RECRUITING FOR TOP TALENT TO JOIN OUR VOLUNTEER TEAMS

• Tech team: lighting manager, stage manager, slide presenter, monitor mixer, and sound runners
• Ministry team: Event Development, church connections, and prayer/outreach
• Painting team: Artist’s Row and Live Painting Backstage

Click on this link for specific information about the teams, and fill out the form below if you are interested in joining. 

The UB Celebration of Worship in the Boston Common is just a few weeks away! Join in this launch party to hear the vision, meet friends old and new, listen to great music, and take home postcards so you can spread the word to your church and community!

Please invite your friends – see you there!

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/403422460304024/

Revelation 7:9a

Yeah, we’re not quite there, yet.  But we are getting closer.  

I’ll be at the Unite Boston’s Celebration of Worship on August 17th at 7:00pm.  If it is anything like last year, so will over one thousand other of my brothers and sisters from across the spectrum of Christianity, gathering from different colors, ethnicities, cultures, denominations backgrounds, and languages.  If it is remotely like last year, people will worship with abandon, dancing in praise, lifting their hands, and raising their voices. We’ll join in honoring our Father alongside brothers and sisters we’re meeting for the first time.

And something else will happen.  Other people will come. Not because of fancy lights; not because of a big screen.  They won’t be drawn because of some multi-media spectacle with a huge stage. They’ve seen all that before.  No, they’ll be drawn because they see what they’ve been looking for; the diverse Church acting as one Body. They’ll be draw by Jesus’ Promise that when He is lifted up, He’ll draw all people to himself.

Yeah, I’ll be at the Unite Boston Celebration of Worship on the Boston Commons.  I hope to see YOU and your community there too. 

-Rev. David Wright, President of the Black Ministerial Alliance and Associate Minister at Peoples Baptist Church in Boston

“The worship night on the Boston Common is important for all the churches of Boston to get behind and back. As a spirit of discord and outrage swirls around us and seeks to suppress the gospel, an evening of united prayer and worship of our Lord Jesus Christ puts the Accuser on notice. As we cry out for spiritual revival over this great city, let’s gather together in the middle of this great city, and let a watching world see and know Him by our love. I hope the pastors of the city to come, invite your flock, and together reveal to Boston what God is doing in our hearts and wants to do in theirs.”

-Pastor Michael Balboni, Park Street Church

“The Boston Common is surrounded by churches:  Evangelical, Pentecostal, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Congregational…and a few more.  We all worship in our own styles and traditions on Sundays and times in between. And the Common itself is a place of worship, including the wonderful, faithful outreach of St. Paul’s to the Unhoused Community.  But one day a year, led by UniteBoston, many of us put aside some of our strongly held positions on some important issues, and remember that it is Jesus Christ who is the source of it all, for only in the Holy Spirit can one affirm, humbly, that Jesus is Lord.  I am eager as Director of the one Catholic representative on the Boston Common to endorse UniteBoston’s Celebration of Worship on August 17th, 2019. May we come out of our buildings, join other disciples of Jesus and warmly welcome one another as we give praise to our God.”

-Father Michael McGarry, Director of the Paulist Center

This week on UniteBoston, we have Sarah Lovinger and Christian Grant as our guest bloggers to share about Young Life Boston. Young Life Boston re-emerged after many years in the Fall of 2016 when a group of people got together and began to pray about the idea of bringing YL back to Boston. Ministry to kids began in the 2017-2018 school year and was volunteer lead. Sarah and Christian came on staff with Young Life in September 2018 and ministry continues to grow. Sarah is a member of Mosaic Boston Church in Brookline and is on Young Life staff in downtown Boston. Christian Grant is on staff with Young Life and the Boston Project in Dorchester. He is a member of Hilltop Church in Cambridge. 

It is 5:00AM on a Wednesday morning. A 16-year-old girl is frantically finishing her pre-calculus homework before rowing practice. A few miles away, a 14-year-old boy rushes out the door to catch the bus- starting his 90 minute commute out to the suburbs to the METCO school he attends. She, filled with anxiety; he, with an empty stomach. One, putting her hope in a future imposed on her by her parents and peers that will never fulfill. The other, struggling to find an ounce of hope, questioning his purpose in life. 

These two stories represent thousands of kids in the city of Boston. These are kids that desperately need hope outside of themselves and their circumstances; kids who need to hear about a Creator who loves them regardless of their performance and a Savior who will provide for their every need. These kids need to hear about the life and the freedom that is theirs in Jesus Christ. 

