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[uniteboston]

Church/Group: Reservoir Church in Cambridge
Project Location: 15 Notre Dame Ave, Cambridge MA 02140
Time: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Volunteers Needed: 50

Description:

We will collect supplies from their wish list and create 150+ duffle bags with personal hygiene items for the Refugee and unaccompanied minors in the Ascentria foster care system in MA. These children often have to carry their belongings in trash bags which can feel so dehumanizing. We want to give them dignity by having their own duffle bag, including special items like a soft blanket and stuffed animal. The children we are creating the care bags for are not in the regular foster system but in a special category of “Refugee and Unaccompanied Minors”.

[uniteboston]

This week, we feature a guest blogger, Fr. Tom Ryan, CSP, who directs the Paulist North American Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in Boston.

Father Tom recently held a day of reflection entitled “What Will Bring Me More Fully to Life This Lent?” His words are important for us in this period where we are reflecting and considering our relationship with Christ.

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[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="680"] CC-BY-2.0/ Susanne Nilsson Via Flickr[/caption]

If you were to take that approach to Lent this year, you might ask: “What would bring me more alive?”

Keep your eye on the sun in this season. It will give you the primary cue as to what this period we call Lent is all about. In our northern hemisphere, Lent coincides with the turning of the earth towards the sun, the springing forth of life from the apparent death of winter’s frigid grasp.

The very word “Lent” comes from the Anglo-saxon “lencthen,” originally referring to the lengthening of the light. From this original meaning, confirmed in the movement from winter’s darkness to spring’s increasing vitality, we are invited to move out of our own personal lethargy to vitality, from ashes to the paschal feast. Lent, in short, is about coming to life in new ways. It is about growth.

Its spirit is better captured by the pouring of water at Easter baptisms than by the burning of palms on Ash Wednesday. The history of Christian worship reminds us that Lent exists as a time to prepare candidates for baptism and to invite all the baptized to renew their baptismal consecration at Easter. Once again, the emphasis is on new life.

If you were to take that approach to Lent this year, you might ask: “What would bring me more alive?” The practices of physical and spiritual disciplines you choose would be in light of Jesus’ words, “I came that you might have life and have it to the full!” (John 10:10). Yes, you might settle on a practice or two that has some “bite” in it, but it would be undertaken in the spirit of pruning a rose bush, of cutting back the branches that have grown too wild, in order to cultivate more blossoms that give glory to God.

If you approached your life in terms of a holistic spirituality, looking at your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being to see where things have fallen out of balance, have grown wild, and need some pruning or fertilizer or watering, you might ask yourself some questions like these:

How is the balance between my active and contemplative life? Do I spend much more time “conjugating” the verbs doing, wanting, having than the verb being? What forms of prayer might help me restore some contemplative space to my living to allow my soul to breathe?

What is the balance between mind and body in my day? If the scale tips heavily towards major engagement of the mind but minor involvement for the body, what kind of physical exercise might I enjoy that would have the benefit of renewing my energy, enabling me to sleep better, and bring a more relaxed presence to those with whom I live and work?

Is there rough equilibrium between time invested in taking care of myself and time dedicated to taking care of others? If I cannot identify a clear service dimension somewhere in the deployment of my time and energy, what opportunities are there in my locale to assist the homeless, the hungry, the sick or the aged?

Is my relational life blossoming, or dying on the vine? Maybe laying in an evening a week to spend with spouse or friends would be like watering dry soil and bring alive your affectivity with laughter and tears.

What’s the balance between passive watching (as in television) and active reading (as in a good book that nourishes the soul)? Could Lenten fasting take the form of fewer sitcoms watched but more chapters read?

And what’s the ratio between the time my functional activities get and the time made available to nurture my creative energies? Maybe a good Lenten resolution would be to get out at least once a week to an art gallery or a museum, or to an inspiring play or movie.

Whatever you settle on in this season of a springtime for the spirit, keep your eye on the sun and imitate the earth in turning more fully towards the light. Do what will bring you and others more fully to life. There could be no better preparation for the Easter feast of water and light, no better offering to make at the altar, than a heart and spirit renewed and grateful to God for the gift of life both human and divine.

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Note: This article was originally published in the Boston Pilot; republished with permission.

[uniteboston]

Church/Group: Old South Church
Project Location: 645 Boylston St
Time: 10:00 am to 02:00 pm
Volunteers Needed: 5

Description:

Our Rolling Soup Kitchen will be a day event aimed at breaking down barriers between housed and unhoused neighbors in the Back Bay. Start by cooking a “take away” meal at Old South Church (645 Boylston St). We’ll then go out into the Copley area around lunch time and talk with unhoused folks and others on the streets who seem like they might enjoy a meal. We’ll meet people, talk with them, and share a meal.

[uniteboston]

This week, we’re privileged to have a guest blogger, Ken Arnold. Ken is studying at Harvard and the founding director of a new ministry that brings together tech and missions-minded leaders in Boston. It’s exciting to see how influential technology can be in impacting the nations!

[caption id="attachment_8461" align="aligncenter" width="621"] “I LOVE this merging of skills and purpose. I would do this daily… with more sleep.”
— Hackathon participant[/caption]

On November 4-6, 2016, 1,426 technologists, developers, designers and mission workers in 28 cities and 16 nations around the world came together to build technology to support Christian missions, as part of an event called Indigitous #Hack. At our city’s event, 40 people gathered at the MIT Media Lab and formed six project teams to work on challenges posed by missions agencies. Projects included investigating the causes and consequences of youth sexting, configuring a portable router to distribute the Bible and other literature in remote areas, prototyping an app to connect people for spiritual mentoring, facilitating connections between Christians in Metro Boston, assisting people in searching for job opportunities abroad, and developing an information management system for a network of orphanages in Southeast Asia.

