Bridging Divides Across Christians for the Flourishing of the City
A special evening exploring the intersection of GRIEF and HOPE through live music, storytelling, film and engaging conversation with tears and laughter.
For more information or to purchase your tickets, click here.
Also, we are pleased to share that the UniteBoston community can use the code ALLHOPE50 for 50% tickets!
ENGAGE is a gathering for individuals interested in disciple-making who would like to learn about volunteer and staff options with the Navigators in Boston and New England. The vision and overview of the Navigator will be featured as well as breakout sessions on 1.) campus ministry 2.) workplace ministry 3.) prison ministry. There will be also be lunch discussions on Navigator staff options and global missions.
The Navigators (www.navigators.org) is an inter-denominational ministry that shares the gospel of Jesus Christ and helps others grow in Him through Life-to-Life® discipleship. Navigators do this on college campuses, military bases, in workplaces, inner cities, local communities, and hard-to-reach places all over the world.
At the request of local pastoral leaders and in faithful response to Jesus’ prayer “that all of them may be one” (John 17:21), Kinship Farm occasionally supports events where Christians throughout the North Shore and beyond can come together to share in the beauty of nature and fellowship.
Join us on Saturday, March 16! The centerpiece will be an outdoor, hour-long ecumenical Christian worship service. For an hour beforehand and afterward, participants may peacefully and contemplatively walk along woodland trails, and occasionally stop to engage with displays offered by Christians from a variety of denominations. Displays may include scripture and other text, music, art, woodworking, and other creative, interactive, youth-friendly displays about spirituality that is informed by Christ Jesus and that promotes healthy relationships and/or celebrates the natural outdoor setting.
The worship service and displays will be suitable for youth, teens, and adults and general registration is free. The event will be held in South Hamilton, MA. Displays will be staffed from 1-2 p.m. and 3-4 p.m. and the worship ceremony will run from 2-3 p.m. We regret and apologize that the trails, tents, and worship service will not be equipped with facilities or features to ensure full accessibility for individuals with mobility challenges.
To host a booth, churches will need to fill out an application form by February 26 and pay a modest commitment fee of $30. In return, on the day of the event, a basic tent and table will be set up for them and they will need to bring whatever additional materials they need to respectfully present their message. If you know of a church who might like to participate in the planning of the worship service or to host a booth, please forward this information to them.
Please direct all question, ideas, and desire about this celebration to info@kinshipfarm.org.
Outdoor interactive tented booth spaces are limited and are on a first come basis. We are asking for a $30 commitment fee along with your completed ‘Display Application’ form to secure your space. The $30 commitment fee