UniteBoston

Nurturing Relational Connections Across Boston's Christian Community

United Together, Hand in Hand

Today, Megan Lietz, Administrator at Abundant Life Church and member of the The Greater Boston Minister’s Prayer Summit team, shares her reflections from 10 Days Boston’s Cambridge service. This article was written for and initially published in ALC’s monthly electronic newsletter.
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Photo credit: Lydia Maxwell
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
John 17:20-21 is often quoted as an ideal for us to strive for, but the week of Oct. 4th – 14th, as churches gathered together for worship, we got a glimpse of this in-breaking reality. 

For the 10 days between the Jewish holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, churches came together across the greater Boson area to fast, pray, and host collaberative worship services. Each evening was hosted by congregations of a certain ethnic group, tradition, or geographical location that was encouraged to lead the greater Body in worship in a way that reflected their own community. These same churches opened their doors for prayer during the day and gave people the opportunity to participate in local evangelistic outreach. What made the gatherings so beautiful is that they were not the fruit of any single church, but the result of diverse churches working together to worship God in a way that reflected their experience in the Body of Christ.

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Photo Credit: Lydia Maxwell

 Abundant Life was honored to participate in the 10 Days by hosting the Cambridge gathering on Friday Sept. 6th, 2013. We gladly welcomed ministers and laypeople of diverse cultures, ethnicities, and ages to lead worship and prayer.We used a concert of prayer format, small group intercession, scripture reading, musical worship, and personal reflection to lift up the Church, our city, and especially the youth of our community. 

Ministries that participated included A Place to Heal Ministries, Cambridgeport Baptist Church, First Holiness Church, Journey Church, Pentecostal Tabernacle, Rush Memorial Zion Church, Spirit of the Living Word Ministries, St. Paul AME, Union Baptist Church, The Greater Boston Vineyard, and Young Life. It was a beautiful expression of the diverse members of the Body of Christ in Cambridge. As we concluded the night, hand in hand as a sign of unity, there was expectation for what God would do. As we work together, may people know that Jesus was sent by God and encounter his transformative love in their lives.
Please explore the following links to learn more about 10 Days Boston or other 10 Days Gatherings across the country.  

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Photo credit: Kelly Steinhaus

How we can be praying for Boston

“Seek the peace & prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper…” (Jeremiah 29:7)

During 10 Days Boston, the “I Am Second” Boston Expedition, and the United Night of Worship, Christians throughout the city shared prayer requests and praises for Boston (see photo at right). Here’s what you said:

Praises for Communities

  • Allston – Laborers from metro-west join Bostonians
  • Allston – More people are willing to talk about Jesus
  • Cambridge – Praise for the foreign-born population who can take the gospel to their home countries
  • Chinatown – Praise God for a bold expression of Christianity – the crime rate and homeless population has gone down.
  • Dedham – There is a Catholic/ecumenical group that is developing
  • Dorchester – Praise God that a friend was miraculously healed of cancer!
  • Lexington – God is stirring hearts for prayer at Grace Chapel
  • Lower Mills – Has the densest presence of churches in Boston
  • Malden – Praise for a new Chinese church plant and a mayor who is friendly to churches
  • Orchard Gardens – 16 new Christ-followers!
  • Somerville – Local churches (such as Vida Real) are being obedient to discipleship and evangelism
  • Somerville – YWAM Missionary center is finalized

Praying for Communities

  • Brookline/Coolidge Corner – Pray that it would be crime-free – May the Lord change hearts on the streets!
  • Cambridge – Pray for the homeless community
  • Cambridge – Pray against the intellectualism and universalist mentalities
  • Charlestown – Pray for more jobs, kids, youth, safety
  • Chelsea – Needs a church for its AME population
  • Codman Square (Dorchester) – Pray for the safety of our youth, especially in the early morning hours
  • Dorchester – Pray that churches would look outside their walls to reach out to others
  • Harvard – For souls to be saved, that the love of Christ would permeate dorm rooms
  • Harvard – Pray for abundant provision for church plants in the area
  • Jamaica Plain – Pray for a hunger & thirst for holiness and righteousness
  • Lexington – Someone who grew up in Lexington had never heard of Grace Chapel; pray that churches would effectively reach out to their communities
  • Mattapan – Pray that the cycle of violence might end
  • Medford – Pray for the Vineyard church plant
  • MIT – Pray for boldness and transformation among the believers
  • Roxbury – For the body of Christ to get involved to end gang and drug violence
  • Waltham – Lord I lift the church in Waltham, especially the children. Let love abound. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
City-Wide Praises
  • Diversity of people groups in Boston and the way that ethnic congregations are flourishing
  • 67 professions of faith and 20 new “I am Second” Groups started with the recent E3 evangelism training
  • Divine appointments on trains and buses
  • 10,000 people who attended the United Night of Worship 2013 and the 75 people who responded to turn towards the Lord!
  • Thank God for His abundant resources for His work
  • We in New Hampshire are so glad that the Spirit moves in Boston so powerfully. He is good!

