Homeless choir gives voice to the voiceless
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - KC says he started singing in a church choir when he was 8 years old. He lived in Washington, D.C., and sang at the famed National Cathedral.
Now he's 58 and still singing in the choir, but this time it's a fledgling group that meets at Roberts Park United Methodist Church in Downtown Indy weekly.
The members of this choir don't audition. They don't tithe to the church. They don't even attend services typically. But they are welcome to join Matthew's Voices: Side by Side, a choir for the homeless and disadvantaged.
Jason Fishburn, choir director, came up with the idea after talking with directors of similar groups in Dallas and Atlanta and studying the benefits of such experiences for other marginalized people, including those in prison and the elderly.
"A lot of times, the homeless population are underserved, unloved and untouched," he said. "This is an opportunity for them to experience the arts and experience community."
KC has been coming to practice since it began three weeks ago. His rich deep voice can be heard above the others gathered on a recent Sunday.
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see."
He calls this choir the most significant of any he has participated in. "It's not just worshipping in high church. This is low, messy church," he said. "Pastor Andrew is willing to get messy, and that's a credit to any community, whether it's spiritual or secular."
KC attended Earlham College in Richmond, earning a degree in peace and global studies. He served in the Peace Corps. Serious health issues took a toll on his finances. He says he endured the "dispossession" of his property in 2012, the home he'd lived in for 17 years.
"The barriers to re-entry have been fierce," he said.
"Pastor Andrew" is the Rev. Andrew Scanlan-Holmes, who stepped into the pulpit at Roberts Park two years ago.
"We are blessed with a church that's willing to open its doors and let people in, rather than keep them out," he said. "Building community is what we've been trying to do and will continue to do."
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