Blog – Page 16 – UniteBoston

Dec 22 2023

UniteBoston’s Top Ten Highlights of 2023

From hosting a united worship concert and the Boston Flourish conference, to launching a “Christian unity in the city” cohort, to hiring a third team member for UniteBoston, this was an incredible year for UniteBoston! Check out our year in review for 2023 – Glory to God!

#10 – Here is a snapshot into a prayer gathering we hosted in January during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This year’s theme was “Do Good; Seek Justice” (Isaiah 1:17) which integrated a holistic understanding of justice, including how we can live our unity as Christians so as to confront the evils and injustices of our time, and in particular addressing the sin of racism.

#9 – In May, we launched The ATTIC, a Facebook Group to help connect resources with needs and create a space for collaboration for Christians in Boston. This year in the ATTIC, people have found last-minute worship leaders, free equipment to borrow for a summer movie night, new prayer partners, advice on Christian counselors, and more! There are already 220+ members – definitely check it out and join!

#8 – From May to September, our team came alongside The SEND to galvanize local participation and collaboration for their Boston-area arena gathering which gathered young adults to be sent into God’s mission fields locally and globally.

#7 – In June, we launched the “Christian Unity in the City” cohort, where eleven next-generation leaders have been meeting monthly for lunchtime conversations and story-sharing to explore the divisions within the current church and understand how people are living out God’s call towards unity, justice and reconciliation. The insights from community have played a pivotal role in where we are going as an organization to address disunity and division and activate people on God’s mission as ambassadors of reconciliation.

#6 – In July, we hosted a “Circle of Restoration” Island Retreat for BIPOC leaders to get away for self-care and connection in community. Individuals enjoyed a boat ride out to the island, beach games, music, massages, and a catered lunch.

#5 – Here is a snapshot into our August Christian unity cohort gathering, where we participated in a tour on the legacy of slavery at Harvard University, hosted by Rev. Rita Powell and Rev. Dan Smith.

#4 – Our team expanded yet again this year as we were able to hire Calvin Lee as our communications administrator this August. Calvin’s skillsets in communication and graphic design have been a huge asset, and we have enjoyed dreaming with Calvin about the future of UniteBoston as he calls the Church to greater action and partnership.

# 3 – In August, we hosted a board / staff retreat where we brainstormed about the biggest barriers hindering Christian unity in the city. Our team is currently developing a framework about how we can address these three barriers: imbalanced theology, righteous hubris, and historical injustices.

#2 – In September, we hosted the “Again I Say Rejoice” concert on the waterfront, which created a platform for six local Christian artists and the “God’s Chosen Gospel Choir” to lead the city in public Christian worship. There were 15 different organizations hosting ministry tables surrounding the perimeter of the gathering, 30+ members of a community choir, and hundreds of attendees and passersby who stopped by for a portion of the evening to listen to the music, learn about the various organizations in the city, or receive prayer! Check out our photoblog with stories, videos, and more here.

#1 – In November, we partnered with other local organizations to host the second annual Boston Flourish Conference, where we celebrated the many ways that God has been and is presently at work in the city and furthered this work by connecting together to strategically address issues facing Boston residents. This year, we galvanized people around migrant care, human trafficking, and youth trauma/mental health.

It’s been a great year! Thanks for joining with us – your prayers, participation, and finances have made this ministry happen! We look forward to seeing what God has in store for us in 2024!

Dec 17 2023

On the Wonder of the Incarnation

Today, we are featuring a blog post written by UniteBoston’s Executive Director Rev. Kelly Fassett. Having written this shortly after she birthed her second daughter, Kelly shares a moving reflection on the season of Advent and the meaning of the incarnation.

December 18, 2021

‘Hail, space for the uncontained God’
From the Agathistos Hymn,
Greece, VIc

Many of you know that my family welcomed a beautiful little girl into our family and into the world on November 14. Today I wanted to share how raising a baby during Advent season has inspired new wonder and new questions.

