Detroit, MI
‘Prince of the pulpit’: Detroit pastor emeritus Rev. Charles Gilchrist Adams dies at 86
Detroit — The Rev. Charles Gilchrist Adams, a towering figure as the pastor and then pastor emeritus of Detroit’s historic Hartford Memorial Baptist Church on the Detroit’s northwest side, where he earned the reputation of “a preacher’s preacher,” died Wednesday afternoon, his family said.
He died following a long bout with pneumonia and after cardiac arrest, said his sister, Edith Clifton, who said he was surrounded by his family. He was 86.
“He was my only sibling and my best friend,” said Clifton, 88. “We talked almost every day.”
Rev. Adams emerged on the scene of the religious community in 1962, when he became pastor of the historic Concord Baptist Church, one of the oldest Black churches in Boston, Massachusetts, according to relatives. From that pulpit, he went on to shape a religious following, was hailed internationally, spoke before the United Nations and met with U.S. presidents.
Back home in Detroit, he nurtured his flock and his community, his followers said.
In 1967, he became pastor of Hartford Memorial Baptist Church. The church would later move to 18700 James Couzens in the late ’70s, where he would grow the congregation from several hundred to nearly 10,000. In 2017, it was recognized by Michigan historical officials as the first church for African Americans on the city’s northwest side. It was described as a prestigious place where leaders have sought social justice and where mourners flocked to bid farewell to famous figures.
The church has been the funeral site for high-profile figures — singers, educators, activists and others. It has seen politicians ranging from Al Gore to Geoffrey Fieger greet attendees on the campaign trail.
When Rev. Adams retired from the pulpit in October 2019, his son and successor, the Rev. Charles Christian Adams, vowed to continue his father’s works.
“My father did groundbreaking work … I’m humbled to be a part of that line, and I know that there are great expectations to move the church upward and onward yet still maintain its character and its activity in the life of the city and beyond,” he said at the time.
Rev. Adams was born in Detroit on Dec. 13, 1936, and attended Detroit Public Schools. He graduated from Cass Technical High School.
He went on to attend Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, a historically Black college and university, for two years, then transferred to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Harvard Divinity School, graduating with honors from both institutions. Rev. Adams went on to become a doctoral fellow in Union Theological Seminary in New York City, according to a biography on Hartford’s website.
“He shared with me all the scholarly things that was involved in,” Clifton said. “All of the time that he was at Harvard and he was away. We would read the same books.”
He would earn a reputation as the “Harvard Whooper,” a celebratory form and style of oration in the Black Church that marks the close of a sermon, with cadence and musical vocalizations.
He retired from the iconic church in 2019 after 52 years in the pulpit, drawing the many thousands to its pews with his thundering, impassioned voice. It was his work as well to tend to his flock’s earthly needs as well as spiritual that catapulted him into an internationally renowned religious leader. Rev. Adams bought land in the city to spark redevelopment and create jobs, launched services to help senior citizens, children and families.
He was hailed by Ebony magazine as among the nation’s greatest Black preachers and most influential African Americans. To his countless parishioners, he was a “man born to be a minister” and remained an unforgettable figure whose efforts inspired them.
News of Rev. Adams’ death spread quickly on social media, where memories, photos and tributes could been seen honoring the beloved “pulpit giant.”
Leaders among Detroit’s Black Church community described him as “a preacher’s preacher” and a “prince of the pulpit.”
“Adams could start a message, and within five minutes, the people would be on their feet; that’s just how impactful he was,” said the Rev. Wendell Anthony, Detroit Branch NAACP president and pastor of Detroit’s Fellowship Chapel. “I pray for his son, Christian, and his family and church. I know he had been out of the pulpit for a while, but the pulpit was always in him.”
Rev. Adams became president of the NAACP Detroit Branch in 1984, the church said. During his leadership, he successfully called for a boycott of Dearborn businesses after officials moved to ban nonresidents from the city’s parks.
Anthony said Rev. Adams would be remembered most as “an uncompromising voice of that what was courageous, rooted in justice, and using the Black Church as a voice to uplift people.”
Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, senior pastor of Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, called Adams a “social justice warrior for the marginalized.”
Ellis’ church, which hosted the funeral of civil rights icon Rosa Parks, was where Rev. Adams was remembered for rendering a punctuated speech at her 2005 funeral by reciting “thank you” in different languages.
“A true friend indeed to the Ellis and Greater Grace Temple families,” Ellis said, adding that the two congregations were neighbors for more than 20 years when his church was located at Seven Mile Road and Schaefer Highway before moving near Telegraph Road in 2002.
In addition to his sister and son, Rev. Adams is survived by his wife, Agnes Adams; and daughter Dr. Tara Adams Washington. Funeral arrangements were incomplete late Wednesday, relatives said.
jaimery@detroitnews.com
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DETROIT, MI — Bell’s Brewery announced this week it’s partnering with Ilitch Sports + Entertainment to bring a new concept restaurant to Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena.
The restaurant will open on Wednesday, Dec. 18, the same night the Detroit Red Wings host the Philadelphia Flyers at the arena, the brewery announced in a news release.
Little Caesars Arena is the home of the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons and hosts other sports, entertainment and community events.
Named “The Taphouse presented by Bell’s Brewery,” the restaurant’s entrance will be on Henry Street between the Google and Comerica back entry points. The Taphouse will be operated by hospitality and entertainment company Delaware North.
“We are thrilled to extend our partnership with Bell’s Brewery, an iconic brand in the state of Michigan,” said Chris Coffman, Chief Commercial Officer, Ilitch Sports + Entertainment. “We look forward to the opening of The Taphouse and for our fans and guests to have another lively place to visit before, during or after an event at Little Caesars Arena.”
