Today we want to highlight the “Hope Rising Gallery” that was installed this weekend in the Boston Common as part of the Embody Conference 2021. Coordinated by the Ministry of City Engagement at Park Street Church, there were 13 different neighborhoods and 39 “neighbors” within a 1-mile radius of Park Street Church featured in the art installation. The conference website describes: “The Son of God put on flesh and moved into our neighborhood. This is called incarnation. Christianity can become an intellectualized set of ideas rather than a way of life. This is called excarnation. Jesus of Nazareth invites us to embody his life in the world.”

The purpose of this gallery is to highlight the stories of the variety of “neighbors” who live within a 1-mile radius of Park Street Church in order to spotlight the “courage and resilience of our community to rise beyond the effects of COVID-19 and to have hope to see justice persist within our city.” Participants could scan the QR codes to hear stories told in their own voices. Whether or not you were able to attend the art installation, we wanted to share with the UniteBoston community a few of the stories that were featured, in hopes that you, too, might see how “hope is rising” in our city.

---