Every day, Young Life leaders work to do just that- introduce kids to the life-changing message found in Jesus Christ. We are ministering to kids from Dorchester to Beacon Hill, from East Boston to Brookline. We go where they are, earn their trust and the right to be heard, invite them into relationship with Jesus, and love them regardless of their response.

The mission of Young Life is to introduce kids to Jesus Christ and help them grow in their faith. The method by which we do this is something we call “The Six Cs”: contact work, club, campaigners, camp, committee, and church.

• Contact work: Young Life leaders show up in the lives of kids, rather than asking them to come to us. We go to school events, volunteer at Boys and Girls clubs, tutor, coach, you name it. If kids are there, Young Life leaders want to be there too.
• Club: Club is a party with a purpose— music, games, laughter, food, skits, and a message about the person of Jesus in terms that kids understand. 
• Campaigners: This is short for “campaigners for Christ.” Kids that have decided to follow Jesus or want to learn more about Him gather in small groups to dive deeper into Scripture and prayer.
• Camp: The best week of their lives. Seriously. Kids get to play, laugh, relax, eat great food, and hear about Jesus in terms that they can understand. The best part? Kids go to camp and come home from camp with leaders with whom they already have relationships.
• Committee: Committee is a local team of caring adults that offer guidance and support.
• Church: As kids begin following Jesus or express interest in faith, we want to get them connected to a local church. We know that faith takes root and flourishes in the church and we communicate and demonstrate the importance of being part of a local congregation. We serve a diverse group of kids in a city with diverse congregations that beautifully represent the Kingdom; we pray that more and more kids will pour into each and every one. 

Throughout the past year we have seen the Lord move in amazing ways in the lives of kids in Boston. Here are three stories. J became a follower of Jesus at camp just last week. J believed that there was a God but did not believe in Jesus. Being at camp allowed him to hear the message of the Gospel clearly for the first time and process through it with his leaders. By the end of the week J stood up and shared that he began a relationship with Jesus. P, a foreign exchange student from China, gave his life to Christ last fall. P said that he had heard the Gospel before but he actually saw it being lived out by his leaders and it became real to him for the first time. He is excited to return to China to tell people about Jesus. Last, at this time last year, C did not believe God could exist with all of the brokenness in the world. She had no interest in Jesus. Through Young Life, C found a safe place to ask her hardest questions and share her doubt in Campaigners. She now regularly meets with her leader to talk about how Jesus enters into and redeems the most broken parts of life. What a gift it has been to see the Lord advance His Kingdom in Boston through the lives of teens and we cannot wait for more! 

This summer we are taking kids from all over the city to camp to have the best week of their lives. Many kids cannot afford camp but have the opportunity to go because of scholarships generously donated by people that love Christ and love kids. There are a total of three camp trips this summer with around 40 kids registered, 40 kids that are going to hear every single day how much God loves them and see that love demonstrated by leaders and camp staff. We want to take more! Camp is $675 per kid. If you want to help us bring more kids to camp, you can make a camp scholarship donation here:  Select the “Camp” tab and select “Saranac” or “Lake Champion” under Camp Selection. 

If you want to learn more about Young Life, how to get involved or how you can support us, email Sarah Lovinger at selovinger@gmail.com.

This year’s theme for the upcoming UniteBoston Celebration of Worship, “Engage Boston,” encourages Christians in Boston to grow in their Christian faith together by celebrating their differences. It’s been truly inspiring to see the event directors develop the theme by sharing their diverse denominational and professional perspectives, to make the event a welcoming environment where people of all backgrounds may connect in meaningful ways. Meet the directors below and see what the theme of “Engage Boston” means to them! 

Name: Kelly Fassett

Position: UniteBoston Team Leader

Home Church: River of Life Church 

“To me, the word “engage” conveys a connection between people. There is a great need to engage Boston by breaking down walls between Christians of differing backgrounds and also engage relationally with onlookers who are attending the worship gathering. We must also be sensitive to the type of engagement we have–always invitational and authentic rather than forced or coercive. As Christians, we have so much in common, and I’ve seen that as we come together, more and more people recognize that the things that bind us together in Christ are stronger than anything dividing us.” 

Name: Chloe Gaydos

Position: Production Coordinator Director

Home Church: Reality Church

“I’m super excited to see the new aspects of worship we are bringing into the production this year, and to work alongside our institutional partners in the Metro Boston area. Engage Boston means that as a Christian, I have been called to step outside of my comfort zone to relate to other Christians from different backgrounds. If I prioritize those relationships, then I will be able to repaint a picture of what my non-Christian friends see as the role that faith plays in my life.”

