By: Gena Johnson, Maria Allard | Warren Weekly | Published May 5, 2023
CENTER LINE/WARREN — Warren City Hall’s atrium was filled to capacity for those observing the National Day of Prayer on May 4 and the 2023 theme, “Pray Fervently in Righteousness and Avail Much.”
The ceremony was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic and returned with a tremendous community response after a three-year hiatus.
Praying fervently was the order of the day at the ceremony. Members of the clergy from the Warren area led prayers to touch many facets of the community, as well as individuals’ lives. Each clergy member on the program was designated to pray for a specific area which ranged from praying for the police, fire, military, and first responders, to families, business and labor, schools and students, government officials, national mental health, churches and national renewal.
Songs, which for some are a form of prayer, accompanied the service. Children from Warren Woods Christian School sang and a solo from Lady Peggy James brought the crowd to their feet.
Bishop Adolphus Cast from Life Applications Ministries in Warren started the prayers with the “2023 National Prayer for America,” which included the line, “Help us to refrain from complaining, but instead, be prompted to pray faithfully in every circumstance.”
When asked what brought them to the event, those in attendance repeatedly said the power of prayer. However, not all agreed. Some held signs that stated, “This is not a church,” and “Freedom of religion starts with freedom from the other guy’s religion.”
Linda Parisi, of Macomb Township, said, “It is the power of prayer,” as to why she came. “Hoping to touch the people who were holding signs up against the windows and pray for them.”
Christopher Mclaughlin, of Bloomfield Hills, was one of the people holding up a sign.
“We are here to show our opposition for the government to endorse specific religious ceremonies on city property,” Mclaughlin said. “They are trying to turn this city hall into a church. We don’t want government officials telling us what religious ceremonies or what religious beliefs we should have.”
Brother Kenneth Kalinowski, principal and alumnus of De La Salle Collegiate in Warren, was the only clergy member to address those holding signs.
“I’m looking around this crowd and seeing signs about what are churches? St. Theresa said, ‘For those with faith no explanation is necessary, for those without faith no explanation will suffice.’”
The crowd roared.
Prayers offered in Center Line
About 25 people gathered at noon on May 4 outside the David W. Hanselman Municipal Complex for the Center Line’s observance of the National Day of Prayer.
The group went around in a circle to pray for President Joe Biden, local and state dignitaries, the sick, business leaders, the military, the imprisoned and more.
Center Line residents Kathy Hanselman and Jackie Lancaster served as prayer coordinators during the assembly, which lasted about 30 minutes.
“Americans will be united in prayer today,” Lancaster said. “In fact, there are over 40,000 events being held all across the nation today.”
Hanselman is the widow of David Hanselman, who served on the Center Line City Council for 28 years. He also was Center Line’s mayor from 2009 until he died in 2015. Current Center Line Mayor Bob Binson said this year’s prayer theme reminded him of David Hanselman.
“He always used to tell me, he told many of us, do the right thing when nobody’s watching. That was the first thing that came to my mind and we’re standing right outside the building named after him, so that’s pretty awesome,” Binson said. “I want to thank you all for coming. It’s great that we can be together and do this together.”
Also present for the observance was Center Line resident Jack “Jax” Huffman, 36, who on May 13 will start his walking journey from Sarasota, Florida, to Michigan in an effort to raise money for veterans. He plans to walk 1,500 miles in 60 days and will finish up at the Salute Our Warriors Event in Rochester Hills.
On the way, he is scheduled to travel through Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. Huffman said the walk also is designed to help unite and inspire communities to get walking and healthy. Binson asked for special prayers for Huffman.
“I want to ask (God’s) blessing on Jax as he takes his walk, keep him safe,” Binson said. “He’s got a long way to go, and a lot of things to go through.”
Huffman will post his journey on his website, jaxwalk.com.
The National Day of Prayer was started by President Harry S. Truman and first observed on July 4, 1952. The observance was changed to the first Thursday in May by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and has been observed on this day each year.