Voices

There are so many things I don’t know or understand about poverty, homelessness, and racism.

But I want to understand these things better, and I want to help those who are suffering in our community, sometimes right down the street or literally right next to me in our Sunday School class.

My name is Wes Fryer, and I recently moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, from Oklahoma City with my wife, two of our kids, and our two dogs. I teach middle school media literacy and computer science. After searching for a church home for five months, we joined Caldwell Presbyterian Church in January 2023.

There are several reasons Shelly and I decided to join Caldwell. We both grew up Presbyterian, but the last year and half we attended an absolutely wonderful Episcopal Church in Oklahoma City. In Caldwell, we have found a loving and diverse community of people who love Jesus and want to serve him together. Caldwell’s “Easter’s Home” project is one of the local mission projects we are excited to help with and hopefully serve through.

Since Shelly taught at Positive Tomorrows in Oklahoma City, a school for children experiencing homelessness, we have both become much more aware of the crushing effects of poverty and the complexity of homelessness as it is experienced by different people in our communities.

Through our “ACE Sunday School Class” at Caldwell, Shelly and I have met a number of wonderful people living all over the Charlotte area. One of those people is Kelton, who is a church member and attends our class. Kelton is a gifted writer, and he has shared several short essays with our class, with our congregation, and with me directly via text. With Kelton’s permission, I’m sharing some of his thoughts, perceptions, ideas, and feelings here on this website.

I hope and pray that by amplifying Kelton’s voice, and the voices of others in our community, we can grow together in both understanding and friendship.

As a society and culture in the United States today, we need to do a MUCH better job of simply CARING FOR EACH OTHER. I want to live in a community in which our members both know and care for one another. Whether or not you consider yourself a “person of faith,” I hope you will join me in seeking ways to better care for our brothers and sisters in our communities.

‘Jesus responded, “Who do you think are my mother and brothers?” Looking around, taking in everyone seated around him, he said, “Right here, right in front of you—my mother and my brothers. Obedience is thicker than blood. The person who obeys God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Mark 3:33-35