UniteBoston

Nurturing Relational Connections Across Boston's Christian Community

Transforming Hostility into Enemy-Embracing Love Sermon

Do you want to learn more about the theology behind Christian unity?

UniteBoston’s Executive Director Kelly Fassett preached at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary this past Wednesday. Her sermon was titled “Transforming Hostility into Enemy-Embracing Love.” Jesus redefined who we should associate with and modeled enemy-embracing love, even for the people that were nailing him to the cross. The sermon is centered on the scripture text Ephesians 2:11-22, which emphasizes Jesus’ reconciling peace, and the work of Christ that destroyed hostility between Jews and Gentiles.

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. 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.  He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” (Ephesians 2:14-17)

As Christians, how can people believe that we are reconciled to God, if we aren’t reconciled to one another? Kelly believes that there is one major component that is preventing unity and reconciliation: hostility. She highlights four steps we can take to uncover the hostility we may be holding towards other Christians by:

  1. Reflecting on which Christian groups we consider to be outside of the “true Christian church”
  2. Going with curiosity to learn from people and worship settings
  3. Reflecting and discerning which aspects of their faith that you want to adopt into your own Christian practice
  4. Speaking well of fellow Christians and treating them as if they were the living, breathing body of Christ

She states boldly that Christian unity is a process by which the church is brought to maturity (Eph 2:21-22, Eph 4:15-16). Our differences even among Christians seem to lead to intractable polarization and division – Listen to the sermon below to reflect, learn and grow together across the diversity of Christian belief and practice.

 

Please join us for Chapel at 11:10am (EST) to hear Kelly Fassett preach the Word.

Publicado por Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary en Miércoles, 13 de febrero de 2019

 

Divided We Stand? Evangelicals and Catholics Search for Common Ground

Big News! UniteBoston is featured this week on the Neighborly Faith Podcast!

Neighborly Faith Podcast hosts Kevin Singer and Chris Stackaruk searched nationwide for the cutting edge of Evangelical-Catholic ecumenism, the work towards unity among Christians. They traveled to Boston and Chicago to investigate the status and future of Evangelical-Catholic relationships in these cities, interviewing pastors & priests, professors, laypersons, seminarians, and musicians from both traditions. In their extensive and exclusive interviews, they investigate: What can today’s leaders in ecumenism teach us about the future between these two traditions?

Episodes include:
  • Evangelicals, Catholics, and Jesus’ Call for Unity: How should Christians follow the NT command for the Church to be one as Jesus and the Father are one?”
  • First Impressions of Evangelicals/Catholics…and Why They Changed: Leaders talk about their first impressions of the other, and how those impressions are changing.
  • Why is Christian Unity Difficult?: What are the hindrances Evangelicals must overcome in order to engage better with Catholics?
  • What Does Christian Unity Look Like?What does unity realistically look like in our world today?
  • Evangelicals and Catholics Working Together:  How are Evangelicals and Catholics working together now for the betterment of their churches, communities, and societies?

Here are links to the series: SERIES // SITE. These episodes would be great to listen to on a morning commute!

Featured Guests from UniteBoston include:

  • Kelly Fassett, the Founder and Executive Director of UniteBoston
  • Korleen Sheridan, member of UniteBoston’s Worship Team
  • Dr. Elizabeth Smith, Catholic scholar and ecumenist
  • Chloe Gaydos, UniteBoston Worship Team Band Manager
  • Rev. Dana Baker, Pastor of Social Justice and Multicultural Ministry at Grace Chapel and UniteBoston Board Member
“Ecumenism is us functioning as a body in which each part is playing its own role, yet there is synergy, conjunction, and coordination. I do what I can to promote a sense of honor and respect across the differences. Not that we would erase our differences but recognize them and be challenged by them. This giving and receiving is in the nature of God the Trinity”
-Kelly Fassett
Executive Director, UniteBoston
Please share this resource as widely as you are able. We’d love for the series to reach all who care about the future of Evangelical-Catholic ecumenism.
You can keep up with Neighborly Faith here: TWITTER // FACEBOOK // NEWS

Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Dr. King & MLK Day Service Projects

Martin Luther King was a doctoral student at the school of theology at Boston University, and lived in the South End. He was an assistant preacher at Twelfth Baptist Church. He led a mile-long civil rights march from the South End to the Boston Common.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. also stood at the Parkman Bandstand (the same location as the UB summer worship night!), in front of 22,000 people, speaking to the racial divisions: “Now is the time to make brotherhood a reality. Now is the time. The vision of the new Boston must extend into the heart of Roxbury. Boston must become a testing ground for the ideals of freedom.’’

