christian unity – Page 9

Jul 23 2014

Transformation at UMass Boston

For the past five months, the UniteBoston Reps have been engaging in various activities to listen and learn from their communities. These next four weeks, each rep will be writing a brief blog to share their findings with the Greater Boston Christian community. This week, Amanda Green, UB Rep at UMass Boston shares her insights.

We dream of having every community in Boston connected with a UB Rep! UB Rep Cohorts begin in October and finish in May. If you’re interested in being a UB Rep in your community, email Kelly Steinhaus, kelly@uniteboston.com

Most of us spend the majority of our lives with other people, those we work, study and play with. Being a research assistant at the University of Massachusetts Boston, my life is very normal in that way. I spend my time with others, yet as a Christian I seek work and school transformation by the most healing truth that comes from Jesus Christ. If you are a Christian, than you will likely agree you would like all spheres of your life to reflect God’s grace and peace.

Being a Unite Boston representative at UMass Boston has inspired me to look at all what God is doing around me. He has been there long before I came and will be there long after, which is a historical perspective that is wise to assume when considering on how to approach work or school transformation. Recognizing God’s work that is already present in other’s lives will help us to take a more effective approach of partnering with what He is already doing. At UMass, there are multiple Christian groups, of various sizes, that already have a mission to reach students with God’s love. Also, individuals who are not in these groups each have a story and their lives have likely been touched by a Christian in the past. As Nehemiah surveyed the land before the action of rebuilding, so must we.

The groups on campus have the same mission to reach students do not communicate or pray very much, as they would admit themselves. Having a united love for students through prayer seems to be a next step for the transformation of this institution. Providing a moment for prayer by students and leaders for the campus will invite more spiritual transformation to this broken campus. Prayer before any work on campus should be a priority, as prayer and mourning should happen in light of brokenness (Nehemiah 1:4). Also, unity will help people at UMass to believe the gospel we proclaim (John 17:23).

Over my time at UMass, I am thankful to say I have met students who did not know Christ when we first met and became believers after many conversations and prayer with many Christians. Often this has taken years. Transformation in individuals and institutions is a progression and is often not done quickly or alone. UMass Boston is a diverse campus, and all of these students have had significantly different backgrounds, and yet God has met them all in a simple way; through the care of individuals who believe in God.

So, the big question is, where is God already working in your workplace? Let us continue to pray for transformation!

Jul 10 2014

Keeping the Peace in Cambridge

By Kelly Steinhaus, UniteBoston Team Leader

Above, about fifty people gathered for a prayer vigil in honor of Kensley Davidson on Wednesday evening, who lost his life in a shooting on the corner of Windsor and Harvard Streets in Cambridge last Thursday night after the fireworks.

Amidst fears of retaliation, Bishop Greene called together pastors and leaders in Cambridge for this prayer vigil, sending a message to those who are considering revenge that “there is another way, a different path, and a better choice; one that will nurture healing and hope, instead of sowing more seeds of tension, strife, and destruction.” Pastor Ford also delivered a powerful message on the importance of coming together, keeping the peace, and stopping the violence in order to heal the land. It was a moving time of uniting together around the only One that can truly bring the peace that this city needs.

“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.“ Colossians 3:15

Jul 02 2014

Unity in Diversity: Shalom in the Fenway

For the past five months, the UniteBoston Reps have been engaging in various activities to listen and learn from their communities. These next four weeks, each rep will be writing a brief blog to share their findings with the Greater Boston Christian community. This week, Betsy Slate, Director of Community Engagement at Fenway Church is sharing her insights from the Fenway Community.

We dream of having every community in Boston connected with a UB Rep! UB Rep Cohorts begin in October and extend to May. If you’re interested in being a UB Rep in your community, email Kelly Steinhaus, kelly@uniteboston.com

(Photo Credit: www.colleges-fenway.org)

Strolling through the Fenway neighborhood, you’re likely to meet people from all walks of life. You may meet Fatma, who has come from Saudi Arabia to the area for its proximity to the Longwood Medical Center; her daughter is ill with a disease that she’s come to Children’s Hospital with hope for a cure. Continuing down Boylston Street, you meet someone like Mark, a student from California who has come to study music at Berklee, just trying to figure out the ins and outs of adulthood. As you pass the Fenway Victory Gardens, you meet Janine and Bobby, long-term residents who find a sense of community in the very ground of the Fenway. Rounding the bend, you bump into Clara, a resident of the Fenway for over three decades, working to see the community become just that – a community, a people that care about one another and the state of the neighborhood.

