A Message from James T. Laney and Andrew Young...

Today's 20-county Atlanta metropolitan area is a regional community built on foundations laid by many generations. It is an international center -- technologically advanced, economically prosperous, and culturally diverse beyond the wildest dreams of most who came before us.

With the extraordinary opportunities that accompany our dramatic growth and progress, the Atlanta region has encountered an array of responsibilities and challenges. The mission of Faith And The City is "to nurture a spirit of mutual community, shared responsibility, and common destiny among the citizens of the Atlanta metropolitan region."

Specifically, Faith And The City believes the Atlanta community has grown so large and so diverse, so quickly, that it has outgrown many of the structures that historically have guided it.

We believe the region continues to be richly blessed with the human, physical, financial, intellectual, and spiritual resources that it needs to carry its success into the new century.

However, we also believe that the Atlanta area will continue to lead the way only if we recognize that we are not just a city, or a county, or an unrelated group of political jurisdictions -- but an economically and socially interdependent region that is urban, suburban, and rural.

Faith And The City wants to make it convenient for people of faith -- all faiths -- in the Atlanta region to look at the issues confronting our region and to make their own opinions known.

We encourage an open sharing of faith-based perspectives on public issues -- perspectives grounded in the rich spiritual heritage of the region and rooted in the rich diversity that is today's metropolitan community.

We want this new, 21st century Atlanta region to be a pacesetter for intelligent, cooperative, responsible participation -- faithful participation -- in the public discussion that is a tradition in our region and essential to a successful democracy.

We would love to hear from you. And we urge you to let the leaders of your community hear from you, too.