“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (John 13:14-15)

“Jesus’ foot washing challenges me to consider my work and leadership differently. Servant leadership is fine, but servanthood doesn’t necessarily imply love. Leadership that manifests and concretizes love is harder.” – from Alaina Kleinbeck’s article, “Foot washing is about love, not just servanthood.”

The newly renovated Catholic Cathedral opened on Holy Week. During the Mass on Holy Thursday, Catholic Cardinal Sean O’Malley washes the feet of members of the congregation, following the example of Jesus Christ. More photos from Holy Week on Cardinal Sean’s Blog.

“What if we saw the places and people in our lives not as existing for our sake, but places and people to which God has called us for their sake?”

-Matt Owens

This week, we have Pastor Matt Owens as our guest blogger on UniteBoston. Matt has been involved in starting churches for the last nine years. He’s a native of Illinois, and has served in church plants in Ireland and Birmingham, AL, prior to coming to Boston. In the Boston area, he has interned with the Christ the King Presbyterian church plant in Jamaica Plain / Roxbury, served as Assistant Pastor at a church plant in Somerville, MA, and is now planting a new congregation in Quincy. In his blog, Pastor Matt shares some valuable insights about how all Christians can be intentional about seeing their neighborhood as their parish.

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Spirited Contextualization

“Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.” (Acts 17:16-17)

As Paul observes the idols in Athens, his spirit is provoked by the Holy Spirit for two reasons. First, because he loved the Lord, he long to see Jesus (not idols) worshipped and glorified. Second, out of a deep love for the people of the city, he wants them to worship only God who can give life.

Yet, this provocation doesn’t cause him to yell at the people of Athens (though he might take this approach elsewhere). Rather, he reasons…He knows the people of Athens are a reasoning people. So he reasons with them, and is then taken to the Areopagus to explain Jesus and the Resurrection (Acts 17:19).

He then preaches a beautifully compelling and contextualized sermon, beginning by noting the various idols of Athens and introducing the people to the unknown God, who has now made himself known in Jesus Christ. He uses a different starting point, different themes and different arguments than he would with a predominately Jewish audience, but proclaims the same gospel.

This passage is a good example of spirited contextualization. Tim Keller defines contextualization as, “giving the Bible’s answers…to questions about life that people in their particular time and place are asking, in language and forms they can comprehend, and through appeals and arguments with force they can feel, even if they reject them.”

The task of every Christian is to be a spirited contextualizer, contextualizing not as an intellectual exercise, but out of love for God and our city, provoked by the Spirit of God.

Theology of Place and Developing a Parish Mindset

A theology of place begins with the question, “What if we saw the places and people in our lives not as existing for our sake, but places and people to which God has called us for their sake?”

Our model in this mindset, of course, is Jesus, who “came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life” (Mark 10:44). We must also be certain that our sovereign God knows the name of the street you live on, and the park nearby, in all of the beauty and brokenness that it may represent to you. He knows the names of all your neighbors, whether you do or not. When we begin to see the people and places God has called us to as God sees them, then we realize that we don’t live on our particular street coincidentally or arbitrarily, but for such a time as this.

This is how I would define a parish: the people and places to which God has called you. I imagine a parish in concentric circles with one’s family (if applicable) at the center of the parish. (Pastoral ministry is perhaps the only job in which one’s responsibilities include caring well for their family. After all, your spouse and children are presumably members of your church.) The next circle out is one’s congregation, then one’s neighborhood, city, and finally the surrounding geographical region. Every Christian must love his/her parish, take pride in it, and hate (that is, be provoked by) the idols that harm it.

An example of a parish mindset is David Ortiz’s famous (short) speech at Fenway Park after the Boston Marathon Bombing. As a relative outsider to Boston, he revealed a deep sense of belonging and ownership when he passionately proclaimed, “This is our f@#*’in city!”

More recently, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, in the wake of the mosque attack in Christchurch, “Many of those who will have been directly affected by this shooting may be migrants to New Zealand; they may even be refugees here. They have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us.”