We worked late into the night. We worshipped and prayed together. We connected with cities around the world. Some of the things we built may already be in use in the mission field, while others explored an idea that may come to fruition years down the road. But the biggest impact was on our community. Nearly every Boston participant said the best part of the event was connecting with other believers and working with them towards God’s mission:

• [The best part was] “Meeting friends, coding globally, dreaming about what missions will look like in the next ten years”
• [It was] “fun to see other Christians come out of the woodwork, especially in a faith-hostile place like Boston where we are all hidden.”
• “I’d never heard of any event like this that brought together technology and digitally minded Christians.”

What’s next?

• Let’s do it again this year! This event was possible because of the passionate work of a diverse planning team. Want to be part of it? Let me know: kenneth.arnold@gmail.com.

• Let’s connect ministry and tech. We’re building a broader community, starting off with a kickoff event one evening in April or May. Details coming soon, sign up for updates or just email me.

• Share your challenges. What inspires you? What would you like to work on?

For those in other fields of work, what would it look like to gather people together to think about using their work and skills for the Gospel?

Come and join us as we dream with God about changing the world through innovative technology!

[uniteboston]

Today, we feature a guest blogger, Megan Lietz, who is an Applied Research & Consulting Associate with the Emmanuel Gospel Center. She challenges the Evangelical community about the critical opportunity today to engage in conversations and action around racial equity.

Check out her blog article here: https://www.egc.org/blog/2017/2/22/a-word-to-white-evangelicals-now-is-the-time-to-engage-issues-of-race

[uniteboston]

Amidst life’s busyness, we often need to take a moment to stop & pray.

Check out this blog of Boston’s Hidden Sacred Spaces, with more than 50 chapels, meditation and prayer rooms which invite passers-by to pause, sit for a moment, and reflect.

 

 

For more information, check out the project profile on Brandeis Now

 

[uniteboston]

[caption id="attachment_38496" align="alignright" width="192"] Tom Ryan, CSP[/caption]

Some people have said that the Christian unity movement has been in an “ecumenical winter.” However, Father Tom Ryan, who directs the Paulist North American Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in Boston, contends that “the signs are there that the Holy Spirit is alive and active, lighting the fire in our hearts for more visible communion with one another as followers of Jesus.” Father Tom was one of the most consistent attendees during UniteBoston’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and in this article, he describes how encouraged he is about the movement he sees in Boston of Christians coming together to receive their calling as ambassadors for unity.

Originally posted here, republished with permission.

 

Keep the Fire Burning

by Thomas Ryan, CSP
February 6, 2017

The ecumenical movement spread through Christian churches like a wildfire in the late 1960s, through the 70s, and into the 80s, fanned significantly by the entrance of the Roman Catholic church after the Second Vatican Council into the work for Christian unity.

Around the turn of the millennium, there was a substantive reshaping of relationship among a significant number of churches. In 1997 the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the U.S. Episcopalian Church judged that their process of growth in agreement had reached sufficient maturity to enter into full communion with one another.

The Reformed Church in America, the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church USA, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America also entered into full communion with each other with mutual recognition of ministries, sacraments, exchangeability of ministers and members.

And in 1999 the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation signed a Common Declaration on Justification by Faith, burying the hatchet on one of the core issues of the Reformation and creating a new context on the road to full communion between the Reformation Churches and the Roman Catholic Church.

Fire Dying Down

Prayer Service for Christian Unity

But in the first decade of the new millennium, one began hearing references to the “fire dying down” or to the “winter of ecumenism”. A variety of factors contributed to this shift in temperature: Diminishing congregational numbers resulting in increasing denominational self-focus and self-definition for the sake of survival. The increasing religious pluralism of the country with its call to interreligious encounter and engagement. The emergence from the culture wars of new church-dividing questions like the nature of sexuality and marriage, and who can be ordained?

Workshop on Christian Unity

What is needed in our time are reminders that the Church’s mission for unity has not been and cannot be shelved. The thematic scriptural passage for the January Week of Prayer for Christian Unity provided that reminder: “God reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Cor 5: 18,).

In other words, the Church is the community of those who, because of Christ, are no longer separated. It is a contradiction in terms to speak of “separated Christians”, for reconciliation, unity, is the very nature of the Church of Christ. To be in communion of life with one another as Christians and bring that message of reconciliation to others is our baptismal vocation. In short, the Church we are called to be is the community of those who-–because of Christ—are no longer separated.

Energizing Reminders

Coptic Orthodox choir

Do we need energizing reminders in these turbulent times that this call to unity, this vocation, is more real and needed than ever? Yes, we do. And the signs are there that the Holy Spirit is alive and active, lighting the fire in our hearts for more visible communion with one another as followers of Jesus.

Such signs were manifest in Boston during the January 18-25 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. There was a prayer gathering in a different denominational church each night of the week. On the opening evening, Wednesday, Christians from around the city gathered in an Evangelical church. On Thursday evening, people came together in an Eastern Orthodox church. And on Friday evening there was an energizing service of song and prayer in a Pentecostal church.

Co-Presiders at prayer service

Then, on Saturday afternoon, over 800 people from a broad spectrum of denominations came to a Catholic church to meet and talk over lunch, share faith in workshop discussions,  join their hearts and voices in a prayer service, and after, to participate in a mission and volunteering fair in the church hall. The variety of music served as a symbol of the richness of gifts within the Christian family, led in turn by a Pentecostal worship team, an Orthodox Byzantine choir, a Coptic Orthodox choir, a Taizé chant group, along with regular Catholic/Protestant hymnody. The service was co-presided by eight church leaders, and in his homily Cardinal Sean O’Malley reminded those present that we are all members of the one body of Christ through our common baptism, and that “our divisions are an impediment to our announcing the gospel and prevent people from accepting the good news.”

