Detroit, USA - Organizers estimated that 1,000 people were at Hart Plaza Saturday morning asking God to forgive them and Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
The mayor is not attending the event, his office said.
Pastor Glen R. Plummer, the founder and president of the Christian Television Network, organized the first-of-its-kind event at Hart Plaza as way for people to ask forgiveness for any sins they may have committed. The mayor is involved in an ongoing perjury investigation stemming form the text message scandal involving his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty.
Kilpatrick has denied any wrongdoing in the case.
Thirty area pastors each were addressing different sins and asking God for forgiveness of those sins, said Celestine Harris, an event organizer. She said the pastors are being given about three minutes for their prayers.
While organizers hoped for 100,000 people, the smaller amount is a good start for something that could become an annual affair, Harris said.
"We are asking God not just to forgive (Kilpatrick) but the whole city," Harris said. "It would be nice if he came."
Kilpatrick was participating in the Detroit Police Department's centennial celebration of its use of motorcycles to fight crime, and his fourth annual Dad's Day Out event Saturday afternoon, his office said.
The event runs until 3 pm. Saturday and Harris said people should stop in and take the time to express their sorrow for any past misdeeds.
"We are hear to repent," she said.