Name: Kevin Martin:

Position: Sound and Technology Production Director 

Home Church: Revive Community Church

“I am excited to be part of something that helps God grow His Kingdom exponentially in the Metro Boston Area and beyond. I was invited to last year’s Celebration of Worship, and I fell in love seeing the concept of Christian Unity being played out before my eyes, which was precisely the type of environment I had been praying about. We have to understand the “stage” God has given us at our fingertips with this opportunity. Youth, top performers, many countries represented, we have the equation for a perfect storm! If I or we, are too caught up in ourselves or the talent and details, we miss an opportunity to be a witness to someone new about Jesus and God’s greater collective mission.”

Name: Bil Mooney-Mccoy:

Position: Music Production Director

Home Church: River of Life Church

“I am looking forward to getting to know and play with a great group of musicians. “Engage Boston” is a chance for the church of Boston to join together, celebrate Jesus’ love, and share the Gospel. Engaging in Christian unity reveals that Christ’s love transcends all the things that naturally separate us.” 

Name: Alana Mann

Position: Director of Marketing and Development 

Home Church: North Shore Community Baptist

“I am excited about creating a safe place for Christians to engage their community, which is what I believe is a large part of our goal with this Celebration of Worship. “Engage” to me can mean many things, but in this context it means to not remain stagnant in your walk with Christ. It is so easy to just coast through life, and choosing to engage can be one of the most difficult things for a person because it isn’t always easy. Yet leading an engaged life can bring friendship, unity, and ultimately joy to one’s life through choosing to stay engaged in your walk with Christ.”

Name: Jenna Higgins

Position:  UniteBoston Prayer Team Co-Leader

Home church: Netcast Church, First Presbyterian Church Danvers

“I am excited about bringing the transforming and healing love of Jesus to everyone we meet. Imagine what we could do when we join together in unity, the world will see the power and glory of Jesus shining through us.”  

Name: Carolina de Jesus

Position:  UniteBoston Prayer Team Co-Leader

Home church: International Family Church

“I’m excited to see the diversity of the body of Christ fully exemplified through this worship experience. When Christians are united, amazing things happen! God is not a boring God- so it’s exciting to see the wealth of gifts, talents and expressions of His love through all who will be there on August 17th!”  

The Lord’s Day Alliance’s latest e-Sunday magazine has the theme of “Sabbath, Sunday and Worship in transition,” where they are featuring various stories and reflections throughout the country, including UniteBoston! Check out the article below, that was written by UniteBoston’s Team Leader Kelly Fassett. You can also click here to read the entire eSunday Magazine.

Save the Date! UniteBoston is planning on having another summer worship gathering on Saturday August 17th, from 7:00 to 9:00pm at the Parkman Bandstand in the Boston Common.

Making Peace Visible: UniteBoston’s Summer Worship Night

Over the past eight years, UniteBoston has been building bridges across historic divides in the Christian faith, and we are seeing greater momentum than ever before, especially in our united worship events. These gatherings started in 2017, when Chloe Gaydos was serving as a summer intern with our organization. As she began her internship, I asked her to describe her dreams for Boston, and she expressed a desire to have a summer worship night in the Boston Common. The Boston Common has been a noteworthy location for famous preachers, such as George Whitfield in 1740, who drew a crowd of more than 23,000, and Pope John Paul II in 1979. Knowing that the spiritual roots of proclaiming Jesus in the Boston Common go deep, when Chloe described to me her dream of having a variety of Christians worship together in that place, I responded, “Let’s do it!”

In the next few weeks, as she began to reach out to find people to help lead worship, a number of Christians expressed interest, from all different denominational and ethnic backgrounds. These young, talented individuals, came together to form our worship team. We named our first worship night “Peace for the City” in light of the recent events taking place in Charlottesville and in Boston that highlighted the extent of racial division. However, the story doesn’t end there: In public worship, together Christians proclaim the gospel of reconciliation: that Jesus’ incarnation, death, and resurrection has reconciled us to God and to one another, forming an inseverable and eternal peace (Eph. 2:14).

