Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
unitebostonKeymaster
Christian unity–the unity of the Church–comes in more than one stripe. Most often, when Christian unity is discussed, the conversation regards the unity, or desired unity, of the great church communities, traditions, denominations.
But there is another Christian unity–another unity of the Church–equal to or greater than the unity of church communities, and that is the Christian unity of colors, races and ethnicities.
Last summer, in New York City, an evangelistic outreach was held, and, as part of the outreach, there was a concert in Times Square. Matt Redman and his band performed (see below link) and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a color, race or ethnicity not represented in this moving and inspiring moment on behalf of the living Christ.
Enjoy!
Re-posted with permission from Matt Crane, Institute for Christian Unity, http://www.instituteforchristi
anunity.org/?p=466 September 2, 2016 at 10:41 am in reply to: Prayer Gathering Unites Christians in Boston Common #7514unitebostonKeymasterLast Tuesday, approximately 3,400 people gathered to pray for our Massachusetts and our nation at the Franklin Graham 2016 Decision America tour. This initiative is bringing together people of all backgrounds to pray at all of the state capitols, and Tuesday marked the 39th stop of their tour.
Click on this link to see photos from the gathering.
[caption id="attachment_7515" align="aligncenter" width="850"] Photo credit: decisionamericatour.com[/caption]
unitebostonKeymasterOur friends at the Emmanuel Gospel Center were featured on an article on Movement Day! Movement Day is a catalytic event designed to transform the world’s cities by focusing on impacting today’s urban issues through the Gospel, and collaborative leadership.
The article mentions how committed ministry leaders in Boston are to Christian unity: “Many of Boston’s denominational and church leaders are passionate about unity and are sharing life and discipleship across orthodox, pentecostal, catholic and evangelical congregations. In fact, many churches blend the best from various church traditions. This is a trend that is taking traction in other cities, and Boston will surely provide fascinating models for unity.”
Praise God! Click on the graphic below to read the full article.
http://movementday.com/boston-a-city-radical-in-the-best-way/
unitebostonKeymasterWe have big news – we were just featured on the Paulist Fathers “Koinonia” newsletter! The text is posted below, or you can check it out by clicking on the link here
UniteBoston: Recognizing the Family of God
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="738"] UniteBoston Reps Team[/caption]
By Kelly Steinhaus
August 2, 2016“These are my brothers and sisters!”
I hear this sentiment expressed repeatedly from individuals attending events affiliated with our up-and-coming ecumenical organization in Boston called UniteBoston. UniteBoston’s mission is to build relational connections throughout the diversity of Boston’s Christian community. There are many differences separating Christians, but with UniteBoston we focus on the shared faith practices that bring us together: worship, prayer, and missional service to the city.
While we are a large network now, with strong relationships in the Catholic, Evangelical, Mainline Protestant, and Orthodox communities, starting a non-profit organization was never our intent. Rather, a group of young people and I noticed that there were so many great things happening around churches in the city, but little infrastructure to connect the events that were taking place with the people that might be interested in attending.
To address this, in September 2010, we started sending out weekly “UniteBoston” email newsletters with information about the various Christian events taking place in the city. Within a couple of months, over 1,000 people had added themselves to the newsletter! Additionally, a lot of local interest was emerging, and a leadership team began to form. Soon, the newsletter became overloaded with information submitted from the community, so we raised funds and built a website.
Over the next few years, UniteBoston continued to grow, eventually becoming a 501c3 non-profit in July 2012. In addition to our weekly Christian events newsletter, UniteBoston hosts monthly “meetup” events to build community and encourage people to go beyond their denominational walls to discover all that God is doing in Boston. During Lent last year, we coordinated a “Holy Week Pilgrimage,” which highlighted various worship services that were already taking place in the city. Two young men attended an Orthodox service for the first time on Good Friday, and were astounded by how they resonated with the liturgy.
Additionally, UniteBoston loves to see Christians come together to serve the city. We have a team of “UniteBoston Reps” who are working to build relationships with pastors and city leaders within specific neighborhoods in Boston. The UB Reps meet monthly as a collaborative “think tank” of God’s work in the city, and they mobilize churches together to discern a collaborative shared missional project for their neighborhood communities. We had our first BostonServe day last October, and we’re gearing up for a CityServe day on May 6, 2017 in conjunction with Catholics and Lutherans throughout New England who are coming together to commemorate the 500thanniversary of the Reformation. Truly, God is up to great things in Boston!
