Black and white church merge with hopes to improve race relations

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Jacksonville, FL — A predominately black church and a mostly white church will merge together in the next few months, and the pastors hope the union will be a victory for race relations.

Ridgewood Baptist Church in Orange Park was struggling financially when its pastor, Michael Clifford, met with the pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville. Clifford says that the merger likely saved the church and that “Shiloh was the answer to our prayers.”

The combined 8,000-person congregation of the two churches will be more racially diverse than either church separately. The majority of Ridgewood’s congregation is white, while Shiloh’s is mostly African-American. Shiloh’s pastor, H.B Charles Jr., said of the new makeup of the combined church, “I hope this is the beginning of new relationships being established outside of church … all across the city, there may be greater harmony, diversity, and unity.”

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