ATLANTA—The Atlanta Homeward Choir at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Atlanta, is expanding its membership to include women.

Close to a dozen women have joined the choir during its inaugural season.

Donal Noonan, the choir founder, said his vision had been to broaden the participants in the choir, made up of people who are homeless, so he joined with partners to recruit members.

The members of the men’s choir, which began in 2012, stay at the male-only Central Night Shelter. To recruit women, in the fall Noonan pitched the idea to women staying at the City of Refuge shelter and with Project Community Connections, Inc.

The women of the choir are getting used to their new roles. He said they are building a tight community, gathering weekly on Saturdays for an hour of practice and sharing lunch together.

The choirs will perform together at Christmas caroling at Woodruff Park, Atlanta, on Dec. 4. Their big performance, however, is the fifth annual Christmas on the Hill concert at the Shrine on Sunday, Dec. 10. The women’s and men’s choirs both have solo performances. The concert begins at 5 p.m. at the church, 48 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, SW, Atlanta.

To learn more or to contribute, visit atlantahomewardchoir.org.