BY CAMERON McWHIRTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Hillary Delmotte, 7, leaves Sunday service at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. She had asked the pastor to have the congregation wish a happy birthday to Charles Wansedel, a crash victim who would have turned 51 Sunday. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

RAISINVILLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. - The Rev. Don Thomas, leading the 8:30 a.m. worship at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on Lewis Avenue, asked the children to come up to the baptismal font.

He explained to them and to the 140 congregants on this snowy, frozen Sunday, how God washes away our sins. Then he asked the children to return to their parents in the pews.

Hillary Delmotte, 7, stayed behind, gripping a small toy cat. The pastor interrupted the service and knelt down to ask the girl what she wanted.

She whispered nervously that she wanted the congregation to wish Charles Wansedel - a man whom she never knew - a happy birthday.

Mr. Wansedel, of suburban Detroit, was one of 29 people killed when Comair flight 3272 crashed about a mile north of the church on Thursday afternoon. He was set to celebrate his 51st birthday on Sunday.

''I wanted everyone to wish him a birthday, I didn't want them to forget him,'' she said after the service.

Peggy Delmotte said her daughter had been worried that in all the pain, sadness, rush and mess of this tragedy, Mr. Wansedel's birthday would be lost.

''You never know about children,'' said the Rev. Mr. Thomas. ''I thought that was beautiful.''

This innocent and human act by a child marked the beginning of a day of reflection for the rural communities in Monroe County, Mich.

Along drift-covered back roads, through bitter cold weather, hundreds of families came together at houses of worship, as they do every Sunday, to pray to God for guidance. This Sunday, that guidance was more needed than ever, as people tried to comprehend why death had come with such force and such ugliness to their quiet county.

Strangers from Detroit, Cincinnati, Denver, Lexington, Ky., had plunged to their deaths and in a moment, stained the history of this area.

The Rev. Mr. Thomas said members of his church live near the crash scene. Several were too ''stressed out'' to come to the service. Others, members of Ida's Fire Department who were the first on the scene, haven't talked much about what they saw.

Yet the pastor, who has counseled many grieving relatives in decades of service at Prince of Peace, said he knows they will come.

''After everything has died down, after that, you have time to think,'' he said, ''And that's when they need me.''

Relatives at service

Families, friends leave the afternoon service at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Monroe. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

In the afternoon, more than 1,000 people - including about 200 family and friends of the dead - gathered in the chapel of Immaculate Heart of Mary church and convent in nearby Monroe.

Under tight security, family members and friends were bused to the church.

The altar was lined with flowers sent to the service by people offering condolences. Family and friends, carrying red roses and mementos of the dead, wept as the Rev. David Campbell talked about God and tragedy.

''We ask, Father, that you wipe the tears away,'' he said.

The Rev. Mr. Campbell, chaplain at Memorial Mercy Hospital in Monroe, thanked the families and friends for having this service with the community. He also referred to local counselors, who have been talking with the families at a downtown Holiday Inn.

''Our lives are so intertwined that we will all never be the same,'' he said.

Several family members, overcome by grief, walked out of the service. Others, including some in Air Force uniforms, wept.

Rescue workers, firefighters, counselors, as well as top officials from Monroe County, gathered at the service. Many cried during the closing song of ''Amazing Grace.''

Outside, attendees said the service helped them cope.

''It helped put things in perspective,'' said Corey Self, 17, of Monroe, who along with his sister had volunteered at the Red Cross tent at the crash site since Thursday. ''It captured how the whole community feels.''

At the service, the Rev. Mr. Campbell answered two requests from family members at the service. One was to play a tape of rock music important to an unnamed family. The other came from the Wansedel family: They wanted everyone to acknowledge Mr. Wansedel's birthday.

RIGHT ENGINE MAY HOLD CLUE
PROFILES OF VICTIMS
FOUR DAYS OF CRASH COVERAGE

Victims

First Officer
Kenneth Reece

Flight Attendant
Darinda Ogden Nilsen

PASSENGERS
Adams, Dexter
Cincinnati

Barrow, Gregory
Detroit

Bransford, Roger
Sandy Springs, Ga.

Brice, Arthur
Brookhaven, Miss.

Brownlee, Christine
Helena, Mont.

Brownlee, Scott
Helena, Mont.

Davis, Geoffrey
Detroit.

DeMarco, Maureen
Englewood, Colo.

Douchard, Greg
Wesson, Miss.

Felteau, Leo
Atlanta

Herman, Mark
Novi, Mich.

Jones, Betty Jean
Detroit

Jones, Charles
McComb, Miss.

McClain, Steven
Waterford, Mich.

Muskovitz, Teri
West Bloomfield, Mich.

Passariello, Kim
Lake Havasu, Ariz.

Raymond, Roy
Twin Falls, Id.

Raymond, Vernamarie
Twin Falls, Id.

Rosiak, Jennifer
Fairbanks, Alaska

Rosiak, Nicholas
Fairbanks, Alaska

Sharangpani, Arati
Holland, Mich.

Stearn, Richard
Whitmore Lake, Mich.

Takenami, Keita
Lexington, Ky.

Thomas, Douglas
Detroit.

Wansedel, Charles
Mount Clemens, Mich.

Zagar, Darlene
Danville, Ky.