Four characteristics of neighborhood-focused church planting:

1. Presumes a post-Christendom culture

Churches who operate with a “Christendom” mindset are assuming that unchurched people are going to come walking through their front doors. A post-Christendom approach assumes that people will not come unless they’re engaged in some way (through relationships, service, etc.). Neighborhood-focused plants are incarnational. I recall one young man who had become a Christian at one of the CTK church plants reflect, “Can you believe God cared for me so much that he planted a church in my neighborhood?”

2. Equips Christians to be missional, not consumeristic

Neighborhood church planting steers existing Christians away from choosing a church based on whose product they like best, and directs them to live on mission in their parish.

3. Encourages multi-culturalism

If a church planter’s neighborhood is multi-cultural, that diversity should be reflected in the church. When an outsider looks in, he/she should see a group of people that don’t belong together on the surface, and may have nothing in common but a shared identity in Christ. When this is the case, the makeup of the congregation is a compelling apologetic of the gospel.

4. Requires Kingdom unity

If someone cares about their neighborhood, he/she should be happy to see other churches joining Jesus on his mission. We need many different kinds of churches to reach many different kinds of people. We are working together with a Brazilian congregation in Quincy, as we believe that we can reach a greater scope of the city together than either of us can on our own. We are collaborating with them in teaching in ESL at the Brazilian church each Wednesday evening. The Lord’s Kingdom will come through a movement of the Holy Spirit in and through a unified body of Christ.

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Matt and his wife Naomi have an almost-2 year old son, Liam. The Owens family moved to Quincy in June to plant a new congregation. You can track their progress or sign up to receive updates here: http://thequincyproject.com

Last, here is another great resource: check out David Leong’s article: “What is the Theological Meaning of the City?”

“Holy Week is a time to be with Jesus in his time of trial and betrayal. May we recognize that Jesus’ crucifixion was not a one-time event in history, but that he continues to be crucified each and every day alongside the poor, oppressed and marginalized of this world who die before their time as a consequence of human sinfulness. Let us accompany Jesus as he walks with the crucified people of history, offering his love, compassion and desire for justice to a world still so in need of redemption. For beyond Calvary lies Easter Sunday.” – From an e-newsletter this week from Reunion Church Boston

People frequently mention that their church’s service during Holy Week is one of their favorite in the year. We’ve put together a list of some of these services, with an intentional focus on the breadth of Christian backgrounds and traditions. This week, we encourage you to go somewhere new to remember the significance of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and be enriched by different forms of Christian worship in our city!

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25)

*Note that this is only a few of the many amazing worship services taking place in the Greater Boston area this week – send yours to Kelly Fassett, kelly@uniteboston.com for consideration of your service to be added to this list!

Holy Week Resources

The Calvin Institute for Christian Worship has put together a great resource guide for planning your Holy Week Services, including planning resources, song resources, visual art resources, and devotions. Click on the link above to check it out!

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Maundy Thursday Service

Thursday 4/18, 6:00pm and 8:00pm at Old South Church, Boston

This service combines modern jazz music with ancient liturgy of Tenebrae, where the stories of Jesus’s passion are read, and after each reading a candle is extinguished. The service ends in darkness, and the congregation listens to the repetition of 39 dissonant chimes of low handbells, symbolizing the suffering of Jesus on the night of his arrest.

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Holy Thursday – Potluck & Foot Washing Service

Thursday 4/18, 6:00 to 7:30pm at Reservoir Church, Cambridge

Join us for a family potluck meal and service. Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday, gets its name from the Latin translation of John 13:34: “I give you a new commandment” (or, in Latin, “Mandatum novum“). It was as Jesus washed the feet of his friends and followers that he said these words. We’ll share a meal together. Then, Dan Archibald will tell the story of how Jesus washed his disciples’ feet before they shared their last meal together. Next, we’ll take part in a simple Communion: commemorating this last meal by sharing bread and wine at our tables. Following this, the children will lead the way in washing the feet of those in attendance. We’ll finish with a final prayer before ending our time together.

