While the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, lay ill in her home in Detroit’s Riverfront Towers, dozens gathered at her father’s former church to pray for her quick recovery.
The prayer vigil was attended by ten ministers and deacons from several Detroit churches at New Bethel to intercede and sing.
The New Bethel Baptist Church, founded in 1932, was led for 33 years by the late Rev. C. L. Franklin, father of the Queen of Soul.
Franklin, 76, underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer in December 2010 and has often taken ill in subsequent years.
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The church’s current leader, the Rev. Robert Smith Jr., inaugurated a tradition of 5 a.m. services and dedicated Wednesday’s to the ailing singer.
According to USA today, Rev. Ryan Johnson of the Greater Burnette Baptist Church led the first sermon, he said,
“Father God, we come this morning asking you to touch the Queen of Soul today. Lord we ask you to touch her even right now. Lord you know her because you blessed her right here in this church many years ago.
“You blessed her father to be one of the greatest preachers of the 20th Century. But then, Holy Father, you gifted her with the gift of song. Then Holy Father you have allowed her to share her gift with this world.
“Then Lord you have allowed us to be touched not only by the gift of her music but by her generous spirit, her kind acts and deeds.”
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and music legend Stevie Wonder were among the latest to visit the 76-year-old icon, as news of her failing health led to a flood of well-wishes on social media platforms.
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The 18-time Grammy award winner has been a great source of blessings for the church for years. Many testified of her good works and said she made a lot of financial contributions.
Franklin’s longtime executive assistant, Fannie Tyler, told reporters afterwards that the singer had donated considerable amounts of money to the church and the community. Tyler accepted a bouquet of flowers from New Bethel on Franklin’s behalf.
Many of those gathered said they felt that attending the early morning service was the least they could do.
