Jackson Gay Men’s Chorus is creating a safe space through music
By Aaron Lampley | Originally published by Mississippi Today
Jackson is Mississippi’s largest city but aside from a few clubs and bars, it has relatively few places for LGBTQ+ people to gather.
However, Michael Montgomery said he thinks a new group that he joined, the Jackson Gay Men’s Chorus, is helping create a new safe space.
“Its nice to find a place to be around queer people and gay people that doesn’t involve just clubbing and drinking,” said Montgomery, one of the bass singers. “It’s just a general creative space to be with people, which is nice.”
The choir, which formed in October, aims to unite LGBTQ+ people and allies over their love of music.
“This is something really exciting to be public with,” the group’s artistic director and conductor Henry Waters said.
Members of the choir voiced their appreciation for the organization. Jay Barnhart, a member of the choir’s advisory council, said the group provides an outlet to those seeking it. Karen Grave — whose son Timothy sings in the choir — said the two drive from Hattiesburg to participate, calling it an awesome experience.
The organization was founded by a few members who would eventually evolve into the advisory council. The group continued to convene over the next few months as they searched for a pianist and conductor.
In their search, the choir would land on Broadmeadow United Methodist Church as their place of practice. The congregation is known in the local community as LGBTQ+ affirming, and Waters told Mississippi Today it is thrilling to work with a church that was at the forefront of inclusivity.
“They’re one of the first reconciling ministries in the state of Mississippi,” Waters said. “And really, one in the South.”
According to a 2023 study by the Williams Institute, 4.1% of Mississippi adults identify as LGBTQ+. While an estimated 93,000 residents identify as LGBTQ+, Mississippi only has two fully reconciling United Methodist churches: Broadmeadow and Hattiesburg’s Court Street in The Grove.
A reconciling United Methodist church is a congregation that has voted to openly welcome LGBTQ+ people. Broadmeadow reconciled in March 2020, becoming the first church in the state to do so.
The Rev. Sue Hyland previously served at Court Street and now preaches part time at Broadmeadow. Hyland told Mississippi Today that when the chorus approached the United Methodist Board about using the church for practices, it was a unanimous yes.
“People were excited, like, we can’t wait to get them in here,” Hyland said. “So it was a very easy yes for our whole board that kind of runs everything.”
The choir held its first practice in January with 10 members. Since then, the group has more than doubled to 24 active members.
The chorus currently schedules two concerts a year, one in the spring and fall. The group held its debut concert “Home is Where the Song Begins” on June 14 at Broadmeadow, singing a traditional choral literature with a mixture of other arrangements such as “Home” by Alan Billingsley. The show sold 230 tickets. Advisory council member and initial founder Glenn Gregory said the experience was full of emotion and love.
“The response after the concert when we walked out into the crowd was just amazing. So many people just were so moved by the voices, the harmony, the songs that Henry put together, just the way the whole concert was tied together,” Gregory said. “We’ve had so many people reach out to us in the two days after the concert just thanking us.”
One of those 230 attendees was Rob Hill, who said he was proud of the group and impressed by their voices.
“It was definitely inspirational,” Hill said. “I honestly got goosebumps and might have even shed a tear.”
Hill served as Broadmeadow’s first gay pastor from 2004 to 2014. Despite not being out at the time, Hill told Mississippi Today that his sexuality was an open secret and the congregation never voiced issues with it.
In his time at Broadmeadow, Hill helped to diversify the church’s congregation, inviting new LGBTQ+ couples who had moved to the area to join the church. In his later years, talks of reconciliation stalled as members didn’t want to draw attention to the church or Hill himself, out of fear of backlash.
“I think I was probably on some level concerned myself, but I knew it was the right thing to do at the end of the day,” Hill said. “I wanted the church to really, honestly be boldly affirming and to say that, and I think at that point we were really ready to go there.”
Plans are underway for the group’s fall concert. In the offseason between concerts, the choir plans to continue to do smaller performances, such as their appearance during Jackson’s Trans Day of Visibility event in April.
Advisory council member Rick Gregory told Mississippi Today that the chorus has been receiving inquiries since auditions opened for their fall concert on June 15.
“We’ve already had two people upload their audition videos,” Gregory said. “But we just got it on our website, so it’s still pretty early, but to have two within that short period of time is a good sign.”
Waters urged those who want to audition for the chorus to reach out via social media or visit the group’s website.
This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Source: Original Article