This past year, we decided to host another summer worship night, and interest continued to grow. We were excited to receive endorsements for the event by the Highrock Church Network and the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. After months of rehearsals, pizza dinners, phone calls and marketing emails, the evening finally came. It was attended by over 1,000 people, triple the size from the previous year. The worship team included gospel singers, a Catholic songwriter, a Messianic Jewish musician, a Pentecostal Indonesian jazz pianist, a Christian rapper, and a Latino worship leader. It was incredible to look across the crowd and see a wide variety of different races, cultures, languages, denominations and traditions, all united in their worship of and devotion to Jesus. There were also thirteen sponsored tables by local churches and organizations, a local artist painting a large canvas with our theme on it, and even a spontaneous dance party! You can watch a highlight video here.

The goal for the event was not simply to have a nice Christian concert in the Boston Common. Jesus’ prayer in John 17:23 points to the fact that our unity is to be a sign of God’s self-giving, reconciling love. Our biggest prayer was that others would see and experience the love and peace of Christ through the music and lyrics. We saw many people passing by who stopped by to listen to the music, who would perhaps not normally find themselves at church. Some people came up and asked for prayer or names of churches in the area, including one Muslim woman who expressed that she felt something different here.

While much of the world today might seem to be fraught with division, polarization, and hostility, in Boston, we believe there is another way. Unfortunately, Christians are often known for what we are against. Yet, public worship is an opportunity to witness to what we are for: for reaching across barriers, for love that welcomes and embraces all, and for a peace that is deeper and truer than words can convey. In public worship, as we all look to God together, bringing forth a unity that is a foretaste of heaven and shalomic peace. Dr. Vito Nicastro from the Office of Ecumenical Affairs in the Archdiocese of Boston described, “Our response to being created by God is to love Him and to share that with the city. As the lights came one in the buildings and the moon came up in the dark blue velvet sky, we planted God’s love in the heart of Boston.”

About the Author:

Kelly Fassett is the Executive Director of UniteBoston, a 501c3 non-profit organization that she co-founded in 2010. Kelly has a graduate certificate from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a Masters of Divinity in Global and Community Engagement at Boston University with certificates in International Mission and Ecumenism and Religion and Conflict Transformation. She is seeking to be ordained in the American Baptist tradition. Kelly and her husband Andrew live in an intentional Christian community home in the Longwood area, and you can find them frequently biking around the city, swimming in the ocean, and climbing mountains.

The Lord’s Day Alliance seeks to encourage all people to receive God’s great gift of Sabbath rest and to encourage all Christians to worship the risen Lord Jesus Christ, on the Lord’s Day–Sunday–that they may be renewed in spirit and empowered to live lives worthy of the Gospel.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:8

This week, Christians throughout the world are celebrating Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was released with fire and wind. It was the fulfillment of the prophet’s promise of a new covenant where God would write the law on hearts and resulted in the reuniting of nations. 

In light of this, we are featuring a blog written this week by Father Peter Gyves from A Faith That Does Justice. A Faith That Does Justice is an “interfaith organization based in Boston that raises consciousness about social issues affecting the most vulnerable among us and offers opportunities for people to walk in solidarity with those who our society marginalizes.” You can sign up to directly receive updates from them by completing the simple form at the bottom of the home page of their website.

“Peace be with you … Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22)

The Church celebrates Pentecost fifty days after Easter to commemorate the empowerment of Jesus’ disciples with the Spirit. It led to their spiritual transformation from a fragile faith in the risen Jesus to peace, joy and the wisdom to proclaim God’s message of forgiveness and salvation to the ends of the earth. Their witness resulted in the birth of the Church.

In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1-11), Luke describes the descent of the Spirit as a strong driving wind and tongues of fire, an adaptation of Israel’s own Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks, that commemorates both the wheat harvest and Yahweh’s giving of the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai. It also bears witness to Israel’s own birth as a covenant people. In John’s gospel (Jn 20:19-23), the disciples encounter the crucified and risen Jesus in fear and behind closed doors. He offers them his peace and shows them his wounds so they might believe he is truly risen. He then empowers them with the Spirit and sends them in mission to be to the world what he has been to them. While they needed time to assimilate what they had experienced and the demand it placed upon them, eventually they offered their lives in Jesus’ name.

Today, the Spirit of Pentecost’s gifts of wisdom and courage remain available to all people of good will so they might witness to God’s offer of forgiveness and salvation to our fractured world. For Christians, that same Spirit calls us to live as Jesus did, incarnating God’s love, compassion and justice on behalf of all God’s people. Let us pray that the Spirit will transform our own fragile faith into one that, like the disciples, engages society by actively witnessing to God’s enduring love for all of creation and deep desire for a reign of peace that is based in justice and extends from the depths of the oceans to the outer reaches of space.

A Pentecost Prayer for Christians in Greater Boston