This week, the world commemorates the 51st anniversary of his assasination, and King’s legacy lives on in our city. Pastor Larry King from Cambridge Community Fellowship Church seeks to extend this legacy and shape the identity of his church around social justice and racial reconciliation. Their congregation was featured on Channel 10 News – Click here to watch this!

Martin Luther King’s Prayer for the Church

We thank you for your church, founded upon your Word, that challenges us to do more than sing and pray, but go out and work as though the very answer to our prayers depended on us and not upon you.
Help us to realize that humanity was created to shine like the stars and live on through all eternity.
Keep us, we pray, in perfect peace.
Help us to walk together,
pray together,
sing together,
and live together
until that day when all God’s children
– Black, White, Red, Brown and Yellow –
will rejoice in one common band of humanity
in the reign of our Lord and of our God, we pray.
Amen.

Martin Luther King Day Service Projects

One of the best ways to live into Martin Luther King’s legacy is to participate in service projects. A few are listed below, or email Kelly Fassett, kelly@uniteboston.com if you know of any others that should be added to this list. It would be great to see Christians come together to serve alongside our neighbors!

St. Stephen’s Youth Program’s MLK Day of Action

Monday, January 21, 9:00am-2:00pm at Blackstone Innovation School, 380 Shawmut Ave, Boston.

Join for a variety of projects to honor Martin Luther King. There will be physical maintenance projects (painting and cleaning) and projects appropriate for children under age 13 and those with physical mobility limitations. Breakfast and lunch will be provided, and the day will conclude with an MLK Day Reflection and Education Equity Workshop. 

In addition, the Blackstone is requesting donations of hypoallergenic and fragrance-free hygiene supplies such as soap, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and especially skin lotion. If you can provide any of these, please bring them with you to the Day of Action where we will be organizing an area for young people to receive these essential items. Sign up here. 

9th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Interfaith Day of Service 

Monday January 21st, 9:00am to 1:00pm at Brandeis University, Waltham

Come honor and learn from the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., pack meals for food pantries & congregations that serve the homeless community and participate in social justice discussions with Brandeis clubs and local non-profits.

This year’s theme is “Continuous Giving” and features guest speaker Kevin Peterson from The New Democracy Coalition. Workshops for the day include: Chaplains on Way – Spiritual Companioning, Prejudice or Empathy with CMM’s IFYI Program Director Shelton Oakley Hersey, Habitat for Humanity, Community Day Center of Waltham, with activities for younger kids too. Sign up here.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service 

Monday January 21st, 2:00 to 5:00pm at Cambridge City Hall and various locations in Central Square, Cambridge

The 9th Annual Cambridge Day of Service organized by Many Helping Hands 365 to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The event is FREE and open to the public.

All ages are welcome to help with projects that benefit children, teens and adults in need. Join us for an afternoon of hands-on service projects! Make fleece scarves and blankets for homeless children and adults. Make Valentines for elders and veterans. Sort food, winter clothing, books and toiletries for people in need and more! Come spend an afternoon making a difference in the lives of others. Sign up here. 

Martin Luther King Jr. Service Project with Courageous Conversations

Monday January 21st, 9:00 to 11:00am at the Church of Our Savior (453 Adams Street, Milton, MA 02186) 

Come to assemble blessing bags and distribute to homeless attendees at a mid day luncheon in Boston. Supplies needed include toiletries, granola bars and small snacks, and $5 gift cards to local restaurants. Unscented toiletries are preferred. Bags will be assembled.  At 12:00pm, the blessing bags will be distributed at St. Paul’s Cathedral (138 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02111). Sign up here.

Martin Luther King Jr. Outdoor Service Project

Monday January 21st, 9:30am to 12:00pm, 500 Walk Hill Street, Mattapan

Join us for the outdoor service project at the Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary. Help us collect litter from the trails. Sign up here.

Courageous Conversations MLK Day Celebration

Monday, January 21st, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM, Concord Baptist Church, 180 Blue Hill Avenue, Milton

Milton Interfaith Clergy Association invites you to participate in the Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Milton Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. Sign up here.

