UniteBoston

Bridging Divides Across Christians for the Flourishing of the City

Illuminate Photoblog: A Celebration of Christian Unity, Reconciliation, and Hope in Boston

On May 29, 80 people gathered for UniteBoston’s “Illuminate” Fundraising Celebration and Community Gathering. In a season where profound division, polarization, injustice and violence can feel overwhelming, we came together to declare that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it” (John 1:5). At UniteBoston, we are committed to equipping Christians to be bridge-builders and agents of reconciliation, justice, peace, and repair. This gathering called Christians in Greater Boston to embody the light of Christ boldly and beautifully for the flourishing of our city.

Voices of the Movement

The gathering featured a rich tapestry of local leaders and storytellers who bore witness to God’s work of reconciliation, justice, and peacemaking.

Rev. Gina Tillotson-Cordy (Pastor of First Church of the Nazarene in Lynn) shared a moving testimony from her time in the Beloved Community Lab. She spoke of the hard, holy work of sixteen diverse pastors meeting monthly to learn and practice unity, justice, and reconciliation in their own contexts – and the vital truth of seeing everyone we meet as beloved children of God.

Rev. Dr. Melinda Priest (UB Board Member and Lead Pastor of Awaken City Church) highlighted the importance of Convene. She shared a powerful blueprint for city-wide renewal based on her research interviewing 39 Greater Boston faith leaders. Her research shows that regular, cross-sector convening strengthens the Christian witness, fuels innovative resource sharing, and contributes to the multiplication of disciples, leaders, and churches.

Loving Big: Keynote Address by Rozella Haydée White

The centerpiece of the evening was an inspiring keynote address by public theologian, author, and coach Rozella Haydée White. Drawing from her foundational work on The Power of Revolutionary Relationships to Transform the World, Rozella challenged attendees to look past sentimental, anemic forms of love to practice a love that is Christ-like, life-giving, justice-seeking, and restorative.

“UniteBoston’s mission rests on a profound theological truth – relationships change us. When we sit across the table from one another, hear one another’s stories, and choose curiosity over assumptions and judgment, light begins to emerge. I believe the future of the Christian church will not be in how loud we argue but by how deeply we love… May we illuminate. May we bring light to hard places. May we create clarity in confusion. And may Boston encounter in us not only a more brighter church but also a more loving one, for the witness of the gospel and the glory of God.”

Following her address, Revs. Kelly and Devlin joined Rozella for a dynamic, interactive fireside chat, utilizing live polling from the audience to address the real-life tensions and questions surfacing in the room.

Growth and Sustainability

A central milestone celebrated during the evening was a monumental structural shift for the organization: for the first time in its 16-year history, UniteBoston is operating with two full-time staff members. This growth allows Executive Director Rev. Kelly Fassett and Managing Director Rev. Devlin Scott to step out of day-to-day administrative bottlenecks and focus strictly on scaling regional programmatic innovations and institutional strategy.

Your investment directly fuels these core avenues of citywide transformation:

  1. The Beloved Community Lab: Moving from a pilot framework to offering direct training, coaching, and workshops for local congregations to cultivate peacemaking habits.
  2. The Boston Sankofa Journey: Centering and preserving the legacy of historic Black Christian leaders on a public digital archive, and inviting individuals into a personal “story-collecting movement” to foster historical truth-telling.
  3. Collaborative Outreach: Convening platforms like Boston Flourish and the Boston Immigrant Resource Dashboard (BIRD) to build a connected system of care and resource-sharing, so all might flourish in our city.

The Glow-Pass: Keeping the Momentum Alive

Throughout the evening, Christian leaders, pastors, and community members from diverse traditions gathered to celebrate what God is doing across Greater Boston through collaboration, reconciliation, and relationship. This closing moment captures the heart of UniteBoston’s mission: that the light of Christ shines brightest when we walk together.

Through the immense generosity of our attendees and sponsors, we have raised $28,673 towards our fundraising goal! We are still pushing to hit our next critical campaign milestone of $30,000. Will you help us close the remaining gap to fund the buses, staff time, resources, and shared tables that keep our bridge-building movement running?

👉 Partner with Us: Click Here to Give to the Illuminate Campaign

A heartfelt thank you to our event sponsors who made this beautiful evening possible!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Illuminate and who continues to support UniteBoston’s work of nurturing unity among diverse Christians for the flourishing of Greater Boston. We are grateful to have you in our community!

American Independence and Identity at 250 Conference

Hosted at Gordon College, this conference provides Christian political scientists, historians, and other scholars a unique forum to gather to explore the state of democracy in the US and globally. Each day features stellar keynote addresses, paper panels, workshops, and roundtables. In recognition of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, join us for an optional Sunday excursion into nearby Boston to visit revolutionary sites!

Gordon College is pleased to offer a variety of packages to conference guests. If you would like to learn more about our child, spouse, or student rates, or inquire about a package not seen below, please reach out to our Conference Director to discuss potential accommodations.

Solving The World’s Greatest Problems

Join us on Friday, May 8 for an 8:30-12:30 dive into Solving the World’s Greatest Problems.  We’re looking to gather 40-50 Christian leaders from across the Boston area to watch a 2 ½ hour videocast of a recent well-regarded event on this topic that included several known Christian leaders (for example, Tim Tebow).   We’ll then dive into table discussions about what we can do together to actually solve some of the biggest problems that New England faces.  Ideally we’ll come out of this with a rough framework for an action plan with some next steps.  We’ll be meeting at Grace Chapel in Lexington.  Cost is $39, lunch is included.

