Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
unitebostonKeymaster
This week, UniteBoston’s Executive Director Kelly Steinhaus shares how the recent 10 Days Boston event re-ignited fires of faith throughout Boston’s Christian community. Read the story to be encouraged in the power of unity and koinonia togetherness!
[caption id="attachment_5726" align="aligncenter" width="584"] 10 Days Gathering at the Greek Metropolis of Boston[/caption]
10 Days Boston this year was amazing! But don’t take my word for it. 🙂
Christian unity comes down to our ability to see Jesus in one another. This year, we took videos of friends throughout the city sharing their story of how God changed their perspectives of the Church as they attended the various gatherings.
For example, a young man named Matt from Youth With A Mission felt led to share an encouraging word from God with a woman who was chanting at the Greek Orthodox gathering. Matt was hesitant to mention anything because he wasn’t sure if that was a doctrine that their church practiced. But, during the fellowship time, he shared what God had put on his heart about the gift that God had given this woman for worship.
After pausing to take in the words, she responded, “Sometimes I just go through the motions of singing, but because of what you said, you have just re-lit the fire of my faith.”
With UniteBoston, our coming together across diversity provides an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to bring life to various parts of the church. We are individually ignited to see our own faith as a valuable part of the corporate whole. In fact, the original name that God gave me for this ministry was “Ignite.”
Listen to the whole story here:
More photos and video testimonies of changed lives are available on the full blog report here.
Yes, as the body connects together, we know that “We will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)
Truly, God is up to great things in Boston – Thanks for being a part of His great work!
unitebostonKeymasterDescription
Join us for the 3rd day of Revival with Guest Revivalist, Pastor Charlie Dates from Progressive Baptist Church, Chicago, IL. We will begin with a service in the Sanctuary and end with a candlelight vigil on Warren Street to bring healing and hope to our traumatized communities, and blessing to all those taking part in UniteBoston’s Day of Service. Note that this BostonServe opportunity takes place on Friday evening – but ALL ARE WELCOME!!
Details
Name of Church/Community Group: Roxbury Presbyterian Church
Project Location (Address): 328 Warren Street, Roxbury
Date of Project: October 23, 6:30 to 8:30pm
Number of Volunteers You Will Bring (Approximate): 30
Do You Need More Volunteers?: YesContact Info
Name: Nancy Kilburn
Email: nkilburn@rpcsic.org
Phone: (617) 445-6262September 27, 2015 at 4:33 pm in reply to: Timilty Middle School – Painting, Cleaning and Carpentry #678unitebostonKeymasterDescription
We have a strong church/school partnership going with Timilty Middle School and are excited to serve there on October 24th. We will be doing some painting and carpentry – If you’re willing to scrub and clean, this service opportunity is for you!
Details
Name of Church/Community Group: North River Community Church
Time: 8:30am to 2:00pm
Project Location (Address): 205 Roxbury St, Roxbury, MA 02119
Number of Volunteers You Will Bring (Approximate): 20
Do You Need More Volunteers?: YesContact Info
Name: Paul Atwater
Email: paul@northriverchurch.org
Phone: (781) 826-0722unitebostonKeymasterDescription
Our church will be gathering together to help clean up Codman Park. We would love to have others in the area come and join us!
Details
Name of Church/Community Group: Global Ministries Christian Center
Project time:10:00am to 3:00pm
Project Location (Address): 6 Codman Park, Boston, MA
Number of Volunteers You Will Bring (Approximate): 10
Do You Need More Volunteers?: YesContact Info
Name: Bruce Wall
Email: bruce@grace.org
Phone: (617) 282-7794unitebostonKeymasterDescription
Our church will be building relationships with our friends who are living on the street. We will go out in pairs to hear the stories of each individual, in hopes that we can better understand the cycle of poverty within the Harvard Square area. When appropriate, we will also share information about resources and programs in the area for food, housing, and jobs, in hopes that we can help our friends to receive all that they need. We eagerly invite other Christians and churches in the Cambridge area to join us in this afternoon!
Details
Name of Church/Community Group: Journey Church
Project Time:1:00 to 3:30pm
Project Location (Address): Meet at 1:00pm in the Journey Church Office, basement of First Church Cambridge, 11 Garden Street, Cambridge. The outreach itself will take place in Harvard Square
Number of Volunteers You Will Bring (Approximate): 10
Do You Need More Volunteers?: YesContact Info
Name: Kelly Steinhaus
Email: kelly@jcboston.org
Phone: (928) 600-3236September 25, 2015 at 12:18 pm in reply to: Cleaning and Painting at the Jackson Mann K-8 School #637unitebostonKeymasterDescription
We have recently formed this church/school partnership and will be working with the school to clean up the area and paint. Come and serve with us!
Details
Name of Church/Community Group: Symphony Church
Project Location (Address): 40 Armington Street, Allston, MA 02134
Number of Volunteers You Will Bring (Approximate): 50
Do You Need More Volunteers?: NoContact Info
Name: Shan
Email: shan.gian@gmail.com
Phone: (215) 817-5521unitebostonKeymasterGod has already done so much through these 10 Days of Prayer!
UniteBoston seeks to be an answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17 “that we would be one.” We believe that our part in this “oneness” is to nurture relational connections throughout the diversity of Boston’s Christian community.
At the center of Christian unity is the agape love that God has for us and that we have for one another. As each of us step outside our comfort zones to become more aware of the various cultures and Christian traditions in our city, we develop stronger relational connections, cultivating mutual respect and honor for the incredible diversity within the people of God in Boston.
