As the entire church sang ?This Little Light of Mine? together with Jose Matos, the spirit of a community at Hope Church was clear.
?If you have an extra kidney, I can use one,? Matos joked with the crowd, eliciting a bubble of laughter from the all ages audience. Though he kept his tone light, the suggestion was all too real for Matos.
Currently, the former Marine and Vietnam veteran is waiting to be called to Louisville, KY, where he is a potential recipient for a new kidney. The Hope Church member and preacher, who also receives regular dialysis treatments, hopes to continue his work preaching around the country with the help of a healthy new organ, even joking about how convenient it would be to have an organ store.
In order to ease the financial burden of Matos?s potential call to Kentucky, Hope Church hosted ?A Night of Inspiration? this past Saturday, Jan. 26, to collect donations and raise awareness about Matos and his story.
?We wanted to do something to show him our love and support,? Tina Lopez, a member of the church and one of the event?s organizers, said over the sounds of acoustic guitar coming from the altar. ?We want to be a hope and support for someone in need, so we thought we?d take a leap of faith and try to plan something.?
The evening, which lasted from 7-9 p.m. and consisted of several volunteer musical acts and an intermission complete with snacks and punch, came together with the help of everyone from Sharon High School to ?friends of friends of church members? who just wanted to support a good cause, as Lopez explained.
Musical selections involved everything from an a capella group to saxophone jazz to Matos himself performing for the participant audience. When an act requested ?more voices? for their songs, the people filling the pews were quick to join them.
Even during the brief intermission, the crowd gathered together in the church basement over sweets and drinks, laughing and congratulating those who had already performed.
Despite the seriousness of the cause that brought them together, the attendees of ?A Night of Inspiration? were nothing if not positive, joining together to help someone Lopez described as ?part of [the] church family.?
?There?s always hope for everybody,? she explained. ?No one should ever feel hopeless.?
Donations for Jose Matos can be made as checks written to Hope Church with a memo stating that they are for ?Matos kidney transplant fund? and will be accepted at the church.
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