Cardinal Sean O’Malley

On Sunday evening, students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology led an evening of sung prayer in the style of the ecumenical community of Taizé. On Monday evening, Asian Evangelicals hosted a prayer gathering. On Tuesday evening, Catholics and Lutherans co-hosted a service in the Paulist Center chapel commemorating the 500^th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. And Episcopalians brought the week to a close in their church with an Evensong service for all. Each evening, after the service, there was a reception with refreshments, and those present were encouraged to go and meet some fellow Christians they’d never met before and learn something about each other’s church communities.

Scott Brill, Bishop Arthur Kennedy, Vito Nicastro

We need to hear good news like this and draw inspiration from such events to keep the fire for Christian unity alive and well in our own towns and cities. All these events were stimulated and overseen by two new local ecumenical networks founded in 2012 by individuals in whose hearts the fire for unity burns: UniteBoston (Kelly Steinhaus), and the Ecumenical Institute (Vito Nicastro and Scott Brill).

“God reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation…. We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us” (2 Cor 5: 18,20).  When we accept our role as ambassadors for unity, the Holy Spirit will use us in ways unimagined to keep the fire burning.

What might you do?

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Fr. Thomas Ryan, CSP, directs the Paulist North American Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in Boston. 

[uniteboston]

This year, we sought to make the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity truly reflective of the denominational and ethnic diversity within Boston’s Christian community.

By God’s grace, this happened! The anchor event on Saturday, January 21st had 22 co-sponsoring churches and institutions, drew together over 800 people, and has been called the largest and broadest gathering for Christian unity in Boston ever.

The concluding line in the gospel reading for that day was “We have seen incredible things today.” Indeed, God did great things in our hearts as we lifted up Jesus together, both on Saturday and throughout the week of nightly prayer gatherings. But, don’t take my word for it! Check out the photos and testimonies below to celebrate what God has done!

Photos

 

 

[caption id="attachment_8203" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Wed Jan 21: Jamaica Plain Churches, including River of Life Church, Heart Change Fellowship, Bethel AME Church, the Community of St. Egidio, and Unidos en Cristo[/caption]

 

Wed Jan 21: Video of singing “Amazing Grace” together at River of Life Church

 

[caption id="attachment_8198" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Thurs Jan 19: Fr. Antony Hughes from St. Mary Orthodox Church and Fr. Mina Kaddis from the Coptic Orthodox Church of Boston[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_8202" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] Thurs Jan 19: Snacks and Fellowship together[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_8199" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] Fri Jan 20: Hispanic Pentecostal Worship, including Pabellon de la Fe Church and Congregation Lion of Judah[/caption]

Co-Presiders from diverse Christian traditions at the January 21st Prayer Service. From left to right: Pastor Barry Kang from Symphony Church, Rev. Dana Baker from Grace Chapel, Rev. David Wright from the Black Ministerial Alliance, Metropolitan Methodios from the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Boston, and Bishop Arthur Kennedy from the  Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.

 

[caption id="attachment_8204" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Sat Jan 21st: Large liturgical worship gathering with over 800 people in attendance! Pilot photo / Mark Labbe[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_13438" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] Another great shot of the large liturgical gathering on January 21st[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_8194" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] Sat. Jan 21st: Catholic Cardinal Sean OMalley and Orthodox Metropolitan Methodios exchange greetings. Pilot photo/ Mark Labbe[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_8188" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Sat Jan 21: Missions fair to further missional partnerships across churches. Pilot Photo / Mark Labbe[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_8196" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Sun Jan 22: Taize Prayer at the MIT Chapel[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_8191" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Mon Jan 21: Evangelical worship, including Symphony Church, City Church, and Abundant Grace Church[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_8197" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Monday Jan 21: Praying a blessing over one another at Symphony Church[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_8189" align="aligncenter" width="720"] Tuesday Jan 24: Beautiful depiction of the resurrected Christ as the centerpiece of our worship with joint Catholic / Lutheran service in conjunction with the commemoration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_8192" align="aligncenter" width="1480"] Tues Jan 24: Joint Catholic/Lutheran Gathering in conjunction with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. Our worship concluded with lighting candles and standing in a circle as a sign of the flame of Christ that we all carry within us.[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_8210" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Wed Jan 25: In the concluding gathering, Kelly Steinhaus, UniteBoston’s team leader, shares about the week of prayer at beautiful Trinity Church, with worship led by a youth choir.[/caption]

In the News:

Boston Pilot: “Hundreds join in prayer at Boston’s Christian Unity service”

Testimonies:

 

“I would like to express my gratitude to all who contributed a piece to the rich mosaic-experience we all enjoyed on January 21st. It is one of the stand-out Week of Prayer for Christian Unity events in my 35 years of ministry devoted to the cause. All who gathered around tables for both food and faith-sharing, who in church joined their hearts and voices in prayer, young and old, black, white and brown, robed in various styles—all, together, represented a microcosm of the human family and gave us a glimpse of God’s dream for us: reconciled to God and to one another. Jesus must have had a joyful smile on his face!”
-Fr. Tom Ryan, Paulist North American Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations 

 

“What a great privilege and delight to worship the One True God together in the unique forms of each branch of the Christian Church. It was incredible to experience our agreement in who God is and who we are. I’m especially thankful for the Cardinal, his leaders, and the leadership of the Orthodox church, for their humility and at the depth of their willingness to come together.”
-Ellen Bass, Black Ministerial Alliance

 

“Saturday’s event was honestly the most powerful event I have ever attended. It was incredible to have in one room members of the Catholic Church, the Protestant Church, and the Orthodox Church gathered together to worship and praise our Lord, our Father. During the prayer service I was incredibly moved by the word “OUR”. And when at the end, we all said the Lord’s Prayer in ONE voice I was awestruck by the most powerful recitation of the prayer I’ve ever heard. This is the way it ought to be. We are weak divided, but together we stand strong in Jesus Christ.”