I now wonder:

– How long was Mary’s labor? How painful were her contractions?

– Who was there to catch baby Jesus, as he entered the world?

– When leaving the stable, did she ride away on a donkey? (I know how tender your lower region is after delivering a baby!)

When I set baby Elyse on my chest, and consider the notion of God enfleshed… all that God is – all the love, mercy, power, and compassion… wrapped up into a tiny little human that is no bigger than two of your hands… What was it like to be Mary, to hold this Jesus in her arms and consider everything that the angel had said to her – that this little baby will be called the Son of the Most High; that He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; that His kingdom will never end (Lk 1:32)…

As I consider all of this, the wonder of the incarnation comes alive for me. Fully divine AND fully human. All-powerful and all-knowing in divinity… and yet so tiny, seemingly vulnerable, and defenseless.

God in human flesh. God with us.

Those five little fingers wrapping around mine… those deep blue eyes staring into mine… infinity and eternity within skin. The ineffable reality of God enfleshed.

In some ways it seems impossible… yet this is the stuff of the kingdom.

I look at my two-year-old Abigail, and wonder – What was Jesus like as a toddler? I know that Jesus was sinless.. A toddler who really did listen to his mother and father every time, obeying and never talking back? The wonder of that!

And when I hold my two little ones, the two girls that I carried for nine months in my womb and then birthed, I am filled with such love… coupled with the fierce desire to protect these little ones from all pain and difficulty that life would bring their way. Mary must have had similar feelings as she watched Jesus grow up… Yet how could she bear to watch those final hours, where her beloved son was brutally beaten, then painfully walked up the steep hill at Golgotha with the cross on his back, then the agony as nails pierced his bloody hands and He breathed his final breath.

Was this the end? No… Jesus took the weight of sin on his shoulders, imputing it on our behalf for the sake of redeeming the world. The veil between God and humanity was forever torn. Glory.

And through these acts of incarnation and redemption, God displayed that He chooses to not exist aloof in the clouds but to come near to us, walking with us, and working through the limitations of our humanity, of our humble bodily vessels. God with us.

Mary questioned, ‘How can this be?’… yet obeyed. And in that moment she must have realized it all was true. May I be filled with such courage to believe the things of the kingdom.

Emmanuel. God with us. Hallelujah!

May we never forget the mystery, and the wonder, of the Incarnation.

“Let the Word, I pray, be to me, not as a word spoken only to pass away, but conceived and clothed in flesh, not in air, that he may remain with us. Let him be, not only to be heard with the ears, but to be seen with the eyes, touched with the hands, and borne on the shoulders. Let the Word be to me, not as a word written and silent, but incarnate and living.“ – Bernard of Clairvaux

Dec 01 2023

Advent Resources: Waiting, Longing and Yearning for God Together

“In Advent we are ushered into a time of waiting where we are connected again with our desire, our longing, and our yearning for God.”

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, where Christians throughout the world are anticipating Jesus’ arrival and contemplating what it means for the God of the universe to be present with us. Katie Oxley, former director of the Young Adults Ministry at the Paulist Center (a Catholic community in downtown Boston) offers these resources and practices for all Christians to ready our hearts for the coming of Christ.

(This article was originally posted in 2018 and has been updated)

With Thanksgiving suddenly behind us, we are launched full-force into the Christmas season. Stores are all playing Christmas music, Starbucks has brought out their red cups, and Christmas Tree lots are popping up on every abandoned roadside corner.

Yet amidst the inevitable hustle and bustle of this time of year (this “getting ready” for Christmas), we often neglect the most important preparation we need to be doing–readying our hearts and lives for the coming of Christ. This is why remembering the season of Advent is important. In Advent we are ushered into a time of waiting where we are connected again with our desire, our longing, and our yearning for God. Joan Chittister, in the book The Liturgical Year, comments: “The year opens with Advent, the season that teaches us to wait for what is beyond the obvious. It trains us to see what is behind the apparent. Advent makes us look for God in all those places we have, until now, ignored.”