Check out these testimonies to see all that God is doing to bring together His church in the city:
Day 1: Healing Miracle in Prayer Room
Night 3: Experiencing the Orthodox Faith – Changed Perspectives!
Night 4: Worship with our Deaf Brothers and Sisters
Day 5: Answered Prayer: Testimony from Prayer Room
Night 6: Changing Perspectives from 10 Days Catholic Gathering
Night 7: Photo from Orthodox Gathering
Night 8: Taize Prayer in MIT Chapel
Night 8: Food and Fellowship with the MIT Lutheran/Episcopal Ministry
Night 9: Passionate Worship with Symphony and City Church
Night 10: Embracing our Common Identity in Christ
At this gathering, we each placed our name tags with our individual identities at the foot of the cross, so that we were better able to embrace one another as brothers and sisters in Christ:
Reflection – Aaron’s Story
Aaron shares how listening to a sermon by an Episcopal priest reshaped his perspective of the Christian church
For He himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility… His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. (Ephesians 2:14-16)
Praise God for the inseverable and eternal peace that is revealed as we all gaze at Christ’s sacrificial work on the cross!
unitebostonKeymasterHello friends from UniteBoston!
With 10 Days this year, I really want to encourage you to consider pausing everything in order to seek Jesus.
Now, I know that is a tall order, with everything we have going on in our lives. But as UniteBoston, we really have to take the lead in this. Seriously, let’s make it a priority to clear our calendars and seek God together!
How would God respond if a city sought Him in this way? And how would God respond to you if you took up that invitation?
One of the things that I know about Jesus is that He responds to whatever part of my heart that I give to him. He is worthy of us devoting our whole schedules and our entire lives to Him.
The question is: How does God want you to spend these ten days?
Here are some ideas:
- Make room in your schedule to attend the 10 Days Boston daytime prayer and/or evening gatherings. My encouragement would be to attend a gathering from a Christian tradition that is new and/or uncomfortable for you
- Stay overnight to retreat at YWAM in Somerville
- Set aside time for daily prayer with your family, roommates, or small group
- Lead a session of daytime prayer at Youth With A Mission – Email Kelly (kelly@uniteboston.com) to learn more
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="650"] There are 25 cities participating in these 10 Days of Prayer throughout the nation![/caption]
Every year I hear people say how they wished they could have attended other evenings, and how next year they want to participate more fully. So, today is the day, the time is now!
May God’s peace be upon our city as we seek Him,
Kelly Steinhaus
UniteBoston Team Leader
unitebostonKeymasterThis week, we hear from UniteBoston’s own Kelly Steinhaus, as she shares how the upcoming 10 Days of Prayer provides Boston’s diverse Christian community an opportunity to reconcile differences by remembering Christ as our Peace.
For He himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility… His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. (Ephesians 2:14-16)
What a radical concept Christian unity is! The fact that in Christ, we are one!
This heavenly reality certainly does not appear to be true when we look around the world. We all come from various backgrounds and cultures, life experiences, and we have our own denominational distinctions. Each person sees the world very differently, and because of this, we are inherently prone to disagree with and distance ourselves from those who are culturally, denominationally, and ethnically distinct from us.
Yes, it is easier to worship with people who look like us, act like us, and have the same theological beliefs as us. But as Christians we are called to go beyond this place of comfort to see and value Christ in our neighbor.
Paul acknowledges the difficulty of extending Christian fellowship by exhorting us to “earnestly endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). According to Karl Barth, the Greek word here implies a “full effort of the whole man, involving his will, sentiment, reason, strength, and total attitude”. “Earnestly endeavor” is not simply an outward action of embracing the other, but is first and foremost an inward examination of our hearts.
When you look at your brother or sister, do you see Jesus? What might be hindering your view?
From my experience, one of the chief hindrances to Christian unity is my need to be right. This places walls between me and my brothers and sisters, resulting in a self-righteous attitude. At the end of the day, only God knows those who are His, and so the “right” answer is Jesus’ work and righteousness, extended to all.
During 10 Days Boston, we have the opportunity to step outside our comfort zones to get to know our brothers and sisters from various denominations and backgrounds. As we do this, we learn to respect those that disagree with us. We learn to be confident in the fact that the fellowship of the saints goes beyond a uniform doctrine to involve a unity of Spirit (Eph 4:3) based on the inward spiritual rebirth of those who confess faith in Jesus as Lord. We also learn to value the breadth of Christian traditions rather than promoting a particular expression as having greater spiritual authority over another. Indeed, the deep, difficult work of Christian unity is to respect and honor those with whom we may have significant disagreements.
When we step back, we realize that the one and only thing that makes us one is our revelation of Jesus Christ. It is what Jesus did in his incarnation, sacrifice, and resurrection that has reconciled us to God and to one another, thus forming an inseverable and eternal peace. It’s as we all gaze at Christ’s sacrificial work on the cross that we are one.
Jesus, we confess our tendency to exclude rather than to include, to judge rather than to honor, and to assert our position rather than to love unconditionally. Lord, have mercy.
*Note: This devotional is a part of the 2015 daily devotional published by the national 10 Days team.
unitebostonKeymasterThis past March, the Institute for Christian Unity hosted a WEE forum entitled “Orthodox Christian Worship in Five Senses.” The presentation was made by Aaron Friar, a graduate of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, and an Associate with the Institute for Christian Unity. Aaron’s address was a very appealing look into the sacred experience of Orthodox worship, and it was particularly revealing for those who are not so familiar with the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Click on the following image to watch their 3-minute video:
-
AuthorPosts