The beauty of the Fenway lies therein; a diverse group of people brought together geographically – often for a limited period of time. This neighborhood is denoted by transition, which puts the area at risk for great instability. With the number of families dropping each year, the increase of young, transient residents and ever-rising housing prices, one could look at the Fenway and think it’s headed for disaster. But, if you search for God’s heartbeat in the humdrum of this bustling neighborhood, you’ll hear a different rhythm, one that softly drums hope.

Despite the odds being stacked against the neighborhood, God is bringing together individuals from these different social groups to generate unity for social impact. This is not a community that backs down from a challenge; organizations like the Fenway Community Development Corporation (FCDC) are bringing together students, long term residents, and families to build an “urban village” – a place with ample and affordable housing, healthy local business, shared indoor and outdoor community spaces, and good access to transportation. Further, residents and developers – typically at odds – are partnering to see a Community Center come to fruition. While these may look “practical” and not “spiritual,” they are the instruments God can use to bring about a community knitted together in shalom – community-wide, holistic peace characterized by relationships as He intended.

Though we’re seeing the first signs of partnership between residents and students, there is still much to be done. On the whole, the church in the Fenway can partner to bring peace and reconciliation alongside local community workers. Division seems to always be at work in the Fenway. Even the geography reflects the struggle between unity and division: the Fens – the park system iconic of the neighborhood – is both a space to unite the neighborhood and which separates the Fenway in an east-west divide. Churches in the Fenway must unite across geography and turf, and share a common vision to see this neighborhood transformed. Followers of Jesus throughout the Fenway can then enter community organizations as learners with a sense of peace and unity that will come to the whole neighborhood.

Futher, the church can function as peacemakers between disparate groups in the Fenway. Long term residents sometimes feel at odds with students, the transience of whom lead to increased housing costs and poor living conditions within the neighborhood; whereas students are largely unaware of their place in the community. The church can act as ministers of reconciliation in the Fenway by facilitating the connection between the residential community and the student community. A neighborhood is not one group or another; rather, it includes everyone who lives in that area. Students have a place in and responsibility to the community, and residents have a role in welcoming students to the neighborhood. The church can model the former to students, and introduce students and residents to one another.

Disparate groups are not meant to coexist, in the Fenway or otherwise, but to engage with one another. As God directed the Israelites in Jeremiah 29, so are we to seek the welfare of the city, of the neighborhood, in which we find ourselves. God is already at work in this neighborhood; let us partner with Him as peacemakers to see unity in the Fenway. The church can and must weave itself into the fabric of the community, and help others do the same, with the hope of bringing unity and shalom to the Fenway neighborhood – one step toward seeing unity across Boston.

On the right, Betsy Slate is Director of Community Engagement at Fenway Church

Jun 25 2014

Boston’s South End and UniteBoston

By Ralph Kee, UniteBoston Rep: South End

I’ve been encouraged to see how God is working throughout the South End. Recently, pastors or designated representatives of churches that meet in or within a couple of blocks of the South End have been holding 2-hour meetings together every six weeks for the last year, for the purpose of South End focussed Great Commission collaboration. Fifteen churches have attended at least one meeting, with an average of six or so churches and twelve or so people at each meeting. The South End itself is about one square mile with some 35,000 residents, and there are 35 churches of all kinds are listed in the South End, so as you can see, the need is great.

At each of the meetings, individuals representative of various Boston endeavors have presented their work, their needs, as well as their offers to help South End churches, collectively or individually. At recent meetings, there has been discussions on helping South End public schools, helping reduce South End street violence, helping families affected by violence, connecting with Tenants Development Corporation, and helping refugees adjust to Boston. In addition to this, a collaborative outdoor Easter Sunrise Service was held in a South End park, with components of the service led by five of the churches and about forty people in attendance.

