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Mar 02 2018

Faithful EP Release Party

Serene Chua, originally from Malaysia and currently based in Boston, is a worship leader and serves with The Navigators at Boston University. She is releasing her debut EP, called Faithful.

Faithful isn’t just about the songs but the journey she’s been on that led to writing them. The faithfulness of God has been an anchor for her in seasons of uncertainty and waiting, heartache and loss.

Come celebrate the release of her debut EP with a time of worship. There will be light refreshments and CD’s for sale.

Her prayer is for all to know and experience the goodness and faithfulness of God, regardless of the season one finds themselves in.

Look out for Faithful on all major music platforms on March 23!

Nov 28 2016

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

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

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

Nov 22 2015

UB Pics: “Better Together” Workshop and UB Bonfire!

On November 12, UniteBoston hosted Paul Fleischmann from the Better Together Ministry.

Paul shared 12 strategic principles of collaboration to help Christians grow in learning how to work together more effectively in order to accomplish what God has put each of us here to do.

20151112_203047 — Vito Nicastro and Paul Flieschmann together holding the Boston Globe article on Christian Unity that came out that day.

Stories and S’Mores on Singing Beach!

UniteBoston hosted a bonfire on Singing Beach on Saturday November 21st.

The night was beautiful; with a moonlit sky and the ocean waves crashing behind us, we shared stories around a campfire about how God was working in our lives.

New friends, great laughs, fun songs.

May 26 2014

Visions in Dark Places

This week, Doug Hall from the Emmanuel Gospel Center shares with UniteBoston a reflection following an event he had attended at Lion of Judah in the South End of the city.

Doug and Judy Hall have had a tremendous influence in the body of Christ, here in the Greater Boston area over the past 50 plus years. Doug began leading the Emmanuel Gospel Center, with his wife Judy, in 1964, and is also the current president. He is an adjunct professor with Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary as well. Together, they wrote, ‘The Cat and The Toaster,’ and have worked side by side in urban ministry since the early 1960’s.

This past April during an event hosted at Congregation Lion of Judah’s new facility, they were both impacted by the dramatic difference they had witnessed at the site of this new building, at 68 Northhampton Street in the South End.

They reflected on how much had changed in the past 35 years. Once this had been a terrible slum with a violent bar at it’s center, but over the decades a tremendous transformation has taken shape.

Doug shared that they remembered a important evangelistic meeting that was held at this location in 1969. Following that event two significant things transpired:
1. The bar in the center of this slum, ‘Louie’s Lounge’, burned to the ground that very same night.
2. Judy experienced a vision where she saw that this location would be redeemed by significant Christian developments in the days to come.

The redemption did not happened as quickly as they hoped, but over time the spiritual landscape has indeed changed not just in this location but in the city of Boston and surrounding communities.

Doug said that they were encouraged years ago, when an anointed church planter named Juan Vergara came to start a Hispanic church in the South End, together with Ralph Kee and the Conservative Baptist group. The church originally started at EGC’s building, but later moved to Cambridge, under the name Central Baptist (Iglesia Bautista Central). Years later an EGC staff member Eduardo Maynard, challenged this church to acquire some property that had come available on Northampton Street, they did so, with no knowledge that it overlooked the very site of the evangelistic prayer meeting held in 1969. What was once an urban ghetto became the site of a thriving Christian community.

It is significant to note that this all began with a meeting that invited the presence of God, and a vision from God given to a woman who would foresee that in this dark place God would do a redemptive miracle.

Doug shared, “When I think of the restoration we are witnessing today, it appears to be aligned with the scripture found in Luke 3:4-6:”
“ As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
A voice of one calling in the desert,
Prepare the way for the Lord,
Make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in,
Every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
The rough ways smooth.
And all mankind will see God’s salvation.”

Doug said, “This was one of a number of visions that were revealed in dark and desolate places, visions that prophesied God’s redemptive power would indeed be poured out in our city. The Quiet Revival, that represents the move of God happening now just below the surface through church planting and ministries throughout the city, began when Boston was on the verge of economic collapse, and filled with slums. But God has made the rough places smooth. It may be wise for us to pay attention to visions that occur in dark places, because surely through those visions we are seeing God’s redemptive power being displayed today.”

Below, two young woman pray over the city during UniteBoston’s spring evening night of prayer for Boston.

Written by Sheila Donegan

May 08 2014

Arise & Shine: A Message for Boston

Today, Kelly Steinhaus, UniteBoston’s Team Leader, shares her perspective on God’s destiny for the city of Boston and how this is reflected in what is currently happening within the Christian community.

Above: Sunrise over the Charles River

Do you like watching the sunrise? I sure do.

Whether or not you prefer to wake up that early in the morning, we are in an amazing time where God is rising over this city, awakening hearts and calling people to the place of prayer.

Isaiah wrote this message to the city of Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, and I believe it’s also a representation of what God wants to do in here in the city of Boston.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.“ (Isaiah 60:1)

I want to specifically draw your attention to verse 3: “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” This is actually strikingly familiar to a sermon preached by John Winthrop on his way to America, where he spoke that the new community they would form would be "a city upon a hill, that the eyes of all people are on us…We shall be made a story and a by-word throughout the world.”

You see, Boston’s destiny is to be a beacon of the nations.

Thus, the question becomes: what do we want to be known for?

Currently, Boston is one of the smallest world-class cities, known for its rich history and being an intellectual hub. With over 300,000 college students, Boston is a popular place to come to pursue high-class education.

But I believe that God has so much more for us – This is only the beginning.

What if Boston were to be known for the way the Christian community works together? As a city where people pray? As a place where love is displayed?

If you’re intrigued by this, I’d encourage you to listen to the short message that I shared on Easter at the first Awaken Winchester service.

We all cry out for revival but don’t realize that what brings revival is repentance. Two weeks ago, Dr. Paul Jehle gave a lecture on the spiritual history of Massachusetts – he said that the Great Awakening was a direct result of the repentance that happened after the Salem witch trials.

Above: Pastors and leaders gathering to pray for Boston at the New England Regional Leaders meeting

I’m convinced that God wants to bring revival to Boston, we’re not ready for it. Our light shines brightest when we extinguish the darkness, so my prayer is for conviction and changed hearts, that we might be capable for the revival God seeks to pour out.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may we arise and shine, so that the glory of the Lord can come upon us, that Boston might be awakened to its destiny as a city on a hill and a light to the nations.

Below: A photo of His Eminence Sean O’Malley of the Boston Catholic Archdiocese and His Eminence Methodios of the Metropolitan of Boston of the Greek Orthodox Church joining together to light the first candle of Easter night. Photo taken by Alexander Mavradis.

Photos from Previous Years

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