A gospel choir in one of the highest crime areas of Winnipeg, not only teaches choral arts but provides scholarships to local youth for post-secondary education. 

The Point Douglas Gospel Choir (PDGC) lead by Hannah Cavey, choral director and inner-city missionary for Living Bible Explorers has begun its twelfth season. 

In 2008, Cavey and her husband were on a mission to make a difference in their community. "We were looking for something music-oriented being done in the name of Christ," Cavey says.

They lived in the North End and believed there was something missing.

"We visited a church in Point Douglas and as we spoke to the community, we realized that although great things were happening in the North End there was nothing ministry-minded for children in Point Douglas. My history is in black gospel music from my time growing up in Tennesse so, it was a good first entry point," Cavey says. 

For one hour on Sundays at Grace Point Church, joyful praise can be heard from PDGC as they practice pitch, breathing, and intonation. This year, there are 13-15 members a week. The all-female choir, aged 10 to those in Grade 12 memorize a dozen songs a year from gospel and local artists. Christ is at the centre of the choir. At the end of every rehearsal, they spend time in prayer and once a month attend a social outing. "We share what God is doing and concerns that we have and pray for one another knowing that each of us cares deeply about what's going on in each other's lives," Cavey says.

"Education and training in the arts of choral music is a big part of it. We want to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and make sure that they can excel in all areas of study and further development. We like to dance, move, have fun, and fill ourselves with the joy of the Lord," Cavey says. PDGC works to create long-lasting change in the lives of its members. Any child who participates in PDGC in their last year of high school and goes on to post-secondary education is awarded a scholarship.

"It has been a wonderful journey. We have one girl, it took me years of knowing her before she would come to choir. She eventually started attending, but she didn't talk. I could barely hear her sing for the first year. Into the second year, she auditioned for a solo and she was amazing! I didn't know she could sing that well. As she shared with us through music, I started seeing her get involved in the social side of what we do. She joined patrols and the hockey team at her school. Just to see her step into the abilities and gifts that God has given her and grow in confidence; that's a big part of why I love choir so much," Cavey says.

Cavey is working to create a new choir in the West End. 

"As we grow I'm hoping that more volunteers will come. That people will see this as an opportunity to come alongside and go towards the broken and bring light and hope," Cavey says.

The choir sings for churches all over the city and has even performed in Morden, Manitoba. This month, they will be doing a private performance for Siloam Mission patrons, and in the new year, they will be the pre-concert performers for the Winnipeg Chamber Orchestra.