Faces

After co-founding the group that decoded DNA and developing the first commercial use of MRI screenings, Dr. Jack McConnell could be enjoying a cushy retirement at the swanky end of South Carolina's Hilton Head Island. Instead, the 73-year-old retired pediatrician is treating the poor. In 1997, he recruited 350 retired medical colleagues and opened a 7,000-square-foot "Volunteers in Medicine Clinic." Today, the clinic treats 250 people a week without any government assistance. Dr. McConnell said his Christian faith motivates his work: "This is what I do with my faith. This way you can see what I believe instead of just reading about it." Dorothy Moore, a 65-year-old mother of four, had doubts the first time she left her suburban Dallas home to start a Bible study for inner-city teenagers: "I knew the first time I got down there I was a joke-a white, middle-aged suburban lady." But 14 years later, her once-a week Bible study has become a successful full-time ministry. Now called Reconciliation Outreach, the ministry provides some 680 people with temporary housing, clothing, and regular biblical teaching. "If you just let the Lord use you, it doesn't matter what your skin color is or what your age is," she said.