Heart of the City Singers will be performing at the "Nevermore" CityGate Conference 2021. In the city where the poet succumbed to substance abuse, and where Baltimoreans are working to write a new stanza for “Charm City,” we’ll come together to reclaim the word Nevermore. Nevermore will we be caught without a crisis response plan. Nevermore will we have a narrowly focused funding strategy. Nevermore will we neglect building collaborative relationships. Nevermore will we assume that nothing the government offers will benefit us. Nevermore will we be silent about crime in our cities and injustices in society. Nevermore…

Moreover, the people you serve every day are striving for new life, even as their old lives call after them. So with Baltimore’s Inner Harbor as the backdrop, we’ll explore new ways to help them break the bonds of addiction, regain health, restore relationships, escape homelessness, earn living wages, and launch into a new life. We want to hear them say these uplifting words: “Because of the power of the gospel, I can spread my wings and soar, nevermore to return to my old ways.”

And as we look at the future with new data and insights, let’s commit to nevermore rest on past successes, but instead, push forward with more intentionality, fresh vision, stronger partnerships, creative innovations, and a renewed commitment to transform lives.