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Black Ministerial Alliance Good Friday Service

Friday 4/19 at 12:00pm at St John Missionary Baptist Church, Roxbury

You are invited to this year’s Good Friday Service to meditate on the Seven Last Words of Christ. There will be seven preachers from many different Christian traditions!

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Good Friday Service

7:00pm at 85 Bishop Allen Drive, Cambridge

Join Hilltop Church, Pentecostal Tabernacle and Aletheia Church for a combined Good Friday service at the Christian Life Center (85 Bishop Allen Drive), Cambridge, which is owned by St. Paul AME Church.

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Come and celebrate the Passover Seder from a Christian/Messianic perspective on Saturday April 20. Passover is the first of the Feasts of the Lord, as instructed in Leviticus 23 in the Bible. It is followed by the Feast of Unleavened bread and First fruits also in Leviticus 23 in the Bible. Yeshua (Yehoshua or Jesus) kept the Passover and a detailed account is provided in the Gospels (that many Christians know of as the Last Supper, before His crucifixion). During the Last Supper, Jesus said, “This do in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:19b). If you would like to know more, please join us to discover the richness of the scriptures and a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and what He did.

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The Great Vigil of Easter

Saturday 4/20 at 6:30pm at the Church of the Advent, 30 Brimmer Street, Boston

The most dramatic and moving service in the entire church year, a service of waiting — waiting in darkness for light to dawn, waiting in the tomb of death for life to be born — then receiving that life in baptism and the Holy Eucharist. Article about the Great Vigil from The Living Church, February 2010: Waiting for the Light

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The Church of the Cross Easter Vigil marks our passage from the darkness of the tomb to the brilliant light of Jesus’ resurrection. Filled with original art created for this night (poetry, music, visual art, dance, etc.) and congregational song, this is a celebration of grand proportions. The Anglican service features readings from scripture that highlight God’s great work throughout salvation history, beginning in the work of Creation and reaching its height in the resurrection of Christ. Come join us as we reflect, pray, and raise a joyful song to God!

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Good Friday Orthodox Service of Lamentations

Friday April 26 at 7:15pm at St Mary’s Parish in Cambridge

The beautiful hymns of this service express these feeling of grief and loss through a dialog of prayer between the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Ultimately, they show that the tomb of Christ is not a place of death and decay, but a source of life and hope. The sorrow of the crucifixion gradually transforms into joy as the faithful process around the Church with the eptitaphios (a symbolic tomb) and pass under it on the way back inside, symbolizing Jesus’ passover from death to life as He breaks the gates of Hades and frees the souls of the righteous trapped there. Join the St. Mary’s Orthodox community to celebrate this moving, joyful service which invites us to enter into the profound mystery of humanity’s redemption.

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Happening All Week

Sacred Spaces

Daily in Lexington and Wilmington

The conversations we need to have with Jesus.

Initiating a conversation is a commitment to someone—and a good conversation can change things. Whether it’s your first, or your thousandth, or your first-in-a-while conversation, our 2019 Sacred Spaces is designed to help you talk with Jesus. During Holy Week, rooms at our Lexington and Wilmington campuses will be transformed into spaces for guided meditation, prayer, and reflection. These spaces are designed to be experienced alone (rather than as a group activity) and as your own time allows. Everyone is welcome. You are invited.

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Reflective Art for This Week 

Artist for the Artwork Below: Adrian Johnston, Park Street Church

This month, Park Street Church is highlighting some of their members who are living out their faith in their day-to-day lives. Below, we introduce Mary Speta, member of Park Street Church and Development Director at Amirah. (Reprinted with permission)

If you’ve ever met Mary Speta, you might know that she is a self-proclaimed foodie, who loves to sing jazz, tell stories, and who hails from western New York, where they boast a higher cow population than people. She has been around Park Street Church for the last five years and is involved in the Café young adults ministry. 