Throughout these initial years of our ministry, I have begun to discover something significant about ecumenism: While the Internet can be a powerful tool to bring Christians together, the real work of Christian unity comes down to relationships, which cultivate agape love between brothers and sisters in Christ. It was not until I sat down with brothers and sisters from other denominations and ethnic groups that God began to reveal my underlying biases and partiality towards my own tradition’s worship practices. Through my new friendships, God began to break down my boxes of how I understood Christ’s Church and God’s work in the world. This continues to be true for our leaders and participants in UniteBoston’s events – we’re discovering that Christ’s family is much bigger than we initially imagined!
In coming together across our differences, God does an incredible work in our hearts. We begin to identify ourselves primarily not as Catholic or Lutheran, for example, but as pilgrims on a journey following Jesus Christ. Our denominational distinctions matter, and they matter profoundly – but our differences come to be understood not as barriers for others to enter into my one “right” understanding of God, but rather as beautiful displays of the multifaceted heart of God. I am beginning to see that unity is a process by which the church is brought to maturity (Eph 4:13).
In light of the recent racially-charged events plaguing our nation, I lament with the families that have been affected with this violence and the reality of racial discrimination and injustice within our communities. Jesus models loving those who are difficult to love, and Jesus’ call to love our neighbor must be stronger than our innate tendency to fear and hate those who are different than us.
People in the world are searching for a vision of hope and transcendence beyond what they see. What they are looking for is found in the Church, as Christ’s work on the cross has fully destroyed the dividing walls of hostility (Eph 2:14.) Indeed, we are called to embody this ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:19). However, if people look at the Church and only see us in tension with one another, then how can they believe that our message is about love? Ultimately, it’s as we embody Christ’s message of reconciliation that we will regain our ability to act in healing ways in situations that the world is wrestling with.
In addition to directing UniteBoston, Kelly Steinhaus is also studying urban ministry at Boston’s campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She lives in Brookline and enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and bicycling.
unitebostonKeymasterOn May 19th, the Emmanuel Gospel Center partnered with Vision New England and the Louis Palau Association to host the first New England City Forum.Please click on this link to see the report, which includes pictures, videos, and links to handouts, slides and a summary of topics discussed. Feel free to share this report with your networks.[caption id="attachment_7262" align="aligncenter" width="1191"] Photo Credit: Emmanuel Gospel Center[/caption]
A second New England City Forum is tentatively scheduled for February 16, 2017 in Worcester, so mark your calendars!
July 12, 2016 at 12:26 pm in reply to: Boston Churches Respond to Racial Violence and Injustice #7219unitebostonKeymasterDarkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that.
Hate multiplies hate,
violence multiplies violence,
and toughness multiplies toughness
in a descending spiral of destruction….
The chain reaction of evil —
hate begetting hate,
wars producing more wars —
must be broken,
or we shall be plunged
into the dark abyss of annihilation.
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Strength To Love, 1963The racially-charged events that have taken place the past two weeks are dizzying… Alton Sterling and Philando Castile killed during altercations with police officers, followed by a sniper killing five police officers in Dallas, Texas. Then, yesterday, police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.
In the wake of this violence, how do we as Christians respond?
It is right to be angry about the events, but we cannot lash out against others in our anger or fear. There is no one physical enemy we should be pointing to and we certainly shouldn’t be fighting against the innocent. Our tone as Christians must be peaceful instead of adversarial. We need to remember that it is symptomatic of deep human brokenness.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="531"] Mayor Marty Walsh and Police Commissioner William Evans joined hands in prayer at Morningstar Baptist Church. Image Credit: Boston Globe[/caption]
One of the best things that we can do is to come together and pray for peace, remembering the model that Jesus shows us and His work on the cross that has reconciled us together beyond our differences. A gathering at Twelfth Baptist Church last week brought together more than 50 pastors and ministry leaders for a powerful time of prayer. Another Boston Globe article indicated that this was “not an ordinary Sunday.” Additionally, Forest Hills Covenant Church is one of several churches setting aside this Wednesday, July 13, as a day of fasting and prayer. You are invited to join them for a Service of Prayer, Lament and Worship this Wednesday evening at 7pm in Jamaica Plain. Also, Rev. Liz Walker is having a special gathering at Roxbury Presbyterian this Thursday evening on our collective sense of grief and trauma as we struggle for hope. Additionally, I’d encourage you to listen to Rob Surratt’s sermon entitled “It’s Time to Mourn for our Nation” that he shared at River of Life Church last Sunday. Finally, click on this link to hear Pastor Bruce Wall, Pastor Bryan Wilkerson and Pastor Jua Robinson discuss race in America with Boston Praise Radio.
