Tagged: Charlotte

A Charlotte church invited folks to exchange their guns for gifts over the weekend. The New Life Fellowship Center has been doing that around the holidays for the past six years. This year, the pastor says some of the people turning in their guns had the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut on their minds.

John Kee has been the pastor at New Life Fellowship Center for more than 17 years. He says during his time as pastor of the Double Oaks community, he's learned a lot. Especially about violence in his community.

For children's choirs across the country, the holiday season is a busy time. Choirs are in high demand, so that means choristers and their parents are spending long nights at rehearsals and concerts after school. 

The children at Myer's Park Baptist Church are in the middle of their evening rehearsal. They're standing under 120-foot-high ceilings and intricate stained-glass windows.

Deonte Howard is a sophomore at West Mecklenburg High School. His mom had some good news to share with him a few months ago.

"When my mom called me about the interview, said that I passed, I can tell she was crying," Howard says. "I was like, 'Wow, I'm actually going to Africa.'"

Howard, 16, is one of four high school students from Charlotte selected for the nine-day trip to West Africa through the YMCA of Greater Charlotte's Global Service Learning Project. This will be his first time outside of North America.