Detroit Church Made Famous Through a Song Celebrates 175 Years
Mariners Church helped slaves seeking freedom and devotes services to lost sailors
One of Detroit’s churches with a worldwide reputation is celebrating it’s 175th anniversary this weekend. Historic Mariners Church, which sits in the shadow of GM’s World Headquarters Renaissance Center, received worldwide acclaim through a song written by Gordon Lightfoot. The 1976 ballad “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” mentions Mariners Church annual memorial service for sailors who have lost their lives on the waters of the Great Lakes.
But, the Church’s history goes much deeper than the 20th century. It was established in 1842 through a legislative act proclaiming it a Maritime Sailors Cathedral. Ken Morse is a church Trustee. He says two sisters, Charlotte Taylor and Julia Anderson, funded construction of the church
To hear more about the church history, click on the audio link above
