Granholm calls for more involvement from churches
 Staff photo by Robert Selwa Gov. Jennifer Granholm begins her talk to the interfaith breakfast Friday; at right is her husband, Dan Mulhern. |
With about 1,000 people of every major faith in metro Detroit cheering her on, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Friday that churches and religious groups will have to be more active than ever in today's society.
Granholm, 43, one of many speakers at an inaugural interfaith breakfast at the Renaissance Ballroom in the Detroit Renaissance Center, spoke about the state's looming $1.8 billion deficit.
Granholm told the gathering that she believes in government as the ally of people in need. But she said that for now, until the deficit is corrected, churches must step up to meet that need all the more.
"With the crushing budget deficit we face, my prayer to you," she said, "is to enlarge your territory. Reach out to those you have been reaching out to, all the more. Build our family and our home here in Michigan."
The gathering featured prayers and talks by an array of religious leaders, including many traditions of Christianity, and Judaism, Islam and Baha'i.
Bishop Earl Wright of the Greater Miller Memorial Church of God in Christ in Warren, described what a "wonderful, happy" gathering of "smiling faces" the assembly brought together in "peace and love."
But peace in the United States and the world is at danger, emphasized keynote speaker, the Rev. William Shaw of Philadelphia, president of the 8.5 million-member National Baptist Convention USA.
Shaw cautioned against U.S. military action in world hot spots such as Iraq and North Korea. He criticized what he described as the "reckless rush to war" of the Bush administration. Shaw said the United States is in danger of "losing its soul" as a peaceful democratic model for the world.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said he and Granholm, and other mayors and governors, are called upon to provide "spiritual leadership" in a new role as city and state executives in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Granholm's family, with three young children, continues to call Northville Township home for now.
©Copyright 2003, The Macomb Daily (Detroit, MI, USA)
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