Martin Luther King Day Community Conversations on Race

Monday, January 21 from 8:30am to 3:00pm at Grace Chapel, 3 Militia Drive, Lexington and surrounding towns

the Town of Lexington will commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with its 6th annual family-friendly day of volunteer activities supporting the underserved. The events begin at 9am (doors open at 8:30am) with a community dialogue on race in the Courtyard at Grace Chapel. This year’s topic is Dismantling White Privilege and Institutional Racism in Lexington and Beyond: the 400-year Struggle for Racial Justice. From 1-3pm, there will be fleece scarf and blanket making in the gym at Grace Chapel as well as a drop off station for donations of non-perishable foods, new and well-preserved toys, media, and more. Town activities will include cookie and card making, delivering sand to seniors for their winter walks and driveway and more.  Visit the website for more information.

2019 Town of Brookline MLK Day Celebration

Mon, January 21, 3:00 to 4:30pm, Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard Street, Brookline

Join together for Brookline’s celebration of the life and values of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at 3 pm Monday, January 21, 2019, at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. The theme for this year’s event is “Reflections on Race – Brookline Then and Now.” This year’s program will feature Brookline: Facing Civil Rights, a documentary film conceptualized by the MLK Jr. Celebration Committee and Produced by R. Harvey Bravman. Sign up here.

MLK Day of Learning: 50th Anniversary of the Poor People’s March

Saturday, January 19, 8:30am – 1:00pm at City Mission Boston, 185 Columbia Rd
Boston

Fifty years ago, Dr. King announced the Poor People’s Campaign. Although launched in 1968, this movement continues to be relevant today. Join City Mission for our annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Learning, where we will continue this important work. The US Census reflects the huge disparities in Boston, where the poverty rate for white residents is just under 7%, and for Black residents is 21.5%. The event is coordinated by City Mission Boston and will include guest speakers and facilitated small group discussion to help us learn from, and build community, with each other. Sign up here.

Boston Cares MLK Day of Service

Monday, January 21st, 10am to 1pm at Boston Latin School, 78 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston

On January 21, 2019 Boston Cares will organize 600 volunteers at the Boston Latin School, to support local immigrants and refugees through the creation of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) learning tools for community organizations and schools throughout the city of Boston. Volunteers will create English journals, conversation games, and vocabulary and citizenship flashcards for organizations for immigrant and refugee families learning English and preparing for the citizenship exam. New this year, volunteers will also create magnetic lapdesks and phonetics kits for beginners who may not be literate in their native languages. Additionally, our sponsors will join us in building beds for families who do not have a bed of their own. MLK Day is always kid-friendly and open to youth 5+. No orientation is required. Register here. 

 

 

Visualizing Racial Justice and Reconciliation

Stephanie Irwin with Civil Rights Activist John Perkins

The theme of the 2019 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is “Justice, only justice, you shall pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:20). In light of this theme, we created this discussion guide around Stephanie Irwin’s artwork to invite local conversation around the ways in which we can contribute to God’s justice in our communities. 

Stephanie lived in the Longwood Christian Community in 2011 to 2014 while training as a physical therapist. This project was inspired by Stephanie’s experience as part of reconciliation workshops in Rwanda, Africa with members of the Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups. It was there that she learned that healing “could only progress by facing the truth and acting upon it.” She created these art pieces seeking to share God’s call for justice and reconciliation with all those around her. Stephanie lives in Seattle now. Her artwork and photography are available at https://www.stephanielynnephoto.com/

We are planning to use the discussion guide below during some of the UniteBoston neighborhood dinners, but it could also be used within a church bible study or community group. When coming together with people from a variety of perspectives, it is always good to set expectations and guidelines for the conversation. Together, let us consider how God is inviting us to contribute to acts of justice and reconciled relationships within our lives and communities.

Note: While Stephanie’s art focuses on relationships between Black and White people, we recognize that racial justice includes people of all races. Additionally, we value Stephanie’s reflections as stated below through her own lens as a Caucasian woman, but we do not seek to universalize her experience or perspective. We felt that this was a valuable lens into one person’s understanding of the process of reconciliation, and hope that you will be inspired as well.