What you might not know about Mary, is that she is passionate about elevating women and women’s issues both locally and globally. Because of her own story of healing, Mary has a heart for helping other women find freedom and healing from trauma. This led her to a position as the Development Director of Amirah, a multifaceted aftercare organization for survivors of domestic sex trafficking.

Amirah, from the Persian word for “princess,” has a mission to provide refuge to those seeking to break free from exploitation, offering healing in a community setting. Amirah strives to help each survivor recognize her inherent value as a person in the aftermath of being trafficked. Most women being trafficked in New England were actually born and raised here. Traffickers target and take advantage of vulnerable girls and women, often through the lens of “love.” They tell their victims they love them, act like a boyfriend, but then tell them to do this work for a while.

This happened to Jessie. She was in a vulnerable position and along came a guy who paid attention to her, showering her in affection, until one day he asked her to sell her body. This went on for years, and by the time Jessie came to Amirah, she was so mixed up about what love really was. She distrusted everyone — there was no way, in her mind, that she was going to be able to get her life back. But that’s exactly what happened as she moved into Amirah’s residence program. As the months went on, she began to see, through the staff and volunteers, that real love was not exploitive and she connected all this love back to God. One day, she said to her mentor, “I don’t want to be bought and sold anymore.” Her mentor replied, “Jessie, Jesus bought you once, and he will never sell you.” And that day, Jessie believed.

Watch this video below to hear more about Jessie’s journey, the existence of sex trafficking right here in our backyard in Boston, and how Amirah provides refuge for those seeking to break free from exploitation and heal in community on their journey toward lasting hope.

If you are interested in how you might make an impact in the lives of trafficked women in the Boston area, check out Amirah’s website. They need volunteers, as well as financial and prayer partners, in order to sustain this vital ministry.

OTHER GREAT ORGANIZATIONS FIGHTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING
There are other great Christian ministries that are fighting human trafficking here in the Greater Boston area, including:

Route One Ministry, which ministers to women exploited by the sex industry. Through building relationships with the women, they hope to be the light of Christ and provide for physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

Bags of Hope Ministries, which provides bags of hope as a practical way to minister to women in the trafficking industry. Anita, a recovery coach and mentor for Bags of Hope recently saw a woman come to faith and baptized because of their ministry. You can read this story here.

“If you think about the issue you are most passionate about, have you ever had the chance to sit down with someone to hear the opposite perspective? The challenge we have is to put real people – stories and experiences, on the other side of the issues we care about. Having a posture of hospitality means approaching these conversations with a humble curiosity to find the deeper values beneath someone else’s position.”

Kelly Fassett, Q Commons

Through hosting neighborhood dinners and inter-church prayer and worship events, hospitality is a large component of UniteBoston’s ministry. Kelly Fassett, UniteBoston’s Executive Director, was one of the key speakers at Q Commons Boston’s “The Power of We” gathering last fall. Using Jesus as a model, who didn’t treat others as an enemy, but built a bridge and reconciled himself to people who were vehemently against him, watch the 9-minute video below to hear Kelly’s advice for building bridges and promoting hospitality in our divided, polarized world.

We also want to highlight the great work of A Faith That Does Justice, who hosted a community forum on “Kindness and Civility: A Call to Common Purpose” last week.

The panelists in the room offered these strategies for civility:

• Practice self-reflection
• Look people in the eye
• Find common ground in shared projects that allow you to develop relationships beyond your disagreements
• Recognize our shared humanity
• Research your opinions and consider the perspectives of people who are different from you
• Embrace collaboration
• Accept that a person is more than just their objectionable idea
• Surround yourself with people who hold you to a common standard

Finally, the Christian Community Development Association published a valuable Lenten blog this week on Hospitality.

May God teach us how to build relationships among diverse siblings in Christ, so that our love for each other will be a witness to the reconciling power of the gospel!