Advent is a time when we, too, are invited to sink deeply into ourselves and re-orient ourselves to the world and to God. It is a humble time of recognizing one’s need, and yearning for God’s powerful presence to break into the world.

The waiting we are called to do during Advent is not the busy, numbing, frenetic kind of waiting, but the stilling, germinating kind that connects you deeply with the present and your true self. We await the celebration of the human arrival of Jesus and we anticipate the eventual Second coming of Christ, but more profoundly, we open ourselves up to await the in-breaking of God into our own personal lives and communities here in the present. It is a time to connect with our hope and our desire.

Desire is more than wanting; it is longing, yearning, a deep-seated hope that has the power to burn into being a multitude of things. Theologian Wendy Farley, author of The Wounding and Healing of Desire, wrote, “Desire is the absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility.” From experience, many of us have learned that desire itself often feels foolish. We are all familiar with the devastation of disappointment and have, in turn, used it to disown, numb, and shrink our desire.

Advent is a season for us to settle down deeply into ourselves–to hear our heart cry, to find that spark of life and hope deep within the darkness of unknowing. Desires unfulfilled. Hope unmet. Longing unsatisfied. It is a time of discernment, of waiting, of being present. It is an active waiting. Because of this, it seems appropriate that in the northern hemisphere, this is the darkest time of year. I’ve heard that that is one of the reasons why the celebration of Christmas was set for end of December. Because in a very real way, it is the Christ child that ushers in the light.

Just as in the Jewish tradition, each day begins at sunset, begins with darkness, so it seems appropriate that the beginning of the church calendar would likewise begin in stillness and the dark, with us facing our deepest fears and desires, cultivating our hope for the light. In the silence and the darkness, we hear our own heart’s cry, our own flame of desire, our own longing for God.

During the season of Advent I invite you to not get caught up in the frenetic chaos of holiday preparation, but do the work of preparing your soul, of reconnecting with yourself and your desire.

Practices

For Waiting:

–Advent Calendar: Whether it’s a common chocolate-filled one from the grocery store, or something you make yourself, have an Advent Calendar is a great way to mark the days of Advent and slow your pace in preparation for Christmas. This daily reminder of the season invites us to show up each day to reveal what lies hidden and trust that there is goodness even in darkness.

–Slow Decorating: Although the stores are already filled with Christmas lights and decorations, consider taking a slower approach in your own home. As tempting as it is to jump right into all the Christmas cheer, carve out space and time for Advent -intentional preparation. Consider waiting to listen to Christmas Music, or decorate your home with Advent decor instead of Christmas lights. One nice practice is to get a tree, but to slowly decorate it -one ornament a day to let to the preparation for Christmas be a slow build. And to remind us of the process of preparing.

-Scripture: (From Park Street Church) How would you define hope? Did you know that the word doesn’t appear in the Bible until Ruth 1:12, when Naomi uses it? After that, it occurs 184 times. Interestingly it is often translated “wait”!
See if these verses help you come up with a definition of hope. Notice how they incorporate both the saving and judging nature of God’s two comings.

Job 13:15-16
Psalm 25:3,6,7
Psalm 42:5
Lamentations 3:19-25
Rom. 5:1-6
1 Thessalonians 1:2, 3
Hebrews 6:17-20
1 Peter 1:13

Also, meditate on (i.e. savor, chew slowly, ponder, repeat, reflect upon) Romans 8:22-25:

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

– Reflection: Last, this one page PDF from Leadership Transformations invites you to consider God’s invitation to watch and wait this Advent season. Download it here and spend some slow and spacious time in prayerful reflection.

For Remembering:

-The Jesse Tree: This ancient practice is a great way to prepare for Christmas through Storytelling. A Jesse tree is typically a bunch of bare branches collected in a jar or vase, and then hung with different items or ornaments throughout Advent. Each of these ornaments is a symbol of a particular Bible story or Character. (like an Apple for Adam, or some wheat for Ruth) Each day as you hang the ornament reflect on that story, part of the Genealogy of Christ, and part of our own spiritual ancestry.

