Hours ahead of Aretha Franklin’s mega-superstar studded homegoing services on Friday, the presiding bishop is issuing a loud, stern warning to her fans- ‘This ain’t a concert.’
As you have probably heard by now, Aretha is getting a send-off fit for the soul queen that she is. There will be 19 performances for the televised event that will include everyone from Yolanda Adams, to Stevie Wonder and more.
(Video) Bishop Says It’s Not A Concert…It’s About
As the hype swells to increasingly high levels about the stars who will be helping send the “Queen of Soul” off, Bishop Charles H. Ellis III’s name has pretty much gotten lost in the shuffle. That is probably why he made a valiant effort to redirect everyone’s attention toward his sermon, by stressing the importance of keeping the church element in all of this and not the celebrities performing. In an interview with TMZ’s Harvey Weinstein, the bishop made his message clear:
“My task is to make sure that everyone does not see this as a concert, it’s not an event.”
Bishop Ellis said that’s what Thursday night’s memorial service was for, where fans got an opportunity to get “the hollering, the woo-woo, [the] ‘Re-Re was my girl'” type of nostalgic celebrations.
He then went on to make it known that he wants it to be about Aretha and his sermon…not the stars:
“When we come into this sanctuary, it’s church and we’re gonna send her out like she came in. She’s the daughter of a baptist preacher, one of the most prominent baptist preachers on the face of the earth that’s ever lived. So we’re gonna try to have church, we’re gonna try to uplift them and my job is to have everybody to leave with a spiritual encounter, that regardless of how big you are, how many Grammys, how many Tonys, or awards you have, everyone’s got to face death at some point in time.”
The bishop wasn’t done with ensuring that he redirected fans’ attention toward the church factor of Aretha’s funeral and again – not the singers. He proceeded to name only non-musical celebrities, such as actors and even a former president, seemingly in an effort to point attention away from the upcoming music performances:
“Everyone’s coming to celebrate the king and…listen you’ve got some star power here, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Cicely Tyson, Whoopi Goldberg…President Clinton, but NOBODY’s as important as the Queen.”
https://youtu.be/NNsSJy_S81o
After laying your eyes on the lengthy lineup for Aretha’s funeral service, you’ll understand why the bishop is probably worried about folks completely missing his sermon. The services will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (eastern) on Friday morning (Aug. 31). Here’s a full list of the lineup:
9:30-9:50 a.m.: Musical Prelude: Aretha Franklin Orchestra
9:50-10:00 a.m.: Lighting of Candles: Swanson Funeral Home, Inc.
10:00-10:20 a.m.: Processional: Clergy, Ministers and Family
10:20-10:25 a.m.: Prayer of Comfort: Dr. E.L. Branch, Pastor, Third New Hope Church
10:25-10:40 a.m.: Scripture of Comfort:
10:25 a.m.: Old Testament: Bishop T.D. Jakes, Potter’s House, Dallas, TX
10:30 a.m.: New Testament: Pastor Solomon Kinloch, Triumph Church
10:35 a.m.: The Psalm: Bishop P.A. Brooks, Pastor, New St. Paul Tabernacle Church
10:40-10:45 a.m.: Musical Tribute: Aretha Franklin Celebration Choir
10:45-10:49 a.m.: Musical Tribute: Faith Hill
10:49-11:03 a.m.: Remarks:
10:49 a.m.: Brenda Jones, City Council President
10:51 a.m.: JoAnn Watson, Detroit City Council
10:53 a.m.: Mike Duggan, Mayor, City of Detroit
10:57 a.m.: Governor Rick Snyder, State of Michigan
11:03-11:08 a.m.: Musical Tribute: Ariana Grande
1108-11:13 a.m.: Musical Tribute: The Clark Sisters
11:13-11:18 a.m: Acknowledgements and Condolences: Barbara Sampson
11:18-11:23 a.m.: Musical Tribute: The Williams Brothers & Vanessa Bell Armstrong
11:23-11:40 a.m.: Family Reflections: Vaughn, Cristal, Victorie & Jordan Franklin
11:40-11:45 a.m.: Family Musical Tribute: Edward Franklin
11:45-11:50 a.m.: Obituary: Sabrina Owens
11:50-11:55 a.m.: Musical Tribute: Alice McAllister Tillman
11:55-12:00 p.m.: Musical Tribute: Audrey DuBois Harris
12:00-12:15 p.m.: Personal Remarks:
12:00 p.m.: Eric Holder, Former U.S. Attorney General
12:05 p.m.: Senator Gary Peters, State of Michigan
12:10 p.m.: Former President, William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton
12:15-12:19 p.m.: Musical Tribute: Pastor Shirley Caesar and Tasha Cobbs-Leonard
12:19-12:36 p.m.: Personal Reflections :
12:19 p.m.: Greg Mathis, Retired Judge, 36th District Court, Detroit, MI
12:23 p.m.: Brenda Lawrence, State Representative, 14th Congressional District
12:27 p.m.: Rev. Donald L. Parsons, Logos Assembly Church, Chicago, IL
12:31 p.m.: Rev. Al Sharpton, Founder, National Action Network
12:36-12:41 p.m.: Musical Tribute: Chaka Khan
12:41-12:51 p.m.: Musical Tribute: Ron Isley
12:51 p.m.: Rev. Jesse Jackson, Founder/President Rainbow P.U.S.H. Coalition
1:00 p.m.: Dr. William J. Barber, II, Pastor, Greenleaf Christian Church, Goldsborough N.C
1:05 p.m.: Rev. James Holley, Retired Pastor, New Light Missionary Baptist Church
1:10-1:15 p.m.: Musical Tribute: Fantasia Barrino-Taylor
1:15-1:30 p.m: Personal Reflections :
1:15 p.m.: Tyler Perry
1:17 p.m.: Cicely Tyson, Actress
1:20 p.m.: Clive Davis, Chief Creative Officer, Sony Music
1:25 p.m.: Smokey Robinson, Recording Artist
1:30-1:34 p.m.: Musical Tribute: Bishop Paul Morton and Yolanda Adams
1:34-1:53 p.m.: Personal Reflections :
1:34 p.m.: Mildred Gaddis, Radio Personality
1:38 p.m.: Isaiah Thomas, Former NBA Player, Detroit Pistons
1:42 p.m.: Ron Moten, Personal Friend, Franchise Owner, McDonald’s Restaurants
1:48 p.m.: Michael Eric Dyson, Professor of Sociology, Georgetown University
1:53-2:00 p.m.: Musical Tribute: Bishop Marvin Sapp and the Aretha Franklin Celebration Choir
2:00-2:05 p.m.: Sermonic Selection: Jennifer Hudson
2:05-2:35 p.m.: Eulogy: Rev. Jasper Williams, Jr., Pastor, Salem Baptist Church, Atlanta GA
2:35-2:45 p.m.: Musical Tribute: Stevie Wonder joined by National Artists
2:45-3:00 p.m.: Recessional: Jennifer Holliday and the Aretha Franklin Celebration Choir
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