Jesus stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. (Luke 4:16-21, NIV)

“There is another thing that disturbs me to no end about the American church. You have a white church and you have a Negro church. You have allowed segregation to creep into the doors of the church. How can such a division exist in the true Body of Christ? You must face the tragic fact that when you stand at 11:00 on Sunday morning to sing “All Hail the Power of Jesus Name” and “Dear Lord and Father of all Mankind,” you stand in the most segregated hour of Christian America. They tell me that there is more integration in the entertaining world and other secular agencies than there is in the Christian church. How appalling that is.” (Paul’s Letter to American Christians, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, on 4 November 1956)

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in single garment of destiny.” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963)

Stephanie’s Artwork and Reflections

Yokes and Chains

The first piece, titled Yokes and Chains, sets the stage for both the pain of the past that continues to cause separation as well as a hope for abolition of that separation.  When considering the process of arriving at reconciliation the pain cannot be ignored but rather must be confronted. As the two children face each other they reflect on the reality and pain of slavery.  In this moment they bear witness to the fault, pain, consequence and responsibility of the transatlantic slave trade. In response, they express their pain through the shedding of tears. Both their tears reveal remorse for what transpired in the past as well as for the racism and segregation that persists even today.  Though they are separated by a darkness that is fueled by American society, their sorrow also reflects a hope for future change. By first gaining awareness of the truth rather than hiding from it, they choose to be a part of that change.

 

The Call

The second piece in the series is the foundation of the process.  True healing can only progress by facing the truth and acting upon it.  The Call presents this truth as the Word of God. The part of the text in focus reveals Colossians 3:11-14 which reminds us that we are called to be one, that in Christ there is no separation and that we must embrace unity through forgiveness, healing and love.  The silhouette brings to light the need to receive the truth as the two children from the first piece fall to their knees in surrender.

 

The Act

As she drew this picture, Stephanie describes, “My mind rushed back to another day in Rwanda where I saw a light emerge in the darkness through the joining of two men who expected to be lifelong enemies. A Tutsi man forgave the unforgivable of his Hutu neighbor and perpetrator from the 1994 Genocide. As I witnessed them walk hand-in-hand, I was convinced that I had never before seen a more beautiful sight. It was at this point that I acquired a renewed hope of flourishing unity between whites and blacks in America.  Similarly, the two children who were separated by darkness in the first piece are now joined here to create a light as they respond to their call. With fingers interlocked they move forward together determined to never be divided.”

 

Beloved Community

The final piece brings the project and everyone together. The hands depicted in this piece are the hands of real people, including the artist’s, who choose to join with people of all color to stand for racial reconciliation and live in multicultural and multigenerational community. Bordering the hands are the words “united” and “reconciled” in twelve different languages to emphasize the beauty of diversity. The intention of incorporating these languages is to allow anyone to feel as if that they are a part of this piece. The piece is titled Beloved Community in order to portray racial reconciliation as specifically centered around love that is fostered through a community. Additionally, it references the song “Beloved Community” developed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which reflects the vision of all four pieces cumulatively. You are invited to join this beloved community with those building it around you.

Discussion Questions

  1. Describe your initial thoughts or reactions to the scripture passage, quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., or Stephanie’s art pieces.
  2. Where have you personally seen racial justice or inequity taking place? What most breaks your heart about this?
  3. Where do you see people sharing in the prophetic mission of Jesus as described in Luke 4? Where is there evidence of the healing, liberating, redeeming power of God in your life or neighborhood? Share a story that comes to mind.
  4. The Bible has continually been a source of inspiration for the Christian community to address conditions that are unjust or undermine human dignity. Where do you see an opportunity for the Church to come together for the cause of racial justice in this neighborhood or community?

Additional Resources:

-Read the Christian Churches Together response to Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail here (2013)

-Check out the Emmanuel Gospel Center’s Race & Christian Community Initiative 

Symposium: Traditional Biblical Sexuality in a Changing Youth Culture

As debates about human sexuality dominate classrooms, coffee shops, and social media, youth ministers committed to a traditional Biblical ethic may struggle to find their voice. Some may wonder if there is a safe space in which to form a theologically informed and nuanced approach to these charged and complex issues.

Join Dr. Walt Mueller of the Center for Parent Youth Understanding and Dr. Duffy Robbins of Grove City College for an intensive multi-day symposium to deepen your own Biblical and theological foundations, to broaden your apologetic for affirming the goodness of expressing sexual intimacy within the bonds of marriage between a man and a woman, and to strengthen your pastoral skills in helping youth live out these truths.

This Symposium presumes participants’ affirmation of a historic, orthodox Christian sexual ethic and will be building from this premise, not debating it. Participation is limited to 25 to allow for deep exploration of these issues and will require some preparatory work and active involvement in the Symposium.


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