There are many realities facing the South End of Boston at this time, such as the ongoing loss of church buildings to high-end condos, the increasing number of millionaires, and the reality that whole new mini-neighborhoods are being constructed in or near the South End. Christians need to address these current realities, and collectively come up with an answer to the question: how do the churches put their expertise to work collaboratively for further South End Kingdom-building? And can we collaboratively be out in the coffee shops and in the parks this summer doing some friendship building and evangelism? These are things for the South End churches themselves to decide. And then, as led, do.

The group is now at a critical point. After a year of meetings, concrete results need to be seen if interest is to continue. Unless this kind of endeavor produces two things at the same time: added strength and growth to individual participating churches and at the same time added additional strength and growth and evangelistic success to the whole Body of Christ in the South End, interest and participation in this endeavor will lapse. We hope this effort to collaborate will be successful.

We praise God for UniteBoston, for its commitment to neighborhood focussed collaborative vision-building and practice. My UniteBoston prayer walk around the INK Block construction was a memorable prayer walk. Getting the UniteBoston Reps that focus on various Boston neighborhoods regularly around the same table is critical. Constantly learning from each other and encouraging each other is basic to success That’s what they did in the Book of Acts and what we need to do in Boston, and UniteBoston is helping enable this to happen.

Jun 17 2014

Harvard Square: There’s No Place Like Home

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Harvard Square: There’s No Place Like Home

by Kelly Steinhaus

Cambridge has been my home community for almost six years now, and I’m coming to understand that in many ways, the Cambridge community is like a brick. 29% of Cambridge is enrolled in college (1), whose campuses are characterized by red brick buildings. In Cambridge, a person’s tends to be defined by the letters after their name, and, like a brick I’ve found many people in Cambridge to have a hard outer shell. Yet, I’ve also found that, once people trust you, people in Cambridge will open up and become some of the most loyal friends you could ever hope to have.

For many, a brick is also symbolic of “home,” which many people in Cambridge do not have. On one night in 2013, it was determined that 537 persons in Cambridge were homeless (2). Anyone who walks around Harvard Square will notice friends young and old who are living on the street. In fact, Tom Magliozzi said that “Harvard Square is the bum capital of the world.” (3)

Over the past few months as a UB Rep, I’ve become stirred by this issue and am seeking the answer to one question – What would it look like for the churches to come together to serve people who are experiencing homelessness?

As I began researching, I realized that what we don’t need is another soup kitchen. Lunch is served every day in three locations in Cambridge, with 12 dinner meals throughout the week – and this is only the beginning of the abundance of resources available. So what should be done?

I interviewed three people with this question, and found one common thread: What people experiencing homelessness need most is a friend. Tim & Alice Colegrove serve as friends and advocates of homeless youth in Harvard Square, emphasized that “We need a shift in our attitude from charity to mutuality. The church doesn’t need to provide services, they need to build relationships.” Similarly, Alex Grant from Hope Fellowship Church said that while we can’t eliminate homelessness, we can have a change of heart where we look at those we pass during the week and desire to help them.

I also had the opportunity to interview Stephanie Akert, Cambridge’s Director of the Multi-Service Center for the Homeless. From her perspective, one of the biggest needs is to help people transition to permanent housing. We brainstormed ideas as to how churches could alleviate the loneliness that plagues many formerly homeless people who become housed. Churches could be matched with individuals and families who become housed to provide welcome baskets and walk alongside them as friends in their new community. However, the logistics of this effort would be quite difficult due to restrictions in confidentiality and the dispersal of home placements far from Cambridge.

A few friends and I did an interesting experiment a few months ago – we stood in the middle of Harvard Square with signs that read, “Free Hugs.” While many were skeptical and walked by, a few brave souls came to give us a hug. They left grinning and laughing, bringing smiles to others passing by. This momentary embrace of perfect strangers celebrated our common desire for community. (Click on the image below to watch)

The UB Reps program has helped me to see Cambridge holistically. I’m coming to understand that more than a physical home, people need a spiritual place they can call home; a community where they are loved and appreciated for who they are, not just what they do. My church (Journey Church) is officially launching to the city in September with a campaign called “Helping Others Find Their Way Home.”

You see, a brick is only significant because of what it is a part of – a larger wall, placed in alignment with many other bricks. Truly, in Cambridge, there’s no place like home.

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