Insights from national leaders on a recent conference call around racial justice emphasize that people need to hold in tension two complex narratives, one related to violence against young black men and the other related to violence against police officers. It is difficult for many people to do this, but an appropriate response requires that both of these narratives be heard and explored. They also recommended that to overcome fear we need to first communicate unto understanding, out of understanding comes respect, and respect trust. When and only when we have established understanding, respect, and trust, can genuine communication occur. Such communication overcomes fear and ignorance.
Pray With Us:
Here at UniteBoston, we are weeping with the events that have taken place this past week and the reality of racial discrimination and injustice within our nation. Please join with us in praying this powerful prayer of lament from a pastor in Kansas City, Brian Zahnd:
Jesus, we sit with you in lament for the land.
We lament the long history of injustice that has been upon this land.
We weep for the Native Americans who were killed and driven from their land.
We weep for the African slaves who were sold and suffered in this land.
We weep for Native Americans who continue to suffer injustice in this land.
We weep for African Americans who continue to suffer injustice in this land.
We weep for the families of black men who have been unjustly killed.
We weep for the families of police officers slain while keeping the peace.
We weep for our children growing up in this violent land.
But while we weep, lament, and repent…
We do not give in to despair.
We look to God, for our hope is in God.
The psalmist said, “The meek shall inherit the land.”
Jesus, you said, “The meek shall inherit the earth.”
Lord, teach us to be meek and trusting, not greedy and clutching.
Jesus, you bless those who hunger and thirst for justice.
We have a deep ache in the pit of our belly;
We have a searing thirst deep in our soul—
For this wounded land to see justice and be made whole.
But we don’t know exactly what to do—
So Jesus, we sit with you.
We sit with you to see the deep truth—
That God is love. And…
There is no them, there is only us.Other good articles:
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/33022/nine-provocative-reads-on-race-equity-and-urbanism/ – by Aimee Custis
What shootings and racial justice mean for the Body of Christ – by Russell Moore
After the shootings, Dallas clergy will pray, then advocate for change – by Adelle Banks
Time for white churches to speak out about police shootings – by David Waters
July 10, 2016 at 3:37 pm in reply to: “He Called All to Unity” – The Holy and Great Council of 2016 #7210unitebostonKeymasterFrom June 19th to the 26th, bishops from Orthodox Christian Churches around the world gathered together on a scale that has not been matched for over 1,000 years. This week, our blog is written by UniteBoston Rep Jason Oneida, who updates us on the decisions made at the Pan-Orthodox Great and Holy Council and its worldwide witness towards Christian unity.
————
[caption id="attachment_7212" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Image credit: https://www.holycouncil.org/%5B/caption%5D
From June 19th to the 26th, bishops from Orthodox Christian Churches around the world gathered together on a scale that has not been matched for over 1,000 years. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople issued the invitation for Orthodox bishops everywhere to come together for a great, holy council. The goal of the united body of hierarchs was to advance work their predecessors began generations ago. Over 340 bishops responded to the call and met His All-Holiness at the Orthodox Academy on the island of Crete in Greece. These bishops accompanied their Primate, or leader, in delegations representing their respective local church. Of the fourteen autonomous Orthodox Churches in the world, united by God through common faith and sacramental grace, ten were represented at the council.
The work of organizing the council began in 1930 with a preparatory council that drafted a list of 17 topics for discussion. The 17 topics were combined and reduced down to six through additional pre-conciliar conferences between 1961 and 2015. Unanimity—the ability for all Churches to come to a common mind and witness—was the primary criteria for selecting the topics covered at the Great and Holy Council of 2016. The capability of coming to unanimous decisions was carefully crafted through years of dialog before the council began. Such careful planning allowed the Church to issue resolutions with an authoritative voice backed by all the participating bishops. As a result, one of the primary outputs from the Holy and Great Council was six joint statements on the following topics: the importance of fasting and its practice, the relation of the Orthodox Church to the rest of the Christian world, the mission of the Orthodox Church in today’s world, the sacrament of marriage, and organization of multinational councils of bishops throughout the world.
