UniteBoston

Bridging Divides Across Christians for the Flourishing of the City

Global Leadership Summit

Join us at this summer’s Global Leadership Summit.
Hosted at both Grace Chapel & North River Church (August 6 & 7)

The Global Leadership Summit is one of the largest leadership conferences in the world. In this two-day event you’ll engage with other local leaders as you hear prominent experts from both the marketplace and ministry share their wisdom.  This will help you:

-Become better leaders
-Tackle leadership challenges
-Refine strategy
-Build a thriving culture.

The GLS is perfect for both individuals and teams who want to grow their leadership skills.  In 2025 over 350,000 people attended in over 110 countries.  The GLS is run live from Willow Creek Church in Chicago, and livestreamed to thousands of host sites worldwide including in the Boston area Grace Chapel in Lexington, Watertown and Wilmington, and North River Church in Pembroke.  For more info checkout www.GlobalLeadership.org/Summit,  or contact Grace Chapel (www.Grace.Org/GLS) or North River Church (www.NorthRiverChurch.org)

Job Opportunity-Greater Boston

Position Title: WelcomeNST Ambassador – Boston

Position Location: Remote. Must live in and be able to travel around the Greater Boston MA Area

Hours: Approximately 10–15 hours/week

Pay:  $1500 per month

Position Summary:

The Ambassador will expand WelcomeNSTs effort to support refugees and immigrants in the Greater Boston area through:

  1. Outreach: Engaging communities of faith to form Neighborhood Support Teams (NSTs) to help their refugee and immigrant neighbors with a goal of forming at least 3 new NSTs/month
  2. Support: Working with grassroots organizations and networks to help NSTs find needed local supports for families as they walk alongside them on their road to self-reliance.

You will do this in concert with WelcomeNST and our partners. This position is a hybrid role, reporting directly to the Director of Outreach and the Director of Programs. It is ideal for a motivated self-starter with strong relationship and partnership-building skills, a demonstrated passion for working with refugees, deep connections in the Greater Boston area, strong communication skills and a genuine desire to find ways to help immigrants thrive in this challenging climate.

Key Responsibilities:

Outreach

  • Engage your existing networks and those of our partners as well as grassroots and faith communities to find people who are looking for a way to make an impact at this historical moment as well as faith communities seeking support from their neighbors
  • Engage these interested neighbors and faith leaders and educate them about what it means to form an NST
  • Proactively form relationships with new like-minded organizations, networks and congregations of helpers
  • Provide regular updates to the Director of Outreach and attend a weekly coordination meeting with the WelcomeNST outreach team

Programs

  • Attend “match meetings” in which the faith communities are matched together to form NSTs.
  • Serve as a primary point of contact for NSTs in your region post-match, assisting with local resources, problem solving, and local insights
  • Establish a relationship with partners and other organizations in your region that may provide support to our NSTs and the families they serve
  • Coordinate with the Programs Team by providing regular updates to the Director of Outreach and attending a weekly coordination meeting

Qualifications:

  • Demonstrated experience as a “community organizer” with a habit of engaging people to action to meet needs
  • A networker and connector at heart with strong relationship building and management skills
  • Strong connections within the Greater Boston area and a high level of comfort working with them to find ways to collaborate
  • Enthusiastic, energetic person with a flair for “getting to yes”
  • Passionate about refugees and immigrants with a demonstrated history of helping newly arrived families
  • Flexible, self-motivated, and ideally, familiar with the dynamics of non-profit start-ups
  • Basic proficiency with technology and ability to use/learn to use remote collaboration tools

If interested, reach out to us at getinvolved@welcomenst.org

Prep and Pray, No Kings Rally

We invite you to join as a community of all faiths for a “Prep and Pray” event before the No Kings Action in Boston Common on March 28th. We’ll gather at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul at 138 Tremont St., across from the Park St T Station, at 12pm (an hour before No Kings) to sing together, center in prayer, and build community to be ready for what’s next. This is a collaboration of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, Episcopal City Mission, and our Cathedral Church of St. Paul. Please register here.

Is Your Church Looking for Financial Help or Assistance?

We aim to connect churches with financial institutions that provide loans that aligns with their missions, goals, and their unique funding needs. Our mission is based on assisting churches, religious organizations, and non-profits to explore the best financial loan solutions available and to receive the tailored financial support and guidance they deserve!

Faith in Action: Boston Churches Step Up to Feed Their Neighbors

When the nation faced the longest government shutdown in history, millions of families were left wondering how they would feed their children. Even as Congress reconvenes, the effects of halted federal food assistance programs—like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—continue to ripple across the country. Here in Greater Boston, the need remains acute.

According to a recent report by The Greater Boston Food Bank, nearly 45% of adults in Suffolk County experienced food insecurity between late 2022 and early 2023—one of the highest rates in Massachusetts. The City of Boston estimates that more than 100,000 residents lack reliable access to fresh, healthy food. Despite the city’s goal of ending food insecurity by 2030 through the Mayor’s Office of Food Justice, the immediate crisis is far from over.

Read below to see how churches and Christian organizations across Boston are coming together as the hands and feet of Jesus, responding to these needs to show God’s love and care for our neighbors.

Send Relief: Partnering with Churches to Meet Immediate Needs

As federal food programs stall, Send Relief, one of the nation’s largest faith-based compassion ministries, has expanded its hunger relief efforts through local ministry hubs. In Boston, UB Cohort member John Ames and his team are coordinating shipments of food and resources to families in need.

