DETROIT - "Isn't it amazing what can happen when people come to accord to do the work of God?"

The message of Bishop Charles Ellis of Greater Grace Temple greeted the 5,000 people who attended the Metropolitan Organizing Strategy for Enabling Strength rally at Greater Grace Temple-City of David in Detroit yesterday afternoon.

The rally was attended by about 150 members of the University of Michigan, an effort coordinated by political science Prof. Gregory Markus, who has been working with the MOSES project for almost a year. He has been helping work out ways in which the University can work with the MOSES project and helping with research on issues like public transit and in-state tuition for the children of immigrants.

"That's really an issue that touches the University directly," Markus stated, because of the population of Michigan students who are the children of immigrants. Markus also pointed out that there was an especially large representation of Hispanic students in the group coming from the University. The Detroit Project also helped organize the event, Markus said.

The rally was a mixture of faith, politics and community restoration, all sponsored by the MOSES alliance - a multi-faith, multi-ethnic coalition dedicated to community improvement in and around Detroit. MOSES has been a supporter of many Detroit area projects, including the creation of "Safe Zones" to reduce crime and blight in 1996, the construction of 60 new homes in Southwest Detroit, multiple public transit projects and the "Fix It First" campaign to fight urban sprawl and urban decay.

For yesterday's rally, MOSES chose to focus on issues of civil rights for immigrants, the "Fix It First" project and mass transit. After presentations on each topic, MOSES leaders asked Michigan politicians for promises of political support. Political leaders included Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jennifer Granholm, state Sen. Loren Bennett (R-Canton Twp.), U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit), U.S. Sens. Carl Levin (D-Detroit) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) and state House Minority Leader Buzz Thomas (D-Detroit).

LSA junior Megan Wilbur gave her response to the rally, stating, "As young people, we often don't think of problems in urban areas and it's important for us to get involved with groups such as MOSES. They are addressing issues that will be important to us in the coming years."

First-year Urban Planning masters student Zeb Acuff stated, "I tend to be skeptical of politicians. None of them were going to say 'no' to anything ... it will be interesting to see if they follow through with anything."

Rev. Joseph Barlow, president of MOSES and Mt. Zion MBC Ecorce, urged political leaders to "do everything in your power to bring justice to the people of this country, so help you God," by changing immigration laws so that children who graduate from Michigan high schools will be considered residents regardless of their parent's status as immigrants. This would allow children of immigrants to pay in-state tuition at colleges and universities, rather than out of state tuition that they currently face.

Thomas agreed to endorse the measure, stating, "Nothing is more important than the education of our children."

Organizers moved on to discussion of the "Fix It First" campaign. "Many of our urban and suburban communities are in crisis ... if we cannot afford to maintain current infrastructure, why do we continue to develop land that used to be orchards and farm land?" said Greg Pitoniak, Taylor Mayor and Michigan Suburbs Alliance leader.

Cindy Reese from the Greater Southern MBC outlined MOSES' vision for the solution of urban sprawl and lack of revitalization of existing infrastructure. "The second part of the solution is to unite the city and the suburbs," she said. "You are the third part."

She added that getting government leadership to support "Fix It First" initiatives was the final part. Reese called on Bennett, standing in for Republican gubernatorial candidate Posthumus, and Granholm to endorse the initiative and agree to attend a "Fix It First" rally in Saginaw on May 4.

Both agreed to endorse the initiative.

Bennett pointed out that Detroit's infrastructure was meant to support 2 million people but instead currently supports only half that.

Granholm stated that she would "commit to coming to your event ... if you commit to coming to my inauguration."

The Rev. G. Patrick Thompson of Church of our Savior Presbyterian in West Bloomfield kicked off the discussion of mass transit. "Every great undertaking begins with a dream," he said.

Discussions included the need to start up the Detroit Area Regional Transit Authority which recently received State House and Senate approval.