Messiah Queered connects Steinbach’s 2SLGBTQ+ faithful, Handel’s music

People in the Steinbach area will get a chance to sing along this weekend with Messiah Queered, a performance of one of the world’s most famous choral works.

A Christian event for the faithful in the Manitoba city’s 2SLGBTQ+ community and their supporters was something that many have long asked for, says violinist Trevor Kirczenow, who is also co-founder of the 2SLGBTQ+ allies group Steinbach Neighbours for Community.

“This is something that comes up over and over again. People ask us, ‘Well, what can my church do, how can we help?’ So we thought this was the perfect event for our community,” said Kirczenow.

The “queered” part of Messiah Queered is the switching of voice types during the performance of George Frideric Handel’s 18th-century work, most famous for its “Hallelujah” chorus.

“Vocal soloists and [the] choir have the option of singing any part that suits their voice and spirit,” says an event page.

That mean tenors can become sopranos and sopranos can become tenors. Attendees are also invited to sing along.

“Any voice can sing any part, as long as it feels good for them,” said soloist Geneva Halverson.

Following a Friday performance at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Winnipeg, Messiah Queered will be performed at Steinbach’s Grace Mennonite Church Sunday evening, with support from Steinbach’s United Church.

It’s also had support from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada’s Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario Synod.

Having pastors and congregations open their doors to the rural queer community as Christmas approaches is vital for Kirczenow, who lives with his family on a farm near Dugald.

“There are individuals who have experienced a lot of trauma in the church, so to have an event where these churches are affirming and welcoming and so supportive, it’s a really beautiful thing,” he said.

For soloist Halverson, the event has a personal message.

“For me, [it’s] that Christianity is for everyone — that it’s not just for people that follow a certain set of rules, but it’s for anyone that believes in God and Jesus,” they said.

“That, to me, is what’s so special about it.”

There will be security in place for Sunday’s performance, after threats resulted in the cancellation of Steinbach Pride earlier this year.

But conductor Ken MacDonald said he’s not too concerned, believing the music’s message will ring out loud.

“We’re doing something that’s very aligned with the message for peace. And I don’t anticipate any issues with people. We’re playing Messiah in churches,” he said.

MacDonald said there is a connection between Messiah Queered and the words of Charles Jennens, who wrote the original libretto for Handel’s oratorio, drawing from biblical sources.

“He changed a number of the pronouns” from the original source material, said MacDonald.

“Where it was ‘I’ — David talking about his experiences and suffering — he transposed it so it was a messenger giving these kind of things — ‘he was despised, he was rejected,'” MacDonald said.

“And I thought, if we’re talking about this universal suffering, let’s talk about the suffering going on in our community right now. Let’s talk about [how] we have a Trans Day of Remembrance that people are openly mocking. Let’s talk about the people in my generation — so many people were lost to AIDS. It was a time of tremendous despair and humiliation.

“So our community’s always known this kind of humility and marginalization, and that’s exactly what Messiah is talking about in that middle section.”

However, the concert will mostly be focused on the Christmas theme of celebration, said MacDonald.

“The rest of it is joy. It’s that everyone’s included, everyone’s accepted. And so for us to bring this to a community where people have been told, ‘You don’t have a place in our church,’ we’re saying that’s not what the message of Messiah is.

“So, you’re welcome here.”

The performance will run about two hours and 30 minutes. Tickets are available through Manitoba Mobile Music, which is co-founded by MacDonald, Kirczenow and Rachel Kristenson.