–Nativity Scene Journey: Sink into the story of Christ’s birth slowly by allowing your nativity scene to play out the story across your living room. Start with the Angel and Mary for the annunciation, then the journey to Bethlehem. The wise men can be traveling from the bedroom or some other location. Move each set along every few days throughout Advent and until Epiphany (when the Wise Men arrive).

For Preparing:

-Make an Advent Wreath: This is a practice often done in community at your local Parish, but can just as easily be done at home too. One of the best ways to do it is by going on a walk near your home and gathering items to make your own wreath –Fallen greens, berries, pine cones, etc. Once it’s made, set 4 candles (safely) in it and light one each week as you read the Scriptures for the week. Or as a way to intentionally reflect on the 4 markers of Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.

-Lectio Divina: Also called “sacred reading” Lectio divina is the process of sitting with a text and allowing God to speak to you through it. This is a great way to come into connection with God and to prepare you heart during the Advent Season. Try doing Lectio Divina during Advent with the O Antiphons or with the verses of O Come O Come Emmanuel.

Feast days/practices

-St. Nicholas -December 6th (Gifts in Stockings and Cookies)

–Immaculate Conception -December 8th (Song of Mary)

-St Lucy’s Day -December 13th (Make a Special Breakfast)

Thoughtful Blog posts, articles, and videos:

Check out the Zeteo Resource Guide for Advent to find links to a number of different Advent series ideas, including worship liturgies, prayer guides, sermons, candle series, and more.

Collection of art and reflections for the 4 weeks of Advent

http://adventdoor.com/

Blogposts, podcasts, and resources

https://www.asacredjourney.net/advent-practices-resources/

Small video description of Advent

http://bustedhalo.com/video/watch-advent-two-minutes

A digital Advent Calendar with new reflections and resources each day

https://advent.bustedhalo.com/

Great collection of resources: videos, reading material, and practices:

http://bustedhalo.com/?s=Advent

Another digital Advent Calendar with new reflections and resources each day

http://grottonetwork.com/advent-calendar/

Collection of resources: videos, reading material, and practices:

https://godinallthings.com/?s=advent

Great collection of resources: videos, reading material, and practices:

https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/?s=Advent

Collection of Essays/posts about Advent

https://theseattleschool.edu/?s=Advent&submit=Search

Collection of resources: videos, reading material, and practices:

http://www.missioalliance.org/search/Advent/

Practice ideas: including food & music & options for kids

http://www.carrotsformichaelmas.com/2017/11/30/liturgical-living-at-a-glance-december-2017/

Reading Material:

Preparing for Christmas -Richard Rohr

To Dance with God -Gertrude Mueller Nelson

The Liturgical Year -Joan Chittister

Nov 21 2023

Photos & Stories from UniteBoston’s Again I Say Rejoice Concert

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)

We had an amazing time hosting the “Again I Say Rejoice” concert on the waterfront with families, college students, and everyone in between! This year, we were joined by local musicians, singers, dancers, and poets who brought their amazing talents to the UniteBoston stage. There were 15 different organizations hosting ministry tables surrounding the perimeter of the gathering, 30+ members of a community choir, and hundreds of attendees and passersby who stopped by for a portion of the evening to listen to the music, learn about the various organizations in the city, or receive prayer.

Read on to see photos and read personal testimonies about the impact of this gathering! You can also click here to listen to the playlist for the concert on Youtube!

“This gathering was amazing and I know so much work must have gone into it… So cool to see a united Christian presence downtown. I had several conversations with folks passing by who were curious… What a huge opportunity for the church to come together… Thanks for all you did to make it happen!!!”

