Leaders gather every quarter to discuss issues across social, religious spectrum

Metro Detroit — Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron was one of four local religious leaders honored at an awards dinner hosted by the Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit on Nov. 6.

Though the archbishop could not make the Inaugural Season of Gratitude Dinner due to inclement weather on his flight back from Ohio, Rabbi Joseph Krakoff of Congregation Shaarey Zedek received the Interfaith Leadership Award on his friend’s behalf.

Praised for their dedication in helping to initiate the Religious Leaders Forum in March 2011, Rabbi Krakoff, Bishop Edgar Vann II and Imam Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini were also honored at the event for their strides in building interreligious communication.

The Religious Leaders Forum began back in March 2011, when 20 faith leaders came together to build a stronger sense of community in the Metro Detroit area. The forum was facilitated by the Interfaith Leadership Council and was hosted by Archbishop Vigneron and Rabbi Krakoff.

Robert Bruttell, chairman and president of the Interfaith Leadership Council, said in an interview with The Michigan Catholic that Archbishop Vigneron had offered to hold the initial planning meetings to start up the Religious Leaders Forum in his own conference room.

The council realized a need for religious leaders in Metro Detroit to meet on a regular basis, Bruttell said, since the members of their communities needed to understand the need to bond over common issues.

When controversial Florida pastor Terry Jones planned to hold an anti-Islam rally outside the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn in April 2011, for example, the local religious leaders joined together to stand in solidarity.

These leaders included Christians, Jews and Muslims, and gained national coverage as hundreds of people of different faith traditions followed the example of their leaders and linked arms around the building.

Since its first meeting, the forum meets every quarter of a year, with a different leader as “host” at his or her place of worship. Another leader has the role of “teacher” and gives a 15-minute presentation on a topic about their own faith that is relevant to the rest of the group. The forum is always held privately, and the press is not permitted to attend.

Bruttell said the Religious Leaders Forum discusses many topics relevant to all leaders in Metro Detroit, such as “ways to bridge the typical barrier between suburb and city. All the kinds of things they have to deal with on a daily basis because they’re all regional leaders on some level.”

Bruttell, who is Roman Catholic, said it is crucial for Catholics to follow the example of the Religious Leaders Forum and Archbishop Vigneron in building up interfaith communication in their own communities.

“Without having a contrast, we don’t really know our faith,” he said. “If you’re a cradle Catholic, and your faith has always been in the atmosphere, if ‘Catholic’ has always been the water you swim in, how do you know the difference?”

Bruttell added that seeing how other faiths contribute to their communities helps one better support one’s own community.

“This is a human response to caring for one another — it gives more depth,” he said. “What am I doing to make sure that happens? Am I contributing to my community in the way that others are?”