— Quotes from church services on the first Sunday following the election of Barack Obama.

"I imagine that all of us are, like John McCain, intensely pleased at the milestone our nation passed last week: We elected a president who happened to be an African-American. The long arc of history swings toward justice and human goodness after all. It's good for the heart." — The Rev. Christine Robinson, First Unitarian Church in Albuquerque, N.M.

"Now, I don't want you to be like some of the others, because they're going to expect him to bring about change overnight. We didn't get in this mess overnight." — The Rev. Shirley Caesar-Williams, Mount Calvary Word of Faith Church in Raleigh, N.C.

"There's nothing funny about what this young man has to face," Louis Farrakhan said to a crowd of about 2,500 Nation of Islam members. "This man not only needs our protection and divine protection, he needs all of us . . . to ask, 'What can I do to make him a successful president?' "