A gathering so long in the making surely begs a simple, powerful question: what does the council’s work mean for us? In particular, how does it speak to Christian ministry in the greater Boston area? The Great and Holy Council provides reinforcement to Unite Boston’s mission for unity and a guide for future ministry endeavors.
The Great and Holy Council embodied Jesus’ call for unity among all people in its mission statement, organization, and very nature. It is no coincidence that the council was chosen to begin during the Orthodox Christian celebration of Pentecost. And it is also no accident that the council took its slogan, “He called all to unity,” from a hymn sung in honor of this feast day. Furthermore, the council’s method of coming to consensus through dialog and the search for unanimity also bear the mark of desire for unity. All these aspects of the council indicate the overriding truth that unity is essential for humanity. We are not strong alone, but rather when we are gathered together in Christ’s name so that He is among us. Therefore, work toward Christian unity is of the utmost importance to the future of mankind. Following the council’s example, we must strive to understand each other and come to a common mind. We must continue to create opportunities for dialogue that removes the various barriers that separate people.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image credit: https://www.holycouncil.org/[/caption]
The wisdom of the Great and Holy Council also provides a guide for future ministerial endeavors. One of the greatest concerns for humankind discussed by the bishops at the council was the ecological crisis. Exploitation of the natural environment to suit human desires has resulted in serious problems with climate change, extinction of a large number of our planet’s diverse lifeforms, and poisoning of our environment. The members of the Holy Council called on Christians to view the attitude of indifference toward creation as a sin fully warranting our repentance. In order to truly be the Church, we must seek to right this situation through prayer, education, and organized action. Let us Christians respond to this call, taking it as an opportunity to be leaders in new environmental ministries that help us fulfill our vocation as caretakers of creation. Here we have an opportunity to be prophetic voices that remind the world of the truth that God made humanity to live in harmony with His good creation.
There is much more to say about the Great and Holy Council than can be presented here. If you would like to learn more, please visit the official website at http://www.holycouncil.org. There you can see the press releases, read the statements issued, and see videos of the proceedings.
unitebostonKeymasterWhat is ecumenism? Why is UniteBoston’s work to bring together churches so important?UniteBoston Rep Burke Rea has been working to compile a resource list about the value of Christian unity.Check out our new “About Christian Unity” page here!unitebostonKeymasterJust published! Photo Journal from the Woven Consultation, which brings together women to share stories of challenge, overcoming, building relationships, digesting new research about women in ministry, and identifying gaps in support and knowledge.
UniteBoston is grateful for the work that Woven does to bring together women from all different Christian denominations and backgrounds!
Check out the photo journal here! https://woven.exposure.co/woven-consultation
June 22, 2016 at 10:53 am in reply to: This Saturday: Bless the City Prayer Walk and Rally for Community Peace #7087unitebostonKeymasterThere is an exciting gathering that is taking place this Saturday, June 25! The “Bless the City Prayer Walk and Rally for Community Peace” will begin at 10:00am at 3134 Washington Street, Roxbury, and end with a celebration at Mozart Park in Jamaica Plain.I met up with Pastor Marcos Cisterna yesterday to hear more about the event. When he was 17, Pastor Marcos prayed about organizing a prayer march, and now this dream is coming to fulfillment. He has been amazed to see God’s favor to gather a diverse cross-section of churches throughout the city. Now there are over 35 churches coming!Marcos is passionate about Christian unity, and he believes that “unity is what brings us into the power of Jesus Christ.” In the Prayer & Rally Walk for Community Peace, people are coming together to say that “we would like to see the violence in our city stopped so that everyone can live in unity, peace, and safety.”So, come and join us! We’re having a UniteBoston Meetup at the event. Email me back if you’re planning to come so you can find our group.
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you” (John 14:27). May God bless each of you this summer, and show the Christian community together into the way of Christ’s reconciling peace.Click here to read the invitation for the Community Peace Walk.——–
unitebostonKeymasterWe are grateful to our friends at the Institute for Christian Unity who compiled this list of gospel voices offering prayers and compassion for the tragedy in Orlando:
The Church is the body of Christ in the world. The Church is called by God to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the whole world, and to do so in word and deed. This proclamation is always urgently needed and never more so than in the instance of human brutality and suffering.
