Detroit's Mariner's Church honors 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking

Описание: As the 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald's sinking approaches, Detroit's Mariner's Church remains a poignant symbol of the maritime community's enduring legacy.

The church, built with funds donated by shipping matriarch Julie Anderson, has served as a sanctuary for sailors since 1849.

"So obviously Detroit's always been a place for the maritime community and for shipping. And there was a shipping family who at the death of the matriarch, Julie Anderson, she donated money to build a stone church that would be for the maritime community," said Rev. Todd Meyer, Mariners’ Church of Detroit.

And that little stone church within a stone's throw of Detroit's tallest buildings has for the past 183 years served a simple purpose.

"Is this a normal church? You know, is there any church that's normal? We're all sinners in need of a savior," said Meyer.

Since opening its doors in 1849 the Mariner's Church of Detroit was a place where those in need, particularly those who just came into port could turn.

"They would walk up to the church, be able to take a shower, these maritime men, and be able to be in the church without paying a pew tax is what they called it. So that was the heart behind our matriarch's donation was that the maritime community could attend church without having to pay a tax or a pew tax to sit and worship their God," said Meyer.

The church's maritime heritage is evident throughout its structure and history.

It was moved in one piece on railroad tracks to make way for Hart Plaza, a testament to its significance.

They sat in these pews and prayed for safe voyage.

"What you see now is what those sailors would have been sitting in in 1849 and beyond,” Meyer said.

Today it stands out amongst its surroundings.

"There are maritime churches around the world, maybe none as old as ours," Meyer said. "The city was trying to make room for Hart Plaza, so they voted to either move or destroy the church and by one vote, city council voted to move it and then there was a citywide push to do it right and it wasn't moved stone by stone, it was moved all in one piece on railroad tracks and quite an engineering feat,"

Every November, the church's bell tolls 29 times to honor the Fitzgerald's crew, a tradition that began the night of the tragedy.

"The maritime community is not as large as it used to be when we were founded and so our motto is 'a house of prayer for all people',” said Meyer.

The church's connection to the maritime community and the Edmund Fitzgerald story is profound.

Meyer said, "It is definitely a blessing that we have this connection to the Maritime community, and the Edmund Fitzgerald story is really captivated the imagination of everyone around the world, but particularly the Great Lakes."

This is the musty old hall described in Lightfoot's lyrics.

"So, he was here, I believe at the 25th anniversary and he did, he's been here twice before he died and he sang the song once and when he sang the song here at the church, he saw how beautiful the church is and said, 'Oh, this isn't a musty old hall, we'll call it a rustic old hall.' So yeah, he changed the lyrics on that one after seeing the church," said Meyer.

But he sang of the events of that November night in 1975 and the decision by then Bishop Richard Engels, who had quietly heard from those on the scene of the trouble the Fitzgerald was in far away on Lake Superior.

Meyer recalled, "When he was told that that ship was actually lost in there probably would be no survivors he came here for prayer and in prayer he was compelled to go you know 100 feet from where I'm sitting now and ring our bell which still rings today for the for in memoriam of all people who were lost."

Gordon Lightfoot's song immortalized the church as a "musty old hall," but after visiting, he revised it to "rustic old hall."

"While he was ringing the bell he turned around and didn't notice that a lot of the press was there and so they began to ask him what was happening," said Meyer.

It wasn't a tweet, a social media post or a cell phone call that alerted the media or Detroit of her sinking, it was this church's bells, a tradition that continues to this day on the anniversary of day that the 29 crew members were lost on the Fitzgerald.

"We'd ring the bell 29 times plus one for the other maritime losses," said Meyer.

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