ST. LOUIS (AP) - Barack Obama celebrated "active faith" as an obligation of religious Americans and a chief agent of societal change while speaking Saturday to a nearly all-black roomful of churchgoers, but hoping to reach far beyond them.
Making a less than two-hour stop in the battleground state of Missouri, the Democratic presidential nominee implored the thousands attending a national meeting of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the nation's largest and most politically and civically active black denominations, to help fix national and local ills.
Obama repeatedly referenced his religious faith in terms that would be familiar to white evangelicals as well as his black audience. Obama has highlighted faith and personal story over the past week as he campaigned in one-time GOP strongholds and talked more about God, country, and service than about rival Republican John McCain....
