Blog – Page 80 – UniteBoston

Aug 01 2014

Crossroads of Peace in Boston’s Back Bay

For the past five months, the UniteBoston Reps have been engaging in various activities to listen and learn from their communities. These past four weeks, each rep will be writing a brief blog to share their findings with the Greater Boston Christian community. This week, Andrew Walker, UB Rep in the Back Bay, shares his insights.

We dream of having every community in Boston connected with a UB Rep! UB Rep Cohorts begin in October and finish in May. If you’re interested in being a UB Rep in your community, email Kelly Steinhaus, kelly@uniteboston.com

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When I think of Back Bay, two symbols come to mind that help me capture the character of this neighborhood: a pen and a wagon wheel. The pen represents learning and the pursuits that require a high level of literacy. Most of the activities that are evident in the Back Bay, from commerce to the various trades and occupations require learning and literacy as basic preconditions.

The wagon wheel brings to mind travel; and the Back Bay is certainly a hub of travel with Back Bay Station serving as a major gateway bringing people into the city and sending them to destinations within the region and beyond. Numerous hotels and restaurants provide hospitality for these travelers as well as those calling this home. And a healthy selection of shops along Boylston and Newbury Street attract shoppers from near and far.

For the most part, the resident population in Back Bay are those who can afford the high real estate prices, which consists of people with professional or highly technical training who hold jobs in the near vicinity. Among them are many families, as well as many with no close family ties.

The churches in the Back Bay are mostly examples of “traditional mainstream” denominations. Their congregations draw from the immediate neighborhoods, but also among them are some who come from surrounding schools as well some who commute to church, just as they commute to work sites in the Back Bay. But there are also a few more recent church planting efforts. The CityLife Presbyterian Church and Renewal Church are two examples of growing fellowships whose leaders speak with great excitement about praying and working for renewal in the city guided by the Spirit of Christ. They seem to be reaching mostly students and young working folks.

So one might gain an impression of the Back Bay being a crossroads offering comfortable domesticity as well as lively commercial and entertainment activity. But there is also in the Back Bay a confrontation with a less comfortable contrast: In 2013 the celebration of cosmopolitan expansiveness that is so much a part of the Boston Marathon and so appropriate to the character of the Back Bay was shattered by the explosion of two bombs. We witnessed and marveled at heroic interventions by so many first responders. In the following weeks admirable efforts were launched in aid of the casualties and their families. All of Boston’s citizens rightly drew encouragement from these acts and efforts. And then, four months later a young man was shot to death on Boylston Str., just across from Trinity Church. This event was not completely over looked by local media, but it got nowhere near the attention of the Marathon Bombing. That young man’s mother has asked us to consider, was the loss of her son any less tragic? Similarly, leaders in other Boston neighborhoods have asked us to consider, of the more than 300 shootings in other parts of the city, over the past ten years, are they any less tragic that they are deserving of so much less attention?

As I consider the question that we are all addressing, what’s God doing among us, this contrast weighs heavily on my heart. But I am not without encouragement.

At First Lutheran Church in Boston, my home congregation on Berkeley Street, I was invited this spring to present 3 sessions of instruction in Biblical Peacemaking during Sunday Morning Adult Bible study. I was pleasantly surprised at how well received it was. Three sessions grew into five sessions and there were more participants at the last session than at the first. I was especially delighted to observe that the sessions included allot of discussion and many thoughtful and penetrative questions were raised and debated. Perhaps most encouraging was the readiness of participants to consider the consequences of avoidance of difficult questions; how the patterns of avoidance hinder discussion when important issues like budget need to be addressed.

Participants in the congregation at First Lutheran are in many ways similar to the folks in the immediate neighborhood. Some are families, some are single, many are students. And we are blessed by much cultural diversity. Career interests are similar. Economic goals are similar. So I don’t consider it too much of a stretch of imagination to suppose that the thoughtful interest in Biblical Peacemaking I was surprised by at First Lutheran might imply that a similar interest exists in the larger community.

God is working among us and we’ll see the benefits when we listen to Him and to one another.

Jul 23 2014

Transformation at UMass Boston

For the past five months, the UniteBoston Reps have been engaging in various activities to listen and learn from their communities. These next four weeks, each rep will be writing a brief blog to share their findings with the Greater Boston Christian community. This week, Amanda Green, UB Rep at UMass Boston shares her insights.