-Daisy Hanna, Coptic Orthodox Church

“What an amazing witness this was of the variety and Christ-centered unity found in the Body of Christ!”
-Edouard Pichette, OneUnited

“This was the most impressive ecumenical event I have ever been to.  The Holy Spirit was clearly at work in this event.”

 – Father David Michael, Pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done…” On Saturday, all of us present at Holy Name witnessed a portion of God’s will done in the City of Boston. An undertaking such as this requires an immense amount of hard work and effort that can only be achieved with the help of the Holy Spirit. Thank you all who made this happen, and may God’s Grace continue to bless all involved, and our city, til Kingdom come.

-Steven Hardy, UniteBoston Rep and member of St. Paul’s Parish, Harvard Square

 

“On January 21st, the Body of Christ in Boston got a glimpse of itself for the first time in its entirety.”
– Dr. Vito Nicastro, Associate Director of the Archdiocese of Boston’s Office of Interreligious and Ecumenical Affairs

 

“When my mother walked into the church she was amazed. It was at the moment of the entrance procession when all the various Christian groups came one after another to be together and worship that she began to cry. She said, ‘This is what Christ wants.’ It was very moving.”

-Natalia Pellicano, Office for Ethnic Apostolates, RCAB

 

“God wants this Church to be one… and to see that expressed so beautifully here, that’s really fun. It’s different tastes and different flavors, and you start to realize folks love Jesus in ways that you don’t appreciate until you see them and get to connect with them. You see that people are really different, and yet their hearts are coming from a love of the Lord that’s really neat to see.”

– Jeff Bass, Executive Director, Emmanuel Gospel Center

 

“It was incredible, wonderful to see so many different Christians together and the music… I was crying. The Holy Spirit was there.”

– Lorna DesRoses, Director of Black Catholic Ministries

 

 “I’ve always felt the importance of Ecumenism. I’m a very strong Greek Orthodox Christian, but I went to Catholic schools and I’ve had very strong friendships, relationships with Catholic Christians, and they’ve just given me so much support in my faith. I just love the coming together of people of different Christian denominations, and I feel so excited about progress in Ecumenism. I feel like we’re getting closer.”

– Maria Makredes

 

It was a very moving experience.  It was so inspiring also to see the church so completely filled… Holy Name Church was such a beautiful venue for the gathering.  We are so grateful to [those] who worked  so hard with so many different groups to bring this very important celebration together. It was astounding.
— Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM Cap, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston

 

“What brings us all here really is Christ, and that’s what the point of Christian unity is. If Christ says we should all be one, we should see that, and frankly the world doesn’t feel like that today. I’ve grown more in my faith, and I feel like as a young person I especially have the obligation and responsibility of witnessing to my vocation as the member of the body of Christ.”
– James Kelley, St. Joseph Parish, Roman Catholic, Needham

 

“I loved the prayer service- beautiful diversity and beautiful unity – that was the greatest part for me, was worshiping together with my fellow Christians. It was very moving. To hear the Greek Orthodox chant, and the Pentecostal choir, and the Cardinal’s homily. Thank you for doing this!” — Craig Dyke, Director, Family Life Office, RCAB

 

“We can be too preoccupied with the “doing”- what are we going to do together, the Martha part- and we forget the “being,” who and what we are called to be together, the Mary part. We forget that for God, the goal is not something we have to do. He came to form a people for His own. Jesus prayed that we be one as He and the Father are one– that is the witness, that is part of how the world comes to believe. That witness – especially these days, that witness is important for the world. That’s what we increased on January 21st.”
-Deacon John Koza, Holy Name Parish

But wait! There’s more…

Click here to view the entire photo album on Facebook, and add your own pics too!

 

Share your story!

How was your faith in Christ impacted by worshipping at churches throughout the city? We’d love to hear from you – Click on this link to fill out a short survey!

 

[uniteboston]

It’s the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="680"] Caption: Pope Francis Embraces The Rev. Martin Junge, General Secretary Of The Lutheran World Federation, During An Ecumenical Prayer Service At The Lutheran Cathedral In Lund, Sweden, Oct. 31. (CNS Photo/Paul Haring)[/caption]

Below are a few articles that have been published in the past week related to Christian unity.

We look forward to seeing you at the prayer gatherings hosted by a diverse cross-section of Christian churches around the city, nightly from January 18 to 25. All are welcome!

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Pope Francis and the Evangelicals by Bishop Robert Barron

“Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”

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Events Mark Week of Prayer for Christian Unity  posted on the front of the Boston Pilot, and includes a full schedule of the prayer gatherings

“Only full unity between us is enough. Only full unity is true to the nature of the Triune God as communion. Only full unity obeys the will of Jesus, and therefore loves Him. Only full unity is the goal set by our Church’s teachings. Only full unity honors the bond of our Baptism and eternal relation in Christ. Only full unity is coherent with the message of the Gospel of reconciliation. Only full unity empowers our compassion and unfetters our evangelization.”

