Eleven o’clock on Sunday morning, it’s been said, is the most segregated hour in America.

Now some Qcity faith leaders have set out to change that.

Last weekend, as part of an initiative called the “Xchange Sermons Series,” Johnson C. Smith University President Ronald Carter, an ordained minister, preached to a Jewish congregation at Temple Beth El during their MLK Shabbat services.

This weekend, a new round of churches will swap clergy:

• The Rev. Tim Moore of Sardis Baptist Church will speak at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church’s 10 a.m. service. In return, Pastor Donnie Garris of Antioch Missionary Baptist will address the 11 a.m. congregation at Sardis Baptist. Moore is white and Garris is black.

• The Rev. Eustacia Moffett Marshall of C.N. Jenkins Memorial Presbyterian Church will speak at the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services at Pineville United Methodist Church. The Rev. Tom Stinson-Wesley of Pineville United Methodist spoke at C.N. Jenkins on Sunday, Jan. 17. Marshall is black; Stinton-Wesley is white.

The sermon exchange is the brainchild of Mecklenburg Ministries and Crossroads Charlotte. It is designed to bring congregations closer across racial, cultural and religion lines.

The exchange began Jan. 15 and ends Feb. 28.

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