Warren: First UMC stands beside their Muslim neighbors with a bold statement against hate and a testament to their commitment to interfaith understanding.
JAMES DEATON
Content Editor
When Rev. Melissa Claxton, pastor of First UMC in Warren, learned that Jake Lang had brought an anti-Islam “Christian Crusader March” to nearby Dearborn, she felt moved by God to do something. She wanted to counter Lang’s fear-based, hate-filled rhetoric, which had garnered media attention, with an alternative message rooted in her United Methodist faith.
Pastor Melissa was called to speak out boldly on behalf of her Muslim neighbors, with whom she’s built relationships since her 2018 appointment to Warren: First. She also trusted her congregation to stand by her, given this faith community’s history of interfaith work.
Prior to his appearance at the Dearborn City Council meeting on August 18, 2026, Lang had partnered with Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell to organize this march, stoking racial and religious animosity and seeking to halt the “Islamification of America.” Lang had visited Dearborn, a community with a significant Arab American population, at least four times before and frequently targets minority communities in other parts of the country.
“When I saw a video of Jake at Lorenzo’s church here in Metro Detroit,” says Pastor Melissa, “calling our Muslim neighbors ‘cockroaches,’ I decided we needed to be louder than the hate. We couldn’t stay silent. So last Wednesday, when I was asked what to put on the church sign, I chose that, knowing full well our congregation would support it.”
“Muslims are not our enemies, hate is the enemy,” proclaims Warren: First UMC’s church sign.
A photo of the sign posted on the church’s Facebook page went viral and comments flooded in. The feedback on the post has been overwhelmingly positive, notes Pastor Melissa, but there have been dissenters.
“We knew there would be pushback,” she confesses, “but never expected it to blow up like this.” After they turned off the comments, they began receiving phone calls from outside their community, as far away as Washington State. Some of the calls have been productive, she says, helping clear up misconceptions about Islam as a faith and distinguishing it from culture. Thankfully, the church has not received any vandalism as a result of its decision to love boldly.
“I found it very hopeful,” Pastor Melissa says, “that out of 29,000 Facebook reactions, over 27,000 were positive, about 94%. The vast majority of people know that the Muslim faith is not our enemy. The problem is that we have people like Jake Lang, who are very loud, so we just have to be loud too.”
Being loud is speaking the truth and standing up in loving resistance when the time is right, and Warren: First UMC is doing that, and our United Methodist Christian faith anchors them. Our Social Principles, recently revised and approved by General Conference, speak out against actions by any group or individual that denigrate or demean those belonging to another faith. “As Christians,” the document says, “we consider such attitudes and actions to be antithetical to Jesus’s command to love one’s neighbor.”
In addition to the Social Principles, the 2020/2024 General Conference reaffirmed “Our Muslim Neighbors” (5204) in the Book of Resolutions, which outlines the character of our interreligious relationship, stating that “United Methodists, seeking to be faithful neighbors and witnesses to other members of the human family, recognize with respect peoples of the religion of Islam.”
The resolution encourages open dialogue, peaceful civil engagement, and mutual understanding between Christians and Muslims, as both of our religions are rooted in the same stories of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, among others.
One of the resolution’s recommendations also states that United Methodists should seek to “remedy situations in which Muslims encounter misunderstanding, prejudice, stereotyping, or even hostility from the neighborhood or population when they desire to express their faith in everyday life.”
So, when individuals promoting a white Christian nationalist ideology came to nearby Dearborn, Pastor Melissa and the Warren congregation took a stand for respected members of their community they’ve come to know and love as neighbors. They believed it was the right thing to do.
Jackie Moore, a lay member of Warren: First, was there when they put the message on the sign: “I fully support it. We have a large Muslim group in this area. When our church flooded back in 2014, the first people to show up, without question, were our Muslim neighbors. They were there to help with everything, cleaning it out and fixing it back up. They were fantastic.”
That story of compassionate service is also kept alive in the memory of Carol Wesner, another lay member of the church.
“When we had eight feet of water in the basement from the flood, the people from the mosque were the first ones to help us. Day after day, they helped us clean things up.” Wesner adds, “I’ve also sat at table with the Muslim community. They have invited us to their iftar dinners during Ramadan, and I have attended two of those. So, from my perspective, they’re my friends.”
Warren: First UMC also hosts an annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, where people from diverse religious traditions and ethnic communities come together and celebrate our shared values of gratitude and mutual respect. It’s a wonderful gesture of unity and interfaith dialogue for the community.
In light of all that has transpired recently, Pastor Melissa will ensure this year’s Thanksgiving service takes a public stand on their commitment to protecting religious freedoms and ongoing mutual support for one another.
She’s also looking to host an event on Islam similar to the “Ask a Baháʼí” event that Warren: First hosted for the InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit earlier this year.
“We had an evening where leaders from the Baháʼí faith came,” explains Pastor Melissa, “and we had people write down their questions, and we engaged in dialogue, and they got to talk about what their core beliefs are, and how they practice their faith. And so, I would like to do that with the Muslim community since we have such a wonderful relationship with them.”
Taking a bold stand in the community is something United Methodists must embrace, says Claxton, especially in the highly polarized political climate we find ourselves in. She says we must speak out with truth and love when we face lies, hate, and unchristian rhetoric.
“We might not believe or worship the same way, but Muslims are not our enemy. As United Methodists, as we lean into our new vision, we need to love boldly and lead courageously in our communities. I feel we have the serve joyfully part down, but we need to do the other two things better.”
The publication of this article was made possible thanks to generous financial gifts from local United Methodist churches in Michigan through Ministry Shares. Thank you! Learn about the impact of Ministry Shares on mission and ministry in Michigan and around the world.
Last Updated on September 1, 2026