The Kalamazoo County-based brewery also recently announced a similar concept restaurant will open this winter at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids.
Bell’s Brewery to open location at Grand Rapids Ford Airport
“Bell’s is proud of our Michigan-based roots and, we’ve loved being able to bring exceptional craft beer to our communities for nearly four decades,” said Carrie Yunker, Bell’s executive vice president. “Through these partnerships, Michiganders on the east and west sides of the state can now experience Bell’s at new occasions.”
Founded by Larry Bell in 1985 in Kalamazoo, the brewery was sold in 2021 to Australian-based beverage company, Lion, which is owned by Kirin Holdings, of Japan. It is currently a division of Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing Co., which is also owned by Lion.
Bell’s sister brewery in Upper Peninsula being sold to California company
Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page or sign up for the free “3@3 Kalamazoo” daily newsletter.
Detroit, MI
How Detroit Lions plan to make up for loss of Alim McNeill, Carlton Davis, David Montgomery
The physical toll is obvious.
The Detroit Lions have 18 players on injured reserve, with four more headed there in the coming days.
The psychological toll is still coming into focus, though Lions coach Dan Campbell said his locker room won’t flinch at the latest rash of injuries that knocked out defensive starters Alim McNeill and Carlton Davis, running back David Montgomery and special teams standout Khalil Dorsey this week.
“We acknowledge the fact that, man, we’ve lost players, we’ve lost really good players,” Campbell said Monday. “But nobody cares. I mean, nobody cares and nobody’s going to give us a pass or put an asterisk next to your record.
“So what it means is, some guys are going to have an unbelievable opportunity. Because of what has happened, that means, now, man, you’re a guy who’s on the vet squad or you’re a young player or you’re somebody that’s been dying to get an opportunity, you’re about to get it. And so, that’s a pretty cool thing, that’s a pretty inspiring thing, what are you going to do with it?”
Campbell said it’s up to him and his staff to put the Lions’ next wave of replacement starters in position to succeed and design gameplans that play to the team’s strengths.
Already, the Lions have been playing without front-seven starters Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, Alex Anzalone and Derrick Barnes because of injuries, and before Sunday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills they were riding an 11-game win streak.
Montgomery injured the MCL in his right knee Sunday and is expected to miss the rest of the season. The Lions will fill his void by leaning more heavily on Jahmyr Gibbs at running back, though Campbell said they have to be wary about giving Gibbs too many reps in Montgomery’s absence.
Gibbs leads the Lions with a career-high 1,047 yards rushing on 186 carries. Montgomery has 775 yards on 185 carries. No. 3 running back Craig Reynolds has 12 offensive touches this season.
“We’ve still got to be able to be smart with (Gibbs), but we need him,” Campbell said. “We need him and that’s the trick. So those other guys, Craig’s going to need to help us, which, he’ll be ready. And (Sione) Vaki, potentially, as well.”
At defensive tackle, the Lions will use a committee approach to replace McNeill, who tore the ACL in his right knee Sunday and has been the Lions’ best defensive lineman since Hutchinson broke his leg in mid-October.
Levi Onwuzurike, who has played as both a big defensive end and inside at tackle this season, could play more as interior rusher the rest of the year. DJ Reader is healthy at nose tackle after missing one game with a shoulder injury. Pat O’Connor has played a prominent backup role in recent weeks. And Myles Adams and Brodric Martin could see rotational snaps after being inactive Sunday.
Campbell said the Lions are sorting through myriad options on what to do at cornerback with Davis out indefinitely with a broken jaw.
The rest of the starting secondary – safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph, cornerback Terrion Arnold and slot corner Amik Robertson – is healthy with three games to play and some of those players could see a shift in role. Robertson played some outside cornerback for the Las Vegas Raiders last season, though the Lions have preferred to keep him inside. Branch could move to slot in certain packages if the Lions want to get a third safety – Ifeatu Melifonwu, when he comes off injured reserve (as soon as this week), or Brandon Joseph on the field.
And Kindle Vildor and Emmanuel Moseley have experience at outside cornerback, and in Moseley’s case, also in the slot. Vildor finished Sunday’s game at outside cornerback.
“What do we do with Branch? Do we keep him where he’s at? Do we move him?” Campbell said. “We’ve got Amik, does Amik stay inside? Does he go outside? Iffy, start his clock this week? Maybe, potentially. We’ve just got to see, and because of that we’re going to need to practice a little bit to see where some of these guys that haven’t practiced in a while are at.
“So we’ll see. We’ve got options, and we’ll find the best combination of guys and go from there.”
Robertson said Sunday he’s willing to play whatever role the Lions deem necessary down the stretch.
“I’m a football player,” he said. “Wherever they put me at, I’ll play at a high level, play … Lions football, be myself within the scheme. If that’s what we’re going to do than that’s what I’ll do but as of now I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Campbell doesn’t either, though he’ll spend the next few days figuring it out.
“I’ve said it before, we play with three units here and we’ll do what we have to do to win a game, and that’s all that matters,” he said. “That’s all that matters, from here on out, is that you just need to have one more point than the opponent, period.”
Dave Birkett is the author of the new book, “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline.” Order your copy here. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
Next up: Bears
Matchup: Lions (12-2) at Chicago (4-9 entering Monday).
Kickoff: 1 p.m. Sunday; Soldier Field; Chicago.
TV/radio: Fox; WXYT-FM (97.1).
Spread: Lions by 6½.
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