For more info and to register, click here

He Will Establish the Work of Our Hands: An Interview with FaithWorks Founder Camille Sery-Ble

A world-class city anchored by rich history, influential industries, and notable educational institutions, Boston’s culture can be tightly bound to profession and progress. In this setting, an important Christian movement has begun. FaithWorks, a non-profit dedicated to helping Christians integrate their faith with their professional lives, is drawing together a diverse and vibrant community of believers across Greater Boston.

As FaithWorks prepares for its second annual conference this April, Faithworks’ Research and Analytics Chair Luke Redington sat down with Founder and President Camille Sery-Ble to discuss the origins of this young ministry and the impact it is already having in the lives of Christians from many different backgrounds.

By Luke Redington 

A Vision Born in an Inspired Moment

The rapid success of FaithWorks can be traced back to a singular, inspired moment. One day, Camille felt a distinct calling: Boston needed a space where believers could learn to thrive as disciples while pursuing their careers.

She grabbed a pencil and paper, and began to write. The ideas came like a flood. She began listing names of people she would like to see attend (two-thirds of whom would eventually participate) and specific industries that needed representation. When she looked back at what she wrote, she could see that God had woven these plans from the strands of her own entrepreneurial, workplace, and personal experiences. She sensed that through this dream, God would redeem her frustrations and realize her hopes. And God did! A few months later, a venue in Cambridge hosted the first FaithWorks Conference in April 2025.  

Unity by Design

Though FaithWorks is young, its impact is already measured in the hundreds. Perhaps more impressively, it has become a model for Christian unity. Both the executive board and the conference attendees represent a wide tapestry of denominations and backgrounds—a goal Camille built into the organization’s founding principles. 

Her explanation of how the Lord brought this goal to fruition is straightforward: “To embody Christ is to unite people. To walk in Christ and love your neighbor as yourself—whether as an employee or as a business owner—will unite you with many people.” 

Camille knows this truth through experience. Now, whenever she attends a professional networking event in the Boston area, she sees people she knows and greets them with a smile.  

Shared Pressures, Singular Purpose

When asked why faith in the workplace has become such a unifying idea in Boston, Camille’s answer is both highly practical and deeply theological. “Christians are subject to the same economic pressures as everyone else in the city,” she explains. Commuting to work, pivoting from one career to another, or just trying to make ends meet are concerns that confront Bostonians, no matter their creed. 

Yet, for the believer, there is a unique concern: a desire to honor Christ not just on Sundays, but in the 9-to-5. FaithWorks helps believers address this concern by bringing together the practicalities of work and the theology of vocation.

         “We can model Christ at all times—in family, social, and work settings,” Camille says. “That doesn’t mean we are simply evangelizing at work. It means your coworkers should encounter the love of Christ through you. They should experience the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ in your professional conduct. That experience should make them curious.”

Join the Movement: The 2026 Conference

The second annual FaithWorks Conference is set for Saturday, April 25, 2026. Building on last year’s momentum, the event will feature specialized workshops tailored to various career sectors—from tech and healthcare to the arts and trades.

The theme for 2026 is An Urgency of Holiness: From Repentance to Deliverance, focusing on the link between a believer’s inner spiritual life and their public witness in the workplace. With a diverse lineup of Boston-based industry leaders and ministers, the conference is designed to help you place Christ at the very center of your career. 

Event Details

By integrating the practical and theological dimensions of faith in the workplace, FaithWorks provides a model for faithfully carrying Jesus into the public sphere—the very “faithful witness” UniteBoston attests to. Consider joining this conference and movement in Boston and help us spread the word!

Radical Hospitality: The Way of Jesus

Do you want to be welcoming of others without neglecting yourself?

Do you want to learn communication skills for transforming conflict?

Do you want to be a healing presence in the world?

Join us for one or all of these transformative Nonviolent Communication trainings

Six Sundays of Lent: February 22, March 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29

North Street Community Church, 235 North Street, Hingham, MA

Co-sponsored by Bethel Church of the Nazarene of Quincy and Heart-to-Heart

All are welcome. Sign up is free.

Now, perhaps more than ever, our culture needs people who are radically welcoming of others and themselves. Join us as we integrate the gospel call to love our neighbors as ourselves and Nonviolent Communication. This Lenten journey is designed to support people of faith and conscience in living the radical hospitality of Jesus, so needed in these times. Together, we will learn and practice radical hospitality, a rooted receptivity to all that is alive in ourselves and in others.

The six-week journey offers a chance to learn and grow in skills essential for all our relationships. We will draw on the powerful skills of Nonviolent Communication, developed by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg.

Are you interested in becoming a Heart-to-Heart trainer or assistant? Are you interested in helping us bring our life-changing work to people in or out of prisons? Then taking this series would be a great introduction.

Each week we will develop our capacity to live the radical hospitality embodied by Jesus

Feb 22 Awareness

Mar 1 Passion

Mar 8 Needs Consciousness

Mar 15 Compassion

Mar 22 Incarnation

Mar 29 A meal-sharing and integration

Donation: This community-building and learning journey is given freely, with an invitation to give back to the nonprofit Heart-to-Heart. Heart-to-Heart helps people affected by incarceration to heal, thrive, and become the leaders they are called to be. We teach life-changing relationship skills in and out of correctional facilities. Our goal in this series is to equip people with the skills and consciousness needed to be healing agents in our society, fostering systems of restorative, not punitive justice, with hospitality for our returning citizens and all who need welcome.

Registration is free. By registering, we can prepare and send each week’s learning materials to you by email.

For more information and to register, go to: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/cu/41ml3N0/RadHospLent2026


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