteer at the FreeStore/FoodBank in Bond Hill.

        The faith partnership program shows the “black and white communities that we can build a common ground,” Ms. James says. “We can still meet in the middle and get something accomplished.”

        The April riots underscored the importance of making connections and improving race relations one person at a time.

        “I don't know how to change the system, but this is something I can do,” says Ms.
O'Brien of Immaculate Heart parish. “I can't change the whole world. I can just change a little section.”

        For program information, contact director Bob Ehrsam at 381-1954, Ext. 116.

        New Hope Congregation of Roselawn is donatingan ambulance to the community of Bayit Vagan in Jersualem in memory of its longtime spiritual leaderRabbi Manfred Rabenstein. The ambulance will be dedicated at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Cincinnati Hebrew Day School, 2222 Losantiville Ave. The public is invited. Information: 531-7884.
       

        Children of all ages are invited to “A Birthday Party for Jesus” from noon to 3 p.m. today at God's Provisions Christian Resource Center, 7426 Montgomery Road. Information: 794-0079.

        Send religion news to rthompson@enquirer.com or contact Richelle Thompson at 755-4144, fax 755-4150.

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