The Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African American History and Culture opens on September 24th on the National Mall in Washington. Correspondent Kim Lawton reports on the many ways it portrays the role of faith and spirituality in the African-American experience. She also talks with religious leaders about the impact they hope the new museum will have.

Correspondent Lucky  Severson reports on Paula Claussen of San Diego, who decided to build houses for the poorest families in nearby Tijuana. She recruited volunteers, and together they have built nearly 1300 simple, sturdy homes—sometimes as many as 44 in one day. They call their work Project Mercy.

More and more hospitals are now putting added emphasis on the spiritual care of their patients. Correspondent David Tereshchuk reports from Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City where he interviews hospital chaplain Father Rick Bauer. He also talks with Dr. Christina Puchalski, head of George Washington University Medical School’s Institute for Spirituality & Health.

We take you to The House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, a widely unconventional congregation led by Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber. She told correspondent Lucky Severson her language, teaching, and tattoos symbolize her acceptance of everyone, and they of her. Their church is thriving.

“Relationship is what matters,” says Dr. Christina Puchalski, director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health and professor of medicine at George Washington University. “My relationship with my patient—that’s where healing occurs. It’s within that relationship, and that’s what needs to be supported.”

Senior Rabbi Shira Stutman of Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, DC explains the meaning of the Amidah, “the central prayer in the Jewish tradition.”

“It is considered the time in the prayer service where we are most open spiritually, and we’re really ready to talk to God,” says Rabbi Shira Stutman, senior rabbi at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, DC.

New York University chaplains Imam Khalid Latif and Rabbi Yehuda Sarna were both students in New York on September 11, 2001. Both men say the events of that day profoundly shaped what would become their mission: interfaith engagement. Today, they help lead NYU’s Global Center for Academic and Spiritual Life. Correspondent Kim Lawton talks with the chaplains and some of their students about interfa

Much of the world is struggling to accommodate a record number of refugees. But in Uganda, in East Central Africa, refugees from 13 countries get land to farm, freedom to worship, schools for their children, and opportunities to go into business. Fred de Sam Lazaro explains that, despite many hardships, these new Ugandans are still doing well.

Dan Price, the 32 year old CEO of Gravity Payments, made national news last year when he announced he was putting in place a scaled pay policy that would raise the minimum wages of employees to $70,000 per year by 2017. Price tells correspondent John Larson that his biblical training still shapes his ideas, whether he is serving others or running a company.

Historic flooding in the greater Baton Rouge area has left tens of thousands of homes damaged and devastated communities. Correspondent Kim Lawton reports on how faith–based groups are mobilizing to provide immediate emergency aid and develop long-term recovery plans.

In Ferguson, Missouri hundreds of people gathered this week to mark the two-year anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, by a white police officer. Brown’s death sparked protests all over the country. It also fueled the movement known as Black Lives Matter. We talk with Pastor Traci Blackmon of Christ the King United Church of Christ in suburban St. Louis.

In many parts of the world, Sunni and Shia Muslims are locked in bloody conflicts. But here in the United States, members of the two major branches of Islam live side-by-side in relative harmony. Kim Lawton traveled to South Florida to speak with members of both communities about their similarities, differences and relations with each other.

There is a nine-year-old boy in a suburb of Minneapolis who is training to be a Buddhist priest.  And not just any Buddhist priest. Jalue Dorje has been recognized as the 8th reincarnation of the first Takshem Lama, who lived in the 16th century.  Correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro tells the story.

On September 4th, Mother Teresa of Calcutta will become a Catholic saint. In 1950, she created the Missionaries of Charity, a religious order of sisters who care for poor around the world. But during her lifetime, few people knew that Mother Teresa suffered from a deep spiritual darkness and wrote, “The place of God in my soul is blank.” Correspondent Deborah Potter reports from Miami.

Lucky Severson visits Noah’s Ark Park, which opened last month in northeastern Kentucky, and talks to Ark Encounter CEO Ken Ham as well as his critics. Detractors object to tax breaks provided by the state along with the statement of faith required of Ark Park employees, but Ham points to the number of jobs he’s created and the revenue the ark will bring to the area.

The 2016 Summer Olympic Games are getting underway in Rio de Janeiro. Kim Lawton reports on some of the many ways religion is playing a role.

Managing Editor Kim Lawton has a special report from this week’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia where she spoke to religiously motivated delegates and religious groups who have been actively seeking attention for their key issues. Kim also spoke to Hillary Clinton advisors about Clinton’s personal faith and to Democratic strategists.

This year is the 100th birthday of the National Park Service. Yellowstone National Park is the nation’s oldest, with its Old Faithful geyser and grizzly bears. Lucky Severson visited it recently and talked with sightseers about the beauty, peace and – for many – the sense of the holy that they find there. He also talked with Yellowstone’s Superintendent about the park’s future.

Religious groups have played an active role in this week’s Republican National Convention—both inside and outside the convention hall. Managing Editor Kim Lawton has a special report from Cleveland, where she spoke with faith-motivated delegates and with religious leaders who are mobilizing support for Donald Trump and those who have concerns about the GOP’s rhetoric and platform.