They came.
They pledged support.
They prayed for this region of the Mortor City, and beyond June 4th in the historic Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Roseville, MI.
From the four winds they came, including Madison Heights and Grosse Pointe Farms, Huntington Woods, and Bloomfield Hills, and more of Michigan's towns.
U.S. Congressman Hansen Clarke came from a meeting earlier in the day with the Transportation Secretary on rapid transit. Clarke called for safe streets in Detroit, like Warren Mayor Jim Fouts pledge for secure and clean streets to attract new residents. Not yet was the verdict. Detroit has some questions to answer.
David Abramson, who drove to the meeting from Ann Arbor, MI., charged that separation and divisions among people is fear of intimacy. It is.
And dozens of participants in the hour-long meeting Monday sang, "Amazing Grace," an anthem hymn embraced by the All Faiths Festival (AFF), sponsor of the meeting that aimed to reduce the tension in South East Michigan, and, the Motor City. Co-chair of the AFF, Muslim leader, Mohamad Abbass pressed for the Christian hymn's elevation to be the "mantra" for the ecumenical gropup that was founded in 2008 in Roseville, MI. It aims to recognize all religions, and, to build bridges.
Judge Brenda Sanders of the U.S. District Court in downtown Detroit spoke up against excessive rates on insurance, foreclosures, and more, while Clarke also pleaded for "one regional economy."
The crowd paused to reach out to someone they hadn't met yet that evening. Five minutes later, the partnered up participants kept conversing. They seemed to savor every second.
Participants jumped to the invitation to respond to what panelist Rabbi Dorit Edut, Judge Brenda Sanders, and U.S. Congressman Clarke proposed as ways to reduce the tensions and fix Detroit.
While snacking on fruits and sandwiches, people seemed to relish the night away.
They did, as they committed to act on some of the proposals to calm enraged voices.
This reasoned group seemed to enjoy each other. Positive from the start, they seemed to appreciate that grace and blessing grows on human encounter and experience.
They did encounter differances and diversity in the festival of foods served by Eastpointe tesdient, Marge Hallman, hostess.
Long after the meeting concluded the crowd lingered.
No doubt, they will meet again. Once more, they will vow support for the financially-fledgling City
they were raised in and owe a debt to, for sure.
Some suggested a legacy, their will, money be given to Detroit for "all Detroit did for us."
Long live Detroit.
And, long live the sentiment of this crowd who hugged Detroit tonight.
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