UNOW 2013 (Photo Courtesy Glenn Silva)

 
City-Wide Prayers
  • That a new generation of youth would rise up and declare Jesus as Lord!
  • Jesus, we humble ourselves as your Church and seek You first
  • Pray for the new mayor and that the people in authority would govern wisely
  • Pray for spiritual renewal and sound doctrine to be preached in every church
  • Pray for health and healing for all those who are sick
  • Pray that all who accepted Christ would be protected against attacks of Satan
  • Pray for the end of abortion
  • For supernatural awakening, and that Christ’s movement would overtake!
  • Pray for a Christian radio station from the Renew FM network in Downtown Boston
  • The workers are few but the harvest is plentiful; pray for more laborers for the harvest field!
  • That the Holy Spirit would unite Christian community in Greater Boston for God’s glory!
  • May all be blessed

Photo courtesy Sam Benesh

We encourage you to take time this week to lift up the city in prayer.

Though we all come from different denominations and backgrounds, we can be united in praying for our city.

A great place to post ongoing prayer requests & praises is the UniteBoston forums

Yes, we are “Boston Strong” – our strength comes from our unity and faith in Jesus Christ.

May His kingdom come and His will be done in Boston and to the ends of the earth!

In Him,

The UniteBoston Team

The Church That Makes My Heart Sing

The following blog is written by Kelly Steinhaus, team leader of UniteBoston and coordinator for 10 Days Boston, which was ten days of worship, prayer and fasting that happened in churches throughout the city from September 4-14. You can follow her blog at www.onekingdomwarrior.com

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There are certain moments that have a profound effect on you, and last night was one of those moments.

We were at a beautiful large Catholic Church in Needham. Stained glass, incense, white robes, the works. As we prayed in the sanctuary earlier in the day, the light streamed through the colored windows like a giant kaleidoscope. There’s something about Catholic architecture that makes my heart sing.

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It was the first time that the Catholic Church had partnered with 10 Days Boston. We were excited about the opportunity, but weren’t really sure what to expect. Although I always enjoy going to mass, I tend to get really lost with all the standing up and sitting down, and I say the wrong thing at the wrong time. I wasn’t prepared at all for the way God showed up in the service that night.

A small crowd of about forty gathered in the pews at the front of the sanctuary. A candle was lit, and the melodies of the organ filled the room. But something was different. What blew me away was the sense of the presence of God as we worshipped. I have never known hymns or choruses could be so alive – we were filled to overflowing with the intimate communion of the Holy Spirit. He was there.

Rev. Dr. Nicastro shared a beautiful homily on Christian unity, that unity is simply seeing Jesus in others. When we do this, we will start to understand that no parts of the body are dispensible.  Because Jesus is at the center, the closer we are to Him, the closer we are to one another.

Some intercessions were shared, and we responded in chorus together, “Look on us with favor Lord, and hear our prayer.” It is so true what Father David Michael said, that the way to Christian unity is not through theological discussions, but through prayer.

It’s easy to look around the church and doubt if Christian unity will ever actualize. In many ways we are so far from Jesus’ prayer that we would be one as He is one with the Father. But that night, as all of us said the Lord’s prayer together, forty voices in one, I had a revelation that yes, we are all in this together. God is doing a great work in our city, and age-old walls of hostility are demolishing because of our shared love in Jesus Christ. We really are united in His love for us and our love for one another.

May He continue to bind our hearts together so that the world will see Jesus…


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