May 12 symposium to educate southeast Michigan on signs of sexual slavery

Plymouth — It’s an issue that has been likened to slavery. The forcible capture, manipulation and humiliation of people for the gains of others. Human trafficking.

On May 12, the Pearls of Great Price Coalition, an association of Christian churches in Metro Detroit dedicated to the fight against human trafficking, will host a symposium to shed light on a dark topic.

The daylong symposium will take place at St. Thomas a’Becket Parish in Canton from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Rev. Carrie Wood founded the Pearls of Great Price Coalition after she and a friend attended a presentation on the topic in spring 2014.


“I knew nothing about human trafficking, thinking it only happened in foreign countries,” Wood said. “God got a hold of my heart, saying I had to do something about this.”

Wood and her congregation at Plymouth First United Methodist Church began spreading awareness about human trafficking, encouraging people to watch for signs of abuse and report suspicion of trafficking to law enforcement.

The coalition has since grown to include seven churches in western Wayne County, including the Catholic parishes of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, St. Thomas a’Becket in Canton, Our Lady of Victory in Northville and St. John Neumann in Canton.

The symposium will feature speakers from the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Southeast Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes Task Force, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan and the Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force, along with other law enforcement and faith community leaders.

“All of this human trafficking is absolute sin; it is darkness,” Rev. Wood said. “The church is about shedding the light of Christ in the darkest places. Restoring people in whatever is happening in their lives, that makes them feel unforgiven. Even the ones who are doing the trafficking, they need redemption as well.”

Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish got involved in the coalition when parishioner Mary Lockwood went to an international human trafficking conference at Cobo Center and took the issue to Deacon Dave Carignan.

“After talking, we determined it was a life issue, under the umbrella of other pro-life issues,” said Lockwood, chair of the Life Issues Committee at the parish.

Since getting involved in the coalition, Lockwood and other members of the committee have worked to draw attention to the topic, which Lockwood admits might make many people uncomfortable.

“Deacon Dave and I had no idea girls were being stalked and trafficked,” Lockwood said. “The thing I walked away with is that it’s not just limited to one neighborhood; it’s everywhere. We heard Detroit was a prime city, because of our access to Canada.”

People who attend the workshop will hear from experts on how human trafficking happens and how ministers and law enforcement can best care for victims.

“We’ll be talking to hotel and motel personnel, especially housekeepers, about how to recognize the signs of those who might be trafficked,” Rev. Wood said.

Lockwood said human trafficking needs to be a priority in Catholic and pro-life circles.

“It’s important that we as a Church get involved and talk about helping our sisters and brothers who are being trafficked,” Lockwood said. “It takes energy and perseverance to bring this issue to the forefront. Some people in the parish don’t want to look at our human trafficking poster, because it’s hard to look at. But that’s why parishes are slowly getting involved. We need people who look at human trafficking and see the victims, see the humanity in them, and see that it’s on us to rescue them.”