Hamtramck

Recently I visited my daughter in her new apartment in Detroit. She lives next to Hamtramck, which as I’ve learned is its own small city within Detroit, and is known as “The World in Two Square Miles” because of its diversity.

My daughter told me that many of her neighbors are from Bangladesh, and indeed at the park a couple of blocks away there was a large sign saying Welcome to Banglatown. Heading to lunch that day I heard something unfamiliar – a sort of chanting song over a loudspeaker – and realized that it was the Muslim call to prayer. At the restaurant, the only English I heard spoken was when the server was taking our order, and we were the only white people in the place. Before heading home I went to the local supermarket – and found it a vibrant and jostling multicultural experience. The shelves were stocked with mainstream American brands I was familiar with, such as Oreo cookies – but more than twice as many were brands I had never heard of: foods from around the world, labelled multilingually. The shoppers were racially and ethnically diverse, including some women wearing the full-length black abaya that covers the whole head, face and body leaving only a slit for the eyes.

My understanding is that Hamtramck was mostly Polish decades ago, and now is mostly people from Yemen, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. It is said to be the only city in America with a majority Muslim population, and recently elected a city council of entirely Muslim Americans.

Spending the day in Hamtramck, I was out of my comfort zone -- and loving it. Living in a mostly white city and serving a mostly white congregation, it’s not often that I’m surrounded by people who look different from me and speak a different language. This is a welcome reminder that the world – and my own state – is full of diversity in religion, culture, and race. A reminder that my perspective on the world is just one of many. A reminder that the great hope and challenge of humanity is to live together in peace with our diversity and our shared love of life.

PRAYER:

Spirit of Life, present in every city and every human heart, be here now.

Bless the people of Hamtramck: bless the mosques and the homes, the restaurants and businesses, the children and the elders.

May human communities everywhere thrive. May neighbors who are the same and neighbors who are different live in peace and harmony.

May all of us know the beauty and breadth of human culture.

Blessed be.

Rev. Drew Frantz

September 29, 2026