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Commemorating the Reformation: Churches Looking Towards 2017 – And Beyond by Fr. Tom Ryan, CSP, who directs the Paulist North American Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in Boston

“This anniversary is an unparalleled opportunity for both church leaders and laity to enter into the process of healing and reconciliation at both juridical and grassroots levels. It is important that we capitalize on this opportunity to render more effective the mission and witness in the world of a Christendom united.”

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The Protestant Reformation: Positive Aspects by Fr. Tom Ryan, CSP, who directs the Paulist North American Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in Boston

“The question before both Catholics and Protestants today is: What does it mean to be church, and how may we live together as church in ways that better manifest our unity?”

“A Protestant-Catholic common commemoration presents us with the opportunity to offer a joint witness of faith.”

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[uniteboston]

Today, the UB Blog features a press release for the upcoming Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which is taking place from January 18 to 25, 2017!

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Diverse Faith Leaders Unite for Worship and Blessing Service in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Today, Greater Boston faith leaders announce “Christian Unity 2017 – The Love of Christ Compels Us To Witness and Reconcile,” a collaborative event on Saturday, January 21, 2017 to join hundreds of Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical, and Protestant Christians together for the international Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Marking the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation, the program celebrates the progress towards Christian unity and fosters dialogue around Christian approaches to the issues of our day including race, diversity, interchurch families and the global persecution of Christians.

Cardinal Seán O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston said, “Pope Francis has challenged the Catholic community to build bridges with our ecumenical colleagues by seeking unity in the name of the Lord.  Joined by our faith in Jesus Christ, we are called to work together to build a civilization of love. It is my prayer that this gathering will strengthen our shared mission of bringing Jesus’ love and peace to the people we serve.”

The event will begin at Holy Name of Jesus Church in West Roxbury with noontime lunch followed by workshops on Christian unity’s relation to: evangelization, interchurch families, global persecution of Christians, racial reconciliation, the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation, Scripture in the Christian Life, and Pope Francis. Cardinal Seán O’Malley of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, Metropolitan Methodios of the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Boston, Rev. Dr. Bryan Wilkerson of Grace Chapel, Rev. Dr. Roberto Miranda of Congregación León de Judá, Rev. Dr. David Wright of the Black Ministerial Alliance, Pastor Barry Kang of Symphony Church and other leaders will co-preside at a Worship and Blessing Service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity at two o’clock. The event will conclude with a Mission and Volunteer Reception where participants can engage with various organizations in their ministries.

“For the first time in this region’s history, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will reflect the face of the new global Christianity,” explained Dr. Vito Nicastro, Associate Director of the Office of Ecumenical Affairs of the Archdiocese of Boston. “This event will join Asian, Pentecostal, Black, and Oriental Orthodox churches alongside the Evangelical and Mainline Protestants, Catholics and Eastern Orthodox- in countless variations, and on a new scale. Together, we will provide the tinder for God to spark a new local prayer movement drawing us closer to Christ and to each other.”

To date, partner organizations collaborating on the event include: Alpha New England, Black Ministerial Alliance; Community of Sant’Egidio; Congregación León de Judá; Coptic Orthodox Diocese of New England; E-Net New England; Emmanuel Gospel Center; Focolare; Glory of God in New England/Glory of God on Cape Cod; Grace Chapel; Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston; Institute for Christian Unity; InterVarsity New England; Lord’s Day Alliance; Massachusetts Council of Churches, Massachusetts Family Institute; Park Street Church; The Paulist Center; Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston; UniteBoston, 3 Armenian Churches of Watertown, and a growing list of others.

“All the partner organizations seek to inspire a generation of prophetic leaders who will build relational, missional and theological bridges across historic divides among Christians,” said Scott Brill, Co-Founder of The Institute for Christian Unity and Assistant Regional Director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

Kelly Steinhaus, Executive Director of UniteBoston, the organization that created the local, week-long programming explained, “We build relational connections through our events to show a more unified testimony to the strength of God’s love for every person. As Christians identifying with many different denominations, we can better serve our city together with dialogue around our common beliefs and values.”

For more information on the event, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/1819327351612594/

The event is free and open to the public. Lunch is $8 and free for those under the age of 35. Holy Name of Jesus Church is located at 1689 Centre Street in the West Roxbury neighborhood of the City of Boston. Parking is available and the Church may be accessed via the MBTA. Take the 38 Bus from Forest Hills Station (Orange Line) to Wren Street via Centre Street.

For a complete schedule of events in Greater Boston for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, please visit https://uniteboston.com/wpcu.

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Media Contact: Timothy McGuirk; mcguirkt@rcab.org; 857 225 1537

 

[uniteboston]

This week, we feature a blog written by Scott Brill, Assistant Regional Director of InterVarsity New England and co-director of the Institute for Christian Unity. Scott uses Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s language as he examines and contrasts ‘costly unity’ with ‘cheap unity.’ His analysis is full of rich wisdom and is a must-read for those who are working towards a more reconciled Christian Church in Greater Boston.

For more great reading on Christian unity, check out Scott’s “Recapitulare” Blog here: https://recapitulareblog.wordpress.com/

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As someone whose life calling is to foster unity, I’ve been wrestling with how I should respond to the events of the past few weeks and months. Division and divisiveness seem to be everywhere. The country is divided; the political landscape is divided; Christians are divided; even structures within the Church that share a common mission and doctrinal basis are divided. People all around me – in person and on social media – are asking questions about unity and throwing around thoughts and ideas. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a deeper longing for unity or a greater sense of how far we are away from it. I’ve sensed the need to formulate some kind of response.

Up until this point, though, I’ve mostly been listening in silence. Which has felt like something of a spiritual discipline. Similar to the Jewish practice of “sitting Shiva”, I’ve wanted to grieve myself, as well as honor others who are grieving this brokenness. And I’ve wanted to create space to wait for a word from the Lord rather than offer quick solutions.