– Lisa Oelrich, Executive Director – Alpha New England

“The joy I saw at Unite Boston was unlike “normal” worship I’ve been part of! The diversity of music and people truly demonstrated the expanse of the family of God. I sang in the gospel choir, and there’s something about gospel music that just drops all your anxiety about “performing” and instead brings us all into a moment of shared worship. Truly an encouraging and uplifting experience!”

– Ben Hampson, Riverwalk Church (formerly Highrock Brookline)

“This was a beautiful time of worship with a diverse community. I loved seeing people walking by downtown and then deciding to engage with the music and the message!”

-Caleb McCoy, Emmanuel Gospel Center, Rapper, producer, and creator of The OAK

This year, we brought together the community and had the opportunity to make room for ministries from across the city to share their mission with the city.

“The concert was a really good time! It was nice to catch up with some long-time ministry friends. The weather held off nicely, and the music, as well as the rap songs, were awesome. I really noticed a very diverse crowd stopping by to listen to what was going on. My sense was that people who might not normally go to church were intrigued and stopped to listen, some of them sitting for awhile. Folks in the hotel next door were also commenting on the concert. You guys really shined the light out there in Boston! Great job, God bless you all!”

-Bruce Swan, Victory Church in Sharon

There were a lot of great moments of rejoicing:

Amber Jogie’s spoken word piece on “Again I Say Rejoice”

We also had the pleasure of building a community choir that brought together members from Gordon College God’s Chosen Gospel Choir and members of the community who have a passion for worshipping God.

“It was an absolute blessing to worship the name of Jesus in the middle of Boston!! Working the Gordon booth, and as an alum myself, it was a gift to see so many Gordon students and alum engaging with the community as worshippers themselves! I met a family that heard the worship from across the street, and they stopped by and stayed the rest of the night. They were from out of town and were so amazed by the faith we have here! God is doing big things in the city of Boston.”

-Deborah Sullivan, Assistant Director of Admissions Events and Strategic Partnerships, Gordon College

“I was on the prayer team and we went around handing out cards before the event as well. We met a lot of people, including someone I met who had volunteered with Spring Water (the new after-abortion clinic) and I was able to get them connected with Boston Center for Pregnancy Choices! We met a few people who said they were not religious but were still open to receiving prayer and they seemed to be thankful for the prayer afterwards. This concert was a great way to connect with Christians and also non-Christians in a fun setting.”

-Adele Chang

Alexis Monroe and DJ were the MCs for the event and Jubilee Worcester’s dance ministry brought their liturgical gifts during the program intermission along with Boston Found acapella group.

“I’ve been a Christian my whole life, grew up in a Christian home, and have been attending church ever since I was very young. I’ve only been to one Christian concert before this event. Attending the “Rejoice” concert made me realize that yes, Sundays are the main days for church, but worshiping God can really happen anywhere, at any time, and while I’m doing anything, and if that means singing out loud in the middle of a park in Boston then that counts too! This was impactful for me because I’ve always had the stereotypical thought that Sundays in general are the main days to worship God, but that’s definitely not true. The more we involve and invite God into our lives and worship Him everywhere we go, the more we can continue to glorify His name and show others His love for us.”

-Melody Kwong, Boston Chinese Evangelical Church

Oct 05 2023

Surrender for Kingdom Breakthrough

This week, our featured blogger is Melissa Long, who is the program director of Boy With A Ball Boston (BWAB). She began her journey with BWAB after the Lord called her out of a career in science and into a career of loving others. Since joining the team, her relationship with Jesus has strengthened, and she can’t wait to see what the Lord will do as she and others love the city of Boston. Click below to read about how Melissa is doing the long, slow work of relationship building, and letting go to see kingdom movement take place.

“As I’ve set out to build a team who together will achieve this God-sized task of creating mentorship relationships and small groups based on what individuals need to reach their dreams, I knew that I needed to rely on the Lord’s wisdom, power, and work rather than my own.”

