More than 500 people attended Alan's service of reflection at Eccles Parish Church on Sunday, including fellow aid workers who were with him when he was kidnapped.
One of his aid colleagues, Shameela Islam-Zulfiqar, has launched the Alan Henning Memorial Fund in the hope of raising £20,000.
Rev Cyprian Yobera, who led Alan's reflection service, said: "We have seen the cross down the road there as people came and laid their flowers.
"You see people bursting out into tears and when you ask them they did not know him personally - but they've been affected by it."
On hearing of Alan's death, the Bishop of Manchester Rt Rev David Walker, said: "In his life Alan Henning united people across the boundaries of nationality and faith. He did so both through his humanitarian actions and by the love that drove him on.
"That his tragic death continues to unite people across Britain and beyond is demonstrated today by the range of people and organisations paying him tribute.
"To ISIS we say: You no longer have the power to shock us, now you just sicken us. Your brutality, against any who don't share your narrow, perverted worldview, doesn't undermine our determination, it stiffens our resolve. Your destiny is not to be a force in human history, merely one of its sad footnotes."
Alan Henning, 47, was a married father of two. Through his work as a taxi driver he made many Muslim friends who were keen to bring aid to the Middle East.
He helped deliver aid to Syria on three previous occasions before he was kidnapped by Muslim extremists Islamic State (IS) during his fourth aid visit.
A video apparently showing his beheading was released on Saturday.