But finally I feel compelled to say something. I want to be able to answer the question: “why should we even work for ‘unity’ at a moment like this?” Does the word have any meaning, any power, any motivating energy? Is unity dead? Like Jairus, the synagogue ruler in the fifth chapter of Mark’s gospel, should we not trouble Jesus any more – just give up and go home? I believe at this moment (as for Jairus at that moment in the Gospel), Jesus has spoken a word of hope and faith to me. And I want to speak that word of hope out loud now. This is my “apology” for pressing on for unity – right here; right now:

I am focusing my comments particularly on the Christian community. While there are compelling reasons to work for unity on a broad national or global scale, the Church is the place I am most familiar with, and it is a place where there is a special mandate for unity (see Jesus’ prayer in chapter 17 of the gospel of John). Ideally, we should be both a sign of hope and a model to the larger world of how to live out unity.

But our community seems particularly stuck, paralyzed by our inability to be unified but not wanting to admit that we can’t figure it out. At this moment of awareness of our deep division and brokenness, Christians appear tempted to minimize them. In posts and articles and conversations, I hear us again and again wanting to (in the words of the prophet Jeremiah) “dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious” and pronounce, “’Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.” We seem drawn to move forward quickly, avoiding the actual pain of division and pronouncing some form of surface-level healing.

In response, I want to borrow a familiar framework from Dietrich Bonheoffer’s Cost of Discipleship, and to say that we are at this critical moment supremely tempted to opt for “cheap unity.” The urgent antidote, then, for this moment has to be “costly unity.” But what is costly unity over against cheap unity? Here are some characteristics of cheap unity that have come to my heart and mind:

• Cheap unity avoids conflict. It is uncomfortable with sharp disagreement, and seeks to diminish strong emotions and firm convictions. It elevates attempts to feel better over honest expressions of problems.
• Cheap unity finds a “least common denominator” and stops there. It looks for something innocuous we can all agree on, and declares “reconciliation” too soon
• Cheap unity draws the circle of community too tightly. One of the solutions it offers is to shrink the number of people who need to be reconciled. If there are fewer true brothers and sisters, then those folk furthest away from our perspective can be dismissed as heretics, non-believers, or apostates.
• Cheap unity also refuses to talk about holiness. In contrast to drawing the circle too tightly, this type of cheap unity wants to ignore decisions of conscience and exclude some from the conversation for being too inflexible or overly obsessed with keeping the rules.
• Cheap unity reduces conflict to concepts and ideas and avoids the messiness of the human heart and human relationships. It proposes that the problem of division lies primarily in a lack of intellectual or organizational rigor.
• Cheap unity diminishes power dynamics and minimizes the cost to some (usually the minority voices) of “staying at the table.” It presumes a level playing field in the conflict and that both sides must make the same amount and types of sacrifices in order to bring about healing and restoration.
• Cheap unity wants to move on too quickly, and ignore the painful history of the past. It insists that those who are wary or distrustful of reconciliation based on their past experiences need to “get over it.” It overemphasizes optimism for the future and detaches forgiveness from sorrow for sin.

There are probably more, but identifying aspects of cheap unity is only half the battle. Embracing and living out a more costly unity is the essential act of repentance from cheap unity. Costly unity moves away from what I just described above. It presses into conflict, it avoids declaring victory too soon, it accepts the tension between hospitality and holiness, it seeks the “messy middle”, it acknowledges injustice, it sits with pain. And then it begins to work slowly and honestly through what divides: listening, praying, learning, building trust, seeking the interests of those on the “other side”

I believe it is our real hope for moving toward the unity Jesus longs for us to experience. It is this kind of unity that will give the larger world hope and model the message of the gospel. Pursuit of costly unity will lead us more deeply into the discipleship Jesus has called us – “for whoever seeks to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake and the sake of the gospel will find it.” (Mark 8). And it lives a life worthy of that gospel, “struggling together to remain faithful” to it (see Philippians 1:27 CEB). It embodies the self-emptying servant life of Christ that Paul goes on to describe in the next chapter of that epistle.

This is because ultimately costly unity forces me, forces all of us, out of ourselves. Costly unity presents a challenge to me to “count the cost” of pursuing my brothers and sisters and seeking their good. For one more time to borrow images from Scripture (this time from Luke’s gospel): Costly unity looks for the lost sheep without which the flock is not complete; it seeks the missing coin that is needed for the full value of the others; it pursues the separated siblings and invites them “in” – to life and celebration and relationship.

This commitment to costly unity is unilateral. It is a following in the way of Jesus to seek others in love. But this is the kind of unity I can be hopeful for. It won’t come easily and it will require discipline on the part of many of us. This is the kind of unity I am committed to spending the rest of my life working for. I invite you to join me.

Originally published here: https://recapitulareblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/12/cheap-unity-v-costly-unity/; re-posted with permission.

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We did it! We met our $10,000 goal at our second annual fundraiser last night – including a matching gift of $2500 for new monthly donors – Thanks for everyone who has contributed to this movement in so many ways. Now, let’s go Unite Boston!

Here are some photos from the evening:

Check out more photos on our FaceBook Album Here 

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The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an international initiative where Christians worldwide are reminded of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples that “they may be one so that the world may believe” (John 17:21). Locally, UniteBoston coordinates evening collaborative gatherings of fellowship, prayer and worship from January 18-25 annually.