As a ministry leader, I often meet with individuals, but there has been one meeting that I’ll never forget, where the Lord gave me a taste of His power and work to come. It was a sunny day in late February, and I was with two of Boy With a Ball’s global leaders and one of Boston’s ministry leaders, seated at a picnic table overlooking the Charles River. I was about to move to Boston in a few short weeks to relaunch the local site of Boy With a Ball, a faith-based youth and community development organization whose mission is to help young people reach their dreams and to use their lives to love and transform cities. I came into the meeting with specific ideas of how it’d go and what I’d say, and I became frustrated when the conversation went in an unexpected direction.

In that moment, I faced a conscious decision: would I remain frustrated by and bound to my own expectations, or would I submit to the Lord and join Him in what He was doing? The meeting continued, and I quickly decided to surrender to the Lord. And just like that, I felt like I was submerged into the river of who He is, going where He was going, unsure of where the conversation would go, but excited to see what He had in store behind each twist and turn. In that February meeting with the Lord, I started to see Him mightily picking up the logs and brambles in my path to clear the way. I had no idea that in the months that followed, He would continue to clear my path in ways even mightier than this.

In mid-March, I arrived in Boston to relaunch the city’s site of Boy With a Ball. We organize a neighborhood-based outreach called Love Your City, our model for loving and serving at-risk neighborhoods. As part of Love Your City, our team and volunteers go on weekly Walkthroughs in the neighborhood each Saturday to meet and build friendships with community members. As friendships grow, we learn about what individuals are facing, and as we see common barriers, we can then create mentorship relationships and small groups (ESL classes, tutoring centers, parent groups, etc.) based on what individuals need to reach their dreams. As I’ve set out to build a team who together will achieve this God-sized task, I knew that I needed to rely on the Lord’s wisdom, power, and work rather than my own.

We’ve been laying the groundwork to launch Love Your City in an apartment community in Jackson Square, and part of this foundation involved building relationships with the office staff managing the apartments. We started with dropping by the office to get to know the staff and see how they were doing. Our friendships deepened as we continued going by and helped out with a maintenance day at the apartments.

*Meeting with the apartments’ tenants organization president and project manager*

Several weeks later, I met with the manager of the apartments to learn more about her office and to share about who Boy With a Ball is. After I shared, the project manager turned to me and said, “You have my blessing and support to go door-knocking here. You’re going to need a way to get into the buildings during the week, and you can see us for access as you need it. I’d also love to show you the conference room we have that you’re welcome to use anytime. And you should have a table with us at a cookout we’re hosting next month to share about what you’re doing with the community!” I didn’t expect this at all, and I can’t fully convey how amazing this breakthrough is! We thought it would take many more months of loving and serving to see a community partner help us become established in the community. Because of this move of the Lord, we were able to launch our weekly Walkthroughs in early September! We’ve seen the Lord make a way for us each week, and we’re so excited for how He will lead us into deeper relationships with families in the community.

At this point, there are many areas where we need volunteers to join us and use their gifts to love a hurting neighborhood: joining us on Walkthroughs, learning about the community with us, recruiting other volunteers, grant writing, social media/communications, and fundraising!

But even more than that, we’re so excited to see how the Lord will continue clearing our path and drawing us into deeper relationship with Him as we go with Him into loving this city. It will start with a growing group of volunteers with unique giftings and backgrounds uniting from businesses, churches, and universities all across the city under the mission of Boy With a Ball to love a hurting neighborhood. But our hope is that it would expand to these volunteers uniting in other areas of life under the greater mission of Jesus Christ to love those all around them. As believers, we’re called to share the love of Jesus and advance His kingdom on earth, but just one person, or even one organization or church, is limited in their ability to take on this God-sized calling alone. When only two or three people gather, Jesus is there (Matthew 18:20). Imagine what He could do in a neighborhood or in a whole city when that number grows exponentially.

P.S. If you’d like to learn more about Boy With A Ball in Jackson Square and how you can be involved, you can contact Melissa at melissa.long@boywithaball.com.

Give to Further Christian Unity