A free community worship gathering is coming to Detroit's riverfront on August 25, with gospel recording artist Kierra Sheard-Kelly set to make a special appearance alongside Fresh Start Ministries Pastor Charles T. Winfield. The event, called Find One, Bring One, runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater, located at 2600 Atwater St., and is free and open to the public.
According to ClickOnDetroit, Fresh Start Ministries is hosting the outreach as part of its ongoing mission to promote faith, hope, and community throughout metro Detroit. The name Find One, Bring One reflects the ministry's goal of personal invitation and community engagement, and organizers are encouraging attendees to invite a friend, family member, neighbor, or coworker who may be seeking hope or support. The evening's program will include worship, prayer, biblical teaching, and messages centered on hope, healing, and spiritual renewal.
A Riverfront Venue Steeped in Detroit Music History
The Aretha Franklin Amphitheater seats 6,000 people beneath a 55,000-square-foot tensile fabric canopy, according to Grammy.com. The venue originally opened as Chene Park Amphitheater before the Detroit City Council unanimously voted to rename it in September 2018 in honor of the late Queen of Soul, per Wikipedia. It has been managed for more than two decades by The Right Productions, Inc., an independent, Black-owned entertainment management firm led by President and CEO Shahida Mausi, which produces dozens of summer concerts and community events at the site each year.
Tickets to the gathering are free, though the venue's box office is where attendees must pick them up, the ministry says. Event organizers specified that physical tickets must be picked up in person starting Thursday, August 7, ahead of the late-August event, a detail shared in a Facebook post promoting the gathering.
The Pastor Behind the Pulpit
Pastor Winfield, who will lead the gathering, built Fresh Start Ministries after retiring from the Detroit Department of Transportation in 2008, where he worked as a master mechanic, according to a proclamation from the City of Warren. The non-denominational ministry began as a weekly Bible study, and Winfield went on to complete theological studies at Detroit's Ecumenical Theological Seminary. He also reaches regional listeners through a weekly Saturday morning radio broadcast called A Fresh Start, which airs on gospel station WCHB AM.
Fresh Start Ministries' community work extends well beyond the pulpit. In August 2022, the ministry opened a nine-bedroom safehouse on its Roseville campus to provide temporary housing and support for survivors of domestic violence and their children, as reported by C & G Newspapers. The ministry also runs street outreach programs delivering food to unsheltered residents across metro Detroit.
Gospel Royalty Joins the Lineup
Sheard-Kelly's appearance brings deep Detroit gospel roots to the amphitheater stage. She is the daughter of Clark Sisters vocalist Karen Clark Sheard and COGIC Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard, and granddaughter of famed choir director Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, whose family is considered among the most influential in gospel music history.
She earned a bachelor's degree in English from Wayne State University while building her recording career, and later portrayed her mother in the 2020 Lifetime biographical film The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel. Sheard-Kelly won her first Stellar Award at age nine performing on her mother's 1997 debut album Finally Karen, and she later earned a Grammy nomination for her 2006 solo album This Is Me, according to BMI.com.
Through Find One, Bring One, Fresh Start Ministries says it intends to strengthen connections within the community by bringing together metro Detroit residents for an evening of worship, prayer, and encouragement. Organizers describe the goal as creating a welcoming environment for individuals and families to receive encouragement and prayer at one of Detroit's most storied riverfront stages.