This year’s theme, liturgies, and prayer guides were developed together by Christian churches from Burkina Faso in western Africa. This year’s theme is based on the text from the Gospel of St Luke: “You shall love the Lord your God … and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). In response to the question of who is my neighbor, Jesus responds with a parable illustrating love extending far beyond the limits expected by the lawyer. It is not shared identities that should prompt us to come to the aid of the other, but love of our ‘neighbor.’

Here in Boston, it may be common to relate to one another like Samaritans and Jews, divided culturally and theologically and living with unfriendly or hostile relationships. However, Jesus points us to a different way: to engage with those on the “other side” and even understand the situations of one another so intricately that we can ‘pour oil or wine’ on one another’s wounds.

Our times of insecurity and fear confront us with a reality where distrust and uncertainty come to the forefront of relationships. This is the challenge of the parable today: to whom am I a neighbour?

Mark Your Calendars – You are invited to mark your calendars and plan to attend the evening gatherings! In this time of Epiphany, we encourage you to receive the manifestation of Jesus Christ through those of different denominations, races and cultures. Let’s make the most of these opportunities in order to truly be the family of God and serve as the body of Christ in the world. Let’s also pray with our feet – express love to our neighbors as an act of prayer.

Community Dinner Template – You can use this template for conversation and prayer along this theme with your church or community group!

Spread the Word – We also appreciate help spreading the word to people in your congregation, family, friends, and neighbors. A personal invitation goes a long way.

Calling to mind our common commitment to ‘love thy neighbor,’ may the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, January 18-25, 2024 be full of moments of conversion of heart through our encounters, so that “all may be one.” God of welcome, grant us the grace to risk embracing the stranger, tending their wounds and standing in solidarity with them. Strengthen our resolve to be kind and merciful and to act towards our sisters and brothers at all times as you do towards us. Lord Jesus, who prayed that all might be one, we pray to you for the unity of all Christians, according to your will, according to your means. May your Spirit enable us to experience the suffering caused by division, to see our sin and to hope beyond all hope. Amen.

Schedule

Loving Our Unhoused Neighbors: HOME Thursday Night Outreach

Thursday January 18, 5:45 to 7:15pm with optional prep time beforehand and debrief afterwards | Park Street Church, 1 Park Street, Downtown Boston

Join to serve with Park Street Church’s HOME ministry, where they welcome 60-100+ unhoused neighbors and other neighbors in need to fellowship meals hosted on Thursday evenings from 5:45-7:15pm and Saturday mornings from 8:30-11am. Come join us as we fellowship with our guests over a warm meal, while also providing other essential support, ranging from clothing and toiletries to prayer, Bible study, and ESL. You don’t have to sign up in order to serve with us, but feel free to contact Simon & Maria at home@parkstreet.org if you have any questions!” You can also click here to watch a video about this ministry.

Loving Our Unhoused Neighbors: Miracle Mile Service Opportunity

Saturday January 20 | 8am to 11am | Congregation Lion of Judah, 20 Reed Street, Boston (South End)

Miracle Mile Ministries is a collaborative of churches devoted to a sustained, deliberate, strategic response to the area we call “Miracle Mile,” a roughly 2-square-mile area in the South End of Boston often referred to as “Mass & Cass” or “Methadone Mile.”  It is led by a core group of six Boston-area Lead Churches (Congregación León de Judá, Antioch Community Church Brighton, Cornerstone Church, Restoration City Church, Hilltop Church and Symphony Church) and also involves a dozen or so churches and parachurch ministries from throughout Boston’s neighboring communities who faithfully support this effort, week after week. Please come join us on Saturday January 20 at 8am to serve our neighbors, build relationships, and share the love of Christ on Miracle Mile. We will be serving breakfast, distributing clothes, and ministering on the street. Learn More about Miracle Mile Ministries here, and you can sign up to volunteer here. For questions, email Heidi, heidi.marie99@aol.com

An Afternoon of Christian Unity with The Focolare and Chemin Neuf Communities.

Sunday January 21 | 1:30 to 4:30pm | Our Lady of the Annunciation Melkite Catholic Cathedral
7 VFW Parkway (West Roxbury)

The Focolare and Chemin Neuf communities are hosting an afternoon of activities and prayer around the theme “You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself.” (cf. Luke 10:27)
1:30 – 2:30 Children’s Program (ages 4-18) Adults welcome
2:30 – 3:30 Love Thy Neighbor // The Art of Loving (all ages!!)
3:30 – 4:00 Prayer for Christian Unity in the sanctuary
4:00 – 4:30 Closing conversation in Fellowship Hall

Questions? Email julie.james.boston@gmail.com

“Love Your Neighbor” Neighborhood Dinner

Monday January 22 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm | Dorchester near JFK/UMass

Join Cleo for dinner, prayer and reflection on the story of the Good Samaritan with a creative arts lens. RSVP by emailing cmuhammad85@gmail.com and she will give you the specific address.

Christian Unity Taize Prayer

Tuesday January 23 at 7:30pm | Swedenborg Chapel at Havard University, 50 Quincy Street, Cambridge

Join for a prayer gathering on Harvard Campus with the Taize liturgy of prayer and song. The Taizé Community is an ecumenical Christian brotherhood in Burgundy, France, composed of over 100 brothers from all over the world, from Catholic and Protestant traditions, a true “parable of community” that wants its life to be a sign of reconciliation between divided Christians and between separated peoples. Join in this time of song, prayer, and silence around the theme of ‘love thy neighbor.’

The service will be streamed on Facebook here: https://fb.me/e/4cMP31pZf

Christian Unity Prayer Gathering

Thursday January 25 at 7:00pm | The Paulist Center, 5 Park Street, Downtown Boston

Please join us in prayer using the worldwide prayer template around the theme “Love Thy Neighbor” that Christians throughout the world will be using this week. This gathering is hosted by the Paulist Center – Fr. Rich Andre will be presiding, Dean Amy McCreath will be preaching, and other clergy in the service include Rev. Kelly Fassett and Rev. Colin Leitch. We look forward to praying with you.

