Remembrance by John Renehan
Rachid Hatem was a member of St. Clare’s from 2005 to 2024. He joined with his wife, Wendy, shortly after they were married. He immigrated to the United States in 1983 to attend college. During this time, there was a civil war raging in Lebanon which divided the country along sectarian lines. After college he stayed in the Detroit area and eventually became a U.S. citizen.
Rachid and Wendy joined St. Clare’s because they were impressed by its partnership with Temple Beth Emeth (TBE) and felt extremely welcomed when they visited. Rachid had been involved in outreach efforts in his prior church and so continued this work at St. Clare’s. He helped coordinate St. Clare’s participation in the Crop Walk. He was eventually asked to co-chair the Back Door Food Pantry along with a member of TBE. During his tenure as co-chair he convinced the board to take on a new partner, Muslim Social Services. The food pantry already had seen many Muslim guests, and he thought their contribution made a lot of sense.
At another point, Rachid was asked to spearhead the church’s build with Washtenaw County Habitat for Humanity. This too was another partnership with TBE and through some of Rachid’s efforts, they brought students from the University of Michigan’s Muslim Student Association on board as partners. The house was dubbed, the House of Abraham, and was another shining example of what people of faith could accomplish when working together.
Through his outreach activities at St. Clare’s,Rachid got involved in supporting issues of affordable housing and homelessness in Ann Arbor. In 2014 he joined a group of concerned citizens who worked together to make sure this issue was on the radar of local elected officials by hosting a forum of the candidates for mayor at St. Clare’s. Nearly 500 people from the community showed up and asked the candidates to sign a pledge committing to making housing affordability a priority if they were elected.
Rachid also became aware of the need in the community for lunch service on Christmas Eve for individuals who were experiencing homelessness. The main shelter for men only provided two meals that day in order to give their staff some time off during the holidays. He convinced the Outreach Commission to host a midday meal on Christmas Eve followed by a special worship service. Although some thought it would be hard to get volunteers on such a busy holiday, Rachid did not relent. It became an annual event for 9 years at St. Clare’s. People brought their kids to help out and valued the opportunity to put service to others into their holiday tradition. Others donated funds to underwrite both the meal and a small gift for each guest. There was always enough money and volunteers to host this event well. It became a special and meaningful part of St. Clare’s holiday celebration.
In addition to leading the Outreach Commission, Rachid served two terms on vestry, each time in a leadership position. Throughout his service to St. Clare’s, he encouraged the members to live up to their call as servants of God’s people. He was confident in what St. Clares (and the Genesis partnership) could accomplish when we worked together.
We lost Rachid to leukemia on March 7, 2024, following a 2-year battle. Before his death he asked that memorial gifts be made to the Back Door Food Pantry and that a significant gift from his estate be designated for St. Clare’s. The Vestry chose to use this gift as seed money for the Capital Campaign. He leaves a legacy of unselfish service to people in need, confidence in his convictions, and a commitment to interfaith cooperation.