We offer to you Gospel voices–voices for light in darkness–speaking for the Church in Boston to our suffering neighbors in Orlando, to the LGBTQ community, to the victims of gun violence, to the Muslim community and to the poor in spirit everywhere.
What follows are a series of links to statements by leading voices in Boston’s Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Evangelical/Pentecostal and Mainline Protestant communities as well as a special link to practical action the Church (your church!) can take on behalf of the Orlando victims and the LGBTQ community.
http://www.bostoncatholic.org/Utility/News-And-Press/Content.aspx?id=32619
http://www.hchc.edu/about/news/news_releases/mass-shooting-statement
http://www.grace.org/deeper-closer-wider/praying-for-orlando/
https://www.robly.com/archive?id=a033f5cf5ec356ecc0ef6d57e910e6dc
Also, here are a few great articles recommended by the Lead Them Home ministry:
- Scott Sauls: A Pastor’s Reflection on Violence Toward the LGBT+ Community
- Russell Moore: After Orlando, Can We Still Weep Together?
- Pope Francis: Reflections from Pope Francis
- Joe Carter, The Gospel Coalition: 5 Ways Christians Can Respond to the Orlando Shooting
- Jen Hatmaker: Don’t Say Nothing
- Wesley Hill: If the Church Were a Haven
- Lead Them Home: What Your Church Can Do
Finally, check out the article “There is Gospel to Preach Here”, with twelve Christian leaders across the country serving in a variety of roles tell the stories of how they responded to the massacre and offer resources to help others responding to tragedy.
unitebostonKeymasterYesterday, we approved three new members to the UniteBoston Board.
Here we are!
From Left to Right –
- David Wright, Black Ministerial Alliance, UniteBoston Board Member
- Vito Nicastro, Associate Director Archdiocese of Boston Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, UniteBoston Board President
- Kelly Steinhaus, UniteBoston Executive Director & Board Member
- Rita Powell, Associate Rector for Liturgy, Trinity Episcopal Church, UniteBoston Treasurer
- Dana Baker, Pastor of Social Justice and Multicultural Ministry, Grace Chapel, UniteBoston Board Member
unitebostonKeymasterOn Thursday May 19th, the Emmanuel Gospel Center, Vision New England, and Greater Things for Greater Boston joined together to host the first New England City Forum.It was an awesome time to learn a lot about how God is at work in our region, make some new friends, and be inspired and strengthened for our work in our own cities.Linked below are a fun little summary video of our time together, and a set of pictures. Thanks to the Emmanuel Gospel Center for putting this together!http://www.gridjungle.com/
cityforum/ unitebostonKeymasterThis week, UniteBoston features Rev. Jacob Urena as a guest blogger. Jacob is an ordained deacon in The Diocese of Christ the King under the Communion of Evangelical and Episcopal Churches. Jacob currently attends LivinGrace Church located in Johnston Rhode Island, where he also leads a Young Adults ministry known as “The Divergence.” As a native Bostonian, Jacob’s passion is to promote the unity within Churches starting in Boston, and to emit Gods love to all he comes in contact with.
——–
When attending the Orthodox Good Friday Service of Lamentations, I must say that my views of God and the manner in which he functions has changed. Throughout the year I’ve had the pleasure to visit different Pentecostal, Baptist, Catholic churches but this service was unlike any other. Once I reached St. Mary’s Orthodox Church, I could instantly feel the love they not only had for the people but for God himself. I was quickly greeted and guided by church leaders and common church members to partake and enjoy the service.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="581"] Image Credit: http://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org[/caption%5D
The service gave me a fresh outlook on the Christian faith. It involved ancient liturgy, which is something I hadn’t seen in other branches of Christianity, and to me this was very enriching. Everything from the ancient chants to the “tomb” of Jesus placed in the center of the room made out of flowers submerged me in the service and added to my own personal experience of God. The service then was brought out onto the streets of Cambridge. As flower petals were tossed onto the floor, we followed one another closely as we chanted in unity.
To my amazement, I discovered that we were actually on our way to meet with another Orthodox church who joined us in the middle of Central Square to pray and worship together. Worshipping alongside them was the most amazing part for me. People from all ends of the world around me and waves of strangers from the streets began to participate and ask questions. The love of God was being shared with hundreds of people.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="539"] Image Credit: http://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org[/caption%5D
On our way back to the church, we then walked under the tomb covered with flowers. I later was told that this symbolized us going from death to life, which brought humility to my heart and filled my heart with passion. The ability for me to participate in these customs was life changing. It left me with so many more questions connected to the meaning behind their liturgy and the symbolism used throughout the service. The service also increased my desire to know God to a greater extent for the level in which I believed to know him wasn’t enough. By the end of the service, I did not feel as if I was a guest or stranger but part of the family, which was amazing because I wasn’t proficient at all in their liturgical customs.
