At Cedar Rapids Church, A Journey To Togetherness

CEDAR RAPIDS — On recent Sundays, musicians and singers at New City Church have searched for the right balance of full gospel harmonies, hymns and contemporary Christian anthems.Finding the sound of a congregation born out of the merger of a black church and white church in Cedar Rapids has been one of many challenges New City has welcomed in its first year.“At some point, we will stop that conversation and we will have a sound of New City that we know fits our culture,” said Pastor Rod Dooley, whose former church, the Oakhill Jackson Community Church, was mostly African American and thrived on gospel.