Most of us spend the majority of our lives with other people, those we work, study and play with. Being a research assistant at the University of Massachusetts Boston, my life is very normal in that way. I spend my time with others, yet as a Christian I seek work and school transformation by the most healing truth that comes from Jesus Christ. If you are a Christian, than you will likely agree you would like all spheres of your life to reflect God’s grace and peace.

Being a Unite Boston representative at UMass Boston has inspired me to look at all what God is doing around me. He has been there long before I came and will be there long after, which is a historical perspective that is wise to assume when considering on how to approach work or school transformation. Recognizing God’s work that is already present in other’s lives will help us to take a more effective approach of partnering with what He is already doing. At UMass, there are multiple Christian groups, of various sizes, that already have a mission to reach students with God’s love. Also, individuals who are not in these groups each have a story and their lives have likely been touched by a Christian in the past. As Nehemiah surveyed the land before the action of rebuilding, so must we.

The groups on campus have the same mission to reach students do not communicate or pray very much, as they would admit themselves. Having a united love for students through prayer seems to be a next step for the transformation of this institution. Providing a moment for prayer by students and leaders for the campus will invite more spiritual transformation to this broken campus. Prayer before any work on campus should be a priority, as prayer and mourning should happen in light of brokenness (Nehemiah 1:4). Also, unity will help people at UMass to believe the gospel we proclaim (John 17:23).

Over my time at UMass, I am thankful to say I have met students who did not know Christ when we first met and became believers after many conversations and prayer with many Christians. Often this has taken years. Transformation in individuals and institutions is a progression and is often not done quickly or alone. UMass Boston is a diverse campus, and all of these students have had significantly different backgrounds, and yet God has met them all in a simple way; through the care of individuals who believe in God.

So, the big question is, where is God already working in your workplace? Let us continue to pray for transformation!

Jul 10 2014

Keeping the Peace in Cambridge

By Kelly Steinhaus, UniteBoston Team Leader

Above, about fifty people gathered for a prayer vigil in honor of Kensley Davidson on Wednesday evening, who lost his life in a shooting on the corner of Windsor and Harvard Streets in Cambridge last Thursday night after the fireworks.

Amidst fears of retaliation, Bishop Greene called together pastors and leaders in Cambridge for this prayer vigil, sending a message to those who are considering revenge that “there is another way, a different path, and a better choice; one that will nurture healing and hope, instead of sowing more seeds of tension, strife, and destruction.” Pastor Ford also delivered a powerful message on the importance of coming together, keeping the peace, and stopping the violence in order to heal the land. It was a moving time of uniting together around the only One that can truly bring the peace that this city needs.

“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.“ Colossians 3:15

Jul 02 2014

Unity in Diversity: Shalom in the Fenway

For the past five months, the UniteBoston Reps have been engaging in various activities to listen and learn from their communities. These next four weeks, each rep will be writing a brief blog to share their findings with the Greater Boston Christian community. This week, Betsy Slate, Director of Community Engagement at Fenway Church is sharing her insights from the Fenway Community.

We dream of having every community in Boston connected with a UB Rep! UB Rep Cohorts begin in October and extend to May. If you’re interested in being a UB Rep in your community, email Kelly Steinhaus, kelly@uniteboston.com

(Photo Credit: www.colleges-fenway.org)

Strolling through the Fenway neighborhood, you’re likely to meet people from all walks of life. You may meet Fatma, who has come from Saudi Arabia to the area for its proximity to the Longwood Medical Center; her daughter is ill with a disease that she’s come to Children’s Hospital with hope for a cure. Continuing down Boylston Street, you meet someone like Mark, a student from California who has come to study music at Berklee, just trying to figure out the ins and outs of adulthood. As you pass the Fenway Victory Gardens, you meet Janine and Bobby, long-term residents who find a sense of community in the very ground of the Fenway. Rounding the bend, you bump into Clara, a resident of the Fenway for over three decades, working to see the community become just that – a community, a people that care about one another and the state of the neighborhood.

The beauty of the Fenway lies therein; a diverse group of people brought together geographically – often for a limited period of time. This neighborhood is denoted by transition, which puts the area at risk for great instability. With the number of families dropping each year, the increase of young, transient residents and ever-rising housing prices, one could look at the Fenway and think it’s headed for disaster. But, if you search for God’s heartbeat in the humdrum of this bustling neighborhood, you’ll hear a different rhythm, one that softly drums hope.