As the service finished, I was astonished by how welcomed I felt, which is so different than the primary mindset that churches have had for so long. We see that people of Christian faith are likely to seclude themselves and limit their interactions to only those of the same church, leaving Jesus and all his teachings in the backburner and clinging on to their understanding. We then create barriers separating one another, yet in reality we are one body in Christ. The reality is that we all have one small piece of the grander knowledge of Jesus and the Christian faith. It is only when we converge together that we expose the masterpiece that God always had in mind.
The unity within the Christian Church is not only beneficial, but is necessary. Scripture continually promotes that God’s desire is for us to function as “one” Church, meaning that Christ came to make us one in Him. Being able to love and worship Christ along my Orthodox brothers and sisters was life-changing for me; I saw people loving God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving their neighbors as they love themselves. If I could feel the presence of God and His love in a church that is very different than my own, then why can’t we all?
Let’s come together and see that the things that separate us as God’s people are the things that will help us come close together. Let’s come together and be one river with many streams, and one body with many parts!
unitebostonKeymasterOur blogger this week is Steven Hardy, who is a UniteBoston Rep in the Cambridge/Harvard Square area. Steven attends St. Paul’s Parish and is a self-described “arm chair theologian and historian.” Below, Steven presents some great insights on the unity of the church after attending his first Orthodox liturgy service.
—————
For the first time this year, I decided to attend the Pascha (Easter) celebrations at an Orthodox church. A group of us from UniteBoston had participated in the Good Friday service of Lamentations the previous evening, and I felt as though it would be incomplete to lament the crucifixion and burial of Christ with this community, and not celebrate his joyful resurrection with them. Being a Western Christian, I had already undergone the Lenten fast and the Feast of the Resurrection, but one can never mark this great mystery enough, right?
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="344"] Image Credit: holycrossbookstore.com[/caption]
Going into the service, I fully expected the many differences in the Eastern liturgy to stand out. I was eager to experience these differences and ready to make note of them. Basically, I suspected that I would be more of an observer than a participant. However, what drew my attention was the many things I saw that were in common with my own liturgical background. Many of the prayers, verses and responses, and even the placement in the liturgy were the same or very similar to my own background. Some of them were in the very same translations that I’ve known my whole life. As is often the case, my expectations were utterly off base when it comes to the work of God, through the Holy Spirit.
Another thing that I was very conscious of, being at an Antiochian Orthodox Church, was the current strife taking place in Syria. I noticed that, though many were not of Syrian decent, those who are, were at least one generation removed from their immigrant forerunners. The blood of Christian martyrs is being spilled there far too frequently. These Christians martyrs are not just Orthodox, but a mix of denominations. They are being persecuted and murdered due to their shared faith in Christ, causing the blood of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant martyrs to be mingled together in union. As Pope Francis told Catholicos Karekin II of Etchmiadzin, the Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church, “Just as in the ancient church the blood of the martyrs became the seed of new Christians, so in our day the blood of many Christians has become the seed of unity.” The Pope was referring to both the Arminian Genocide that took place under the Ottoman Empire 101 years ago, as well as the current state of affairs.
We often use the term brother and sister when referring to Christians of other denominations. I suspect, however, that we often mean something more akin to cousin, or friend. As I witnessed the many things in common with the Orthodox in Cambridge, as I was made to feel welcome at their festive post- liturgy celebrations, and as I thought on the witness of the martyrs, I can’t help but to feel a much closer bond to these people who are indeed my brothers and sisters in Christ.
One day I hope that we can finally remove the things that stand in the way of full union with one another. We have a rich diversity in Christian faith traditions right here in the Greater Boston Area. We share in one Baptism into the living body of Christ on Earth. We all proclaim Christ crucified and risen. I would very much like to celebrate this shared faith together, in full communion so that we can reply with one voice, “truly He is Risen!”
[caption id="attachment_6905" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Photo from UniteBoston Meetup at Orthodox Good Friday Service[/caption]
-
AuthorPosts