Send Relief Boston has mobilized four local church partners—Arborway Community Church (Jamaica Plain), Timothy Baptist Church (Roxbury), Redemption Hill (Medford) and Hope Fellowship (Cambridge)—to distribute groceries and provide meals to neighbors as early as this weekend.

“As these hubs operate, we anticipate that each location will serve approximately 150 families, providing meaningful and timely relief over the course of the month of November. We believe healthy compassion ministry flows through the local church,” said John Ames, North Regional Director Send Relief and the Boston Ministry Center Director of Send Relief Boston. “We have been so inspired by each of the pastors, staff, members, and volunteers who have mobilized quickly to respond to food insecurity in Greater Boston.” On left, see members of Hope Fellowship Church in Cambridge launching the new food hub.

These Send Relief Hubs will continue their efforts as long as the need persists, reminding the city that hunger is not just a statistic—it’s a shared human story that the Church can help rewrite.

Dorchester Neighbors Respond: Community and Compassion

In Dorchester, local leaders are finding creative ways to ensure no one is left behind. The Dorchester SNAP Cuts Community Response group—organized by community organizers like Hannah Hafter from Episcopal City Mission —has become a lifeline for residents navigating sudden reductions in benefits.

Through mutual aid and collective care, they created a “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” group which connected families with groceries, gift cards, and delivery support, prioritizing those whose needs often fall through the cracks—seniors, people with disabilities, and those with dietary restrictions.

“A group of us from the neighborhood used Facebook, and existing neighborhood groups like “Nothing for Sale” and “DOT Parents,” to create a network where neighbors whose SNAP benefits were impacted could connect with neighbors offering to help with groceries through the crisis,” says Hannah Hafter. “It became a lot bigger than we ever imagined, with over 60 families that ended up being matched, and we had to close out the form unfortunately to make sure we could follow through for everyone. We felt like this offering was really important because there are a variety of barriers people can face related to food pantries, whether it’s transportation, or timing, or having dietary restrictions and allergies in the family that aren’t met by pantries, so we wanted this to support and supplement the rest of what already is out there.”

This grassroots model reminds us that food justice is not only about access but dignity—ensuring people can receive the foods that meet their cultural and religious needs.

Churches Offering Hope and Hospitality

Across the city, congregations are transforming their sanctuaries into spaces of hospitality and hope. First Baptist Church of Jamaica Plain, under the leadership of Rev. Ashlee Wiest-Laird, has long hosted regular community meals and food pantries for their neighbors.

Pastor Ashlee describes, “Our Centre Food Justice Program provides low cost food, free groceries and two hot meals a week to our neighbors in Boston. Every month over 75,000 pounds of food are made available to people in Jamaica Plain and throughout Boston. We believe that food is a God-given right for all people. By providing meals and food to our neighbors, we embody the love and justice of Jesus.  All God’s children deserve a full stomach.”

Churches, like this one, exemplify what it looks like to live out the gospel in public—feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, and building tables big enough for everyone.

Faith Communities Working Together

UniteBoston celebrates how faith leaders and organizations are joining forces during this time of need. From large-scale operations like Send Relief to neighborhood-based efforts like the Dorchester SNAP Response, these collective acts of compassion are a testament to the power of collaboration and sharing the gospel in word and deed. But the work is not over.

“While SNAP has been restored in MA, lots of people are reporting reduced benefits, which seem to be permanent due to changes in the system coming down from the Trump Administration – it’s not just partial payments this month,” says Hannah Hafter. “One mother of 3 tells us that her SNAP was cut to $26 a month. This really highlights that food security among our neighbors is going to continue to be a big concern.”

In addition to these local efforts, churches across the state are collaborating through SNAP Sundays, an initiative of the Black Ministerial Association Tenpoint of Massachusetts, the Pastors Council of Greater Springfield, and the Black Ecumenical Council of Massachusetts. Together, these networks are gathering canned goods, funds, and essential resources to continue to support families affected by the SNAP cuts and fall-out of the government shutdown.

No matter what happens in Congress, the Church’s call remains clear: to love our neighbors as ourselves and to ensure that no one in our city goes hungry.

It can be hard to look beyond ourselves when money is tight and resources are dwindling. However, we celebrate how these congregations and organizations are choosing God’s kingdom economy of generosity and abundance, knowing that what affects one of us affects all of us: “But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (1 Cor 12:25-26). Together, they remind us that the beloved community Jesus prayed for is built one shared meal, one open table, and one act of love at a time.

Local Food Resources

If you or someone you know is experiencing food insecurity, here are local resources you can share:

  • Food Resource Guide for the Greater Boston area that is updated frequently
  • Greater Boston Food Bank Pantry Finder
  • City of Boston SNAP Resources
  • Project Bread’s FoodSource Hotline
    Call or text 800-645-8333 for information about local food programs.
  • Healthy Incentives Program (HIP)
    Continue to use your SNAP card to get fresh food from farmers markets, farm stands, and CSAs.
  • Boston Double Up Food Bucks
    Get 50% off fresh produce with SNAP at participating stores.
  • Dorchester SNAP Cuts Community Response
    Join or support neighbors by offering groceries, gift cards, or deliveries:
    Support form
  • Fresh truck – If people have $.01 on their SNAP, card they are eligible for $40- 80$ of fresh produce
  • Send Relief Boston Food Drive
    Donate non-perishables or give financially:
    Send Relief Boston Facebook
  • Support the Centre Food Justice Program with First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain – GoFundMe Link


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