Moving Forward After Sept. 11 with Forgiveness, Love

Honor and remembrance marked Sunday afternoon's Sept. 11 memorial service hosted by the Muslim Community of Western Suburbs (MCWS). But moving forward as a unified community was also a prominent theme for speakers during the event.

Dozens of people of various faiths attended: Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox and others. All were part of a memorial service and food drive, held in the gymnasium of a private Canton school, .

Each speaker stood at the podium near two flags: the traditional U.S. Stars and Stripes and the Flag of Honor, which depicts the U.S. Flag using the names of all the Sept. 11 attack victims and emergency responders who died, in bands of blue and red.

The Bible's mandate to forgive

Canton St. Thomas a'Beckett Catholic Church Deacon James Ward told the crowd that, as a Christian and a Catholic, he believed that people should extend forgiveness to others, even those who hurt us and "more than forgive, we are challenged to love those  who have hurt us …"

He said such "radical and amazing forgiveness and love" including forgiving freely and completely, with no conditions or limits."

The Rev. Bertram Lewis, pastor of Christ the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Canton, chose a different Biblical mandate: "Bear one another's burdens."

"We only have one creator. That's God Almighty," he said, adding that whether we like on another or not, "God says, 'Get over it. You're brothers and sisters.''

Serve God by serving others

MCWS Imam Sheikh Ali Suleiman Ali finished the service with a prayer asking God to continue to guide the community to work for the good of all humanity. "You serve God by serving his creatures," he said.

Canton Township Supervisor Phil LaJoy said this diverse community needs to move forward for "peace and love and all those good things, not hatred and bigotry. We're all in this together."

Other community leaders at Sunday's memorial and food drive hosted by the Muslim Community of Western Suburbs:

• Canton Trustee Pat Williams
•  Canton Township Trustee, Dr. Majid Taj
• Plymouth-Canton Community Schools board of education President John Jackson
• Plymouth Canton Schools trustee Steve Sneideman
• Plymouth Canton Schools trustee Nancy Eggenberger
• Rep. Dian Slavens, D-Canton
• Third Circuit Court Judge Mark Slavens
•  Joan Noricks, president of the Canton Community Foundation.
• Rev. Brian Smith, pastor of Geneva Presbyterian Church, in Canton, among the speakers.
• Canton Township Treasurer Melissa McLaughlin
• Dr. Abdul Hafeez, member of Canton's Muslim Community of Western Suburbs and trustee for the private Crescent Academy International School in Canton

MCWS member and Canton resident Ibu Mohammed El said building cultural bridges is a job that "will always be under construction. That's life. We're always building bridges and hopefully they take us to a higher place. That's the message of life."

Community Unity

Members of the interdenominational Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion organized Sunday's memorial service.

Dr. Mahmood Hai, who introduced the speakers, said Sunday's gathering is hopefully the first of many — organizers handed out index cards asking for suggestions and other feedback, along with email addresses for future notices.

Michigan Roundtable members look ahead

Beyond that, Michigan Roundtable members Steve Spreitzer of Plymouth and Aamina Ahmed and Anne Marie Graham Hudak, Canton residents, will likely look for ways to connect to representatives of faiths who were not present Sunday.

"I think that we've got to go to their houses," Spreitzer said. "But I think things will pick up. In every congregation there is someone with a heart for this."

MCWS hosts its 6th annual preventative health screening, set for 8 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Saturday — which will will include breakfast, lunch and seminars on a variety of medical conditions. All medical tests are free, except for the cholesterol test, which costs $10.