Loving Our Vulnerable Children: Faith & Foster Care Seminar

Saturday January 27 from 10am to 1pm | SEND Relief Ministry Center, Tremont Temple, 88 Tremont Street, Downtown Boston

With over 9,000 youth in Massachusetts foster care, the needs of local foster families, biological families, and social workers are great. Join Fostering Hope New England and SEND Relief to learn how you can make a difference in the lives of these vulnerable children and families. You will be inspired as you hear from biological families involved with foster care, Department of Children & Families staff, trauma experts, and experienced foster parents. This event is for anyone passionate about vulnerable children—not just those ready to foster or adopt.

The seminar will take place at the SEND Relief Ministry Center at Tremont Temple in Boston, on January 27th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and includes brunch. Register for FREE at bit.ly/faithfostercare

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Photos from Previous Years

In 2017, we coordinated a large worship service on January 21st in alignment with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, that had over 8 co-sponsors and was attended by over 800 people.

Here are many of the leaders hosting gatherings for the 2019 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

UB City-Wide Dinner Launch – November 2017

UniteBoston dinner at Sally’s house in West Roxbury

Prayer Gathering at the Greek Metropolis of Boston

Neighborhood Dinner at Adam’s house in East Boston

Co-presiders from various Christian traditions at the 2017 Week of Prayer Anchor Gathering

[uniteboston]

A Statement of Prayer from the Black Ministerial Alliance for our Community, our City, our Commonwealth and our Country.

 

After an extremely challenging election season – not for just the candidates, but for the nation as a whole- the voting is over but the pain, the anxiety and the deep concerns still remain across our nation and right here in the City of Boston.

 

Today, as I pray over what we see happening across the country in the aftermath of the election, I know today many citizens are hurting in our churches, in our community, in our City and, yes, our country and that the days, weeks, and even the months ahead will be difficult for many.

 

In this time of great uncertainty, I want to encourage all of us to take comfort and to stand on the infallible Word of God.  In the words of the Apostle Paul, I admonish us to not “be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present [our] requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard [our] hearts and [our] minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7).

As the Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston, we want to assure the residents of Boston that we are praying for you. We are praying that God will comfort, strengthen and heal those who are broken and hurting.  Our prayer is that both those who are celebrating, as well as those who are protesting, will come to experience the peace and presence of God about the election. Now, more than ever, we need to heed the admonition of the Prophet Jeremiah to pray for the peace of the City and, may I add, our nation.

 

So, we will stand in prayer with faith leaders, community leaders and the faith community at large as we pray for the peace of our city and our nation. We will look to the hills whence cometh our help; for our help comes from the Lord.  Remember that we serve a sovereign God Who remains on the Throne. Though the results of this election have taken many by surprise, our Heavenly Father has not lost control.

 

The Word of God reminds us that, “He [God] changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” (Daniel 2:21) (ESV). We pray that God will continue to watch over the United State of America in this time of transition.  Our prayer is that God will indeed give wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to our current president, Barak Obama, and to the president-elect, Donald Trump.

 

Let us take courage in the words of that great Christian hymn, “Be not dismayed whate’er betide, God will take care of you!”

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For a downloadable statement of prayer, please click here.

Written by Rev. Arlene Hall, President of the Black Ministerial Alliance

[uniteboston]

In light of all that is happening in our nation, we need to remember that Jesus is on the throne and we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We also need to listen and fight for those who are most vulnerable in society.

A few years ago, after hearing the story of a young woman, Sarah Dunham, director of the Abolitionist Network at the Emmanuel Gospel Center, wrote this poem:

Cry and Sing of Hope

Race, privilege – authenticity? Belonging? Permission to grieve?
Who am I who has so much, who am I to cry?
I cry hearing the pain of my sister.
I have not lived it.
I chose to give up what I can easily choose to take back.
My education, my family network opens many doors others cannot access.
But I cry for that reality to change.
Can my cry be a trumpet blast in halls of complacency?

Can the cry of a middle class white girl on behalf of the sad broken state of our justice system, our schools, our neighborhoods and families, be heard and deemed legitamate?
Does it matter if they are?
I think so, but then I wonder, by who?

My friend is being sold. Abused. Exploited!!
No, I am not.
I have never been raped or molested, but my friend, my sister, has and is and This Must Stop!
I carry so many stories in my heart and they are heavy.

I cry out with a cry of empathy
No, I will never fully understand
So I will not try to be your voice but rather sound the trumpet, shake the ground,
open the cages of systems holding you back,
usher you into the doors I can, and then You cry out Your song of lament,
of truth,
and together we proclaim the song of hope.

“injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”
If I see the injustice done against you and say nothing, what is that?
If I weep, not on my own behalf but for what is happening to you, am I not showing you I care? That I wish there was some other reality? That I wonder why you and not me and I am sorry for my privilege?

And I do weep on my own behalf in sorrow, regret, apology for what I – my race, my religion and my country have done.
What my government has done and fails to do, what my Church has done and fails to do.
I am part of the problem.
I am so sorry.

But I hear the rumblings of another way possible- in the cry and lament, imagining there must be something better
Do you hear it?
The low, steady heartbeats of hope reverberating in my spirit and yours, calling towards harmony!?
It rises
And I know I must not keep silence!
I invite you to join me in my weeping and my obstinate hope.
Let me not tell your story for you, label or forget you in my rush to sound the trumpet.
You and I together – we will cry and sing of hope.

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