If folks didn’t arrive at the Michigan Theater on Tuesday feeling the spirit, they certainly left with their souls filled with it.

Mavis Staples wasn’t about to stop singing until she’d accomplished that goal.

And, spiritually fulfilled or not, no one seemed anxious for the pop-gospel legend to end her benefit concert for Avalon Housing, even after a soulful 90-minute set that left the 70-year-old diva both breathless and clearly touched by the crowd’s warm reception.

“We are very proud and very honored to be here to do our part for Avalon Housing,” she said. “Your mission is our mission and we’re here to help.”

It was fitting that, by honoring the non-profit housing authority during its week-long fundraising campaign, Staples’ songs of praise and worship were also filled with the kind of hope that Avalon Housing has brought to the area’s homeless and indigent for two decades.

“We’re here to bring joy, happiness, inspiration and positive vibrations,” she said.

Indeed, her performance was as much a Southern Baptist sermon as it was a concert, featuring spirituals like “Wade in the Water,” “On My Way to Heaven” and “This Little Light of Mine” alongside hits from the Staple Singers catalog, including her opener, Stephen Stills’ “For What It’s Worth,” as well as “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There.”

Staples was backed by a six-piece band — including three singers and anchored by guitarist Rick Holmstrom — that lacked the rhythmic, funky punch found on the old records but made up for it with a bluesy swamp boogie that served the songs well.

Of course, the real attraction was Staples, a remarkably magnetic performer who seemed to pull her audience closer with each song. Her voice isn’t what it once was and she was clearly off-pitch with her backup singers at times. But her voice retains a fullness and strength that allowed her to fill the old theater for an entire song without even singing into the microphone.

And she was able to summon its potential at times, turning in remarkable readings of The Band’s “The Weight,” and of her father’s “Why Am I Treated So Bad,” which, she explained, was a favorite of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

By the time she wrapped up an extended “I’ll Take You There,” Staples had done just that, delivering her audience to a rapturous state of ecstasy that sustained itself long after the house lights came up.

Will Stewart is a free-lance writer for AnnArbor.com.