Praise can lift the spirit in ways nothing else can. It can remind you that you're not forgotten. It can turn a living room into something that feels a whole lot warmer, and a whole lot less small than it did before.
And that's exactly what The House Choir is here to do.
Born out of a journey we didn't want
Our household knows firsthand what it's like when life gets quiet and chaotic all at the same time. Just over five years ago life was going swimmingly, and then overnight it came crashing down. In our thirties. My husband was diagnosed with ME/CFS and was mostly bedridden for the first two years. It was like we'd skipped six decades and suddenly found ourselves living in our late nineties.
In the early days, something as small as making a cup of tea could trigger post-exertional malaise. Deep fatigue (think flu meets jet lag, and that only scrapes the surface), joint and muscle pain, a resting heart rate of 140bpm, skin that feels like it's on fire, a crushing sensitivity to light and sound. To name a few.
As anyone who has walked the chronic illness journey knows, it's a road of persistence, of incremental wins measured in millimetres. And over time, I'm afraid to say it's simply the nature of it, the once-lively community thins out and the check-ins become scarce. I remember one stretch where four months went by with a single visitor, outside of two family members. Sadly, I don't think that's an uncommon story for people walking a road like this one.
So here's a daring thought:
What if church moved toward people, rather than patiently waiting for people to come to the building?
Not out of sight and out of mind, but moving toward those who may have been forgotten.
The praise party
When getting out into the world isn't always possible and the weeks stretch long and quiet, one thing has never left our home, even in the hardest seasons. We call it a "praise party." Regardless of how you feel, you put your favourite gospel songs on and you sing at the top of your lungs, or lift your hands to the sky, or dance.
And let me tell you, there is nothing quite like it.
Praise has this extraordinary ability to shift the atmosphere of a room. To refocus your mind, lift your eyes, and remind you of the love and faithfulness of Jesus carrying you through, even before the answered prayer.
Praise Him in advance. Praise confuses the enemy. Praise reminds you who's got you. Amen to that.
As Marvin Sapp's song puts it
My deep desire in this initiative is for more people to meet that experience.
From a fire to a bonfire
Being a musician with a deep love for gospel music, I'd been dreaming of starting a gospel community choir. One where the audience is the choir, and the choir is the audience. That dream got its spark in 2025 when I was gifted a flight to Atlanta, to fill up on choir goodness among some of the greats in the industry.
I came back on fire, hungry to start something here in Australia, but not wanting to simply copy the format I'd been part of over there. So I let it brew for a while, heart open, waiting for the moment when something would just drop and make sense. At the heart of it was starting something that would reach people who might otherwise be missed.
The moment it all clicked was surprisingly simple.
The penny-drop moment
I was organising music for church and had a group of willing singers ready to rehearse. Rather than meeting elsewhere, I brought the rehearsal home. My quiet reason was that my husband hadn't been able to get out as much as he'd like, and this way he could be part of it too.
We sat around the living room. We sang the first verse of the first song.
And that was it.
This was the thing.
A choir that comes to you, right there in your living room. The power of voices joined together in praise, the warmth of people showing up, the simple but profound gift of feeling seen and part of something. Spirits lifted. Burdens lightened. Room less small.
It was clear as anything to me: this needed to happen in other people's living rooms too.
The heart behind it
From our own journey came a real passion to make sure your friend, your family member or your neighbour feels seen and heard in their circumstance. People going through long-term, challenging things can so easily be forgotten, isolated, or quietly left out of things, usually without anyone meaning it that way.
The House Choir is for anyone who'd love a visit. Whether life has slowed you down for a season, or circumstances have made getting out into your local community harder than you'd like. Young or old, whatever your story.