Despite the odds being stacked against the neighborhood, God is bringing together individuals from these different social groups to generate unity for social impact. This is not a community that backs down from a challenge; organizations like the Fenway Community Development Corporation (FCDC) are bringing together students, long term residents, and families to build an “urban village” – a place with ample and affordable housing, healthy local business, shared indoor and outdoor community spaces, and good access to transportation. Further, residents and developers – typically at odds – are partnering to see a Community Center come to fruition. While these may look “practical” and not “spiritual,” they are the instruments God can use to bring about a community knitted together in shalom – community-wide, holistic peace characterized by relationships as He intended.

Though we’re seeing the first signs of partnership between residents and students, there is still much to be done. On the whole, the church in the Fenway can partner to bring peace and reconciliation alongside local community workers. Division seems to always be at work in the Fenway. Even the geography reflects the struggle between unity and division: the Fens – the park system iconic of the neighborhood – is both a space to unite the neighborhood and which separates the Fenway in an east-west divide. Churches in the Fenway must unite across geography and turf, and share a common vision to see this neighborhood transformed. Followers of Jesus throughout the Fenway can then enter community organizations as learners with a sense of peace and unity that will come to the whole neighborhood.

Futher, the church can function as peacemakers between disparate groups in the Fenway. Long term residents sometimes feel at odds with students, the transience of whom lead to increased housing costs and poor living conditions within the neighborhood; whereas students are largely unaware of their place in the community. The church can act as ministers of reconciliation in the Fenway by facilitating the connection between the residential community and the student community. A neighborhood is not one group or another; rather, it includes everyone who lives in that area. Students have a place in and responsibility to the community, and residents have a role in welcoming students to the neighborhood. The church can model the former to students, and introduce students and residents to one another.

Disparate groups are not meant to coexist, in the Fenway or otherwise, but to engage with one another. As God directed the Israelites in Jeremiah 29, so are we to seek the welfare of the city, of the neighborhood, in which we find ourselves. God is already at work in this neighborhood; let us partner with Him as peacemakers to see unity in the Fenway. The church can and must weave itself into the fabric of the community, and help others do the same, with the hope of bringing unity and shalom to the Fenway neighborhood – one step toward seeing unity across Boston.

On the right, Betsy Slate is Director of Community Engagement at Fenway Church

Jun 25 2014

Boston’s South End and UniteBoston

By Ralph Kee, UniteBoston Rep: South End

I’ve been encouraged to see how God is working throughout the South End. Recently, pastors or designated representatives of churches that meet in or within a couple of blocks of the South End have been holding 2-hour meetings together every six weeks for the last year, for the purpose of South End focussed Great Commission collaboration. Fifteen churches have attended at least one meeting, with an average of six or so churches and twelve or so people at each meeting. The South End itself is about one square mile with some 35,000 residents, and there are 35 churches of all kinds are listed in the South End, so as you can see, the need is great.

At each of the meetings, individuals representative of various Boston endeavors have presented their work, their needs, as well as their offers to help South End churches, collectively or individually. At recent meetings, there has been discussions on helping South End public schools, helping reduce South End street violence, helping families affected by violence, connecting with Tenants Development Corporation, and helping refugees adjust to Boston. In addition to this, a collaborative outdoor Easter Sunrise Service was held in a South End park, with components of the service led by five of the churches and about forty people in attendance.

There are many realities facing the South End of Boston at this time, such as the ongoing loss of church buildings to high-end condos, the increasing number of millionaires, and the reality that whole new mini-neighborhoods are being constructed in or near the South End. Christians need to address these current realities, and collectively come up with an answer to the question: how do the churches put their expertise to work collaboratively for further South End Kingdom-building? And can we collaboratively be out in the coffee shops and in the parks this summer doing some friendship building and evangelism? These are things for the South End churches themselves to decide. And then, as led, do.

The group is now at a critical point. After a year of meetings, concrete results need to be seen if interest is to continue. Unless this kind of endeavor produces two things at the same time: added strength and growth to individual participating churches and at the same time added additional strength and growth and evangelistic success to the whole Body of Christ in the South End, interest and participation in this endeavor will lapse. We hope this effort to collaborate will be successful.

We praise God for UniteBoston, for its commitment to neighborhood focussed collaborative vision-building and practice. My UniteBoston prayer walk around the INK Block construction was a memorable prayer walk. Getting the UniteBoston Reps that focus on various Boston neighborhoods regularly around the same table is critical. Constantly learning from each other and encouraging each other is basic to success That’s what they did in the Book of Acts and what we need to do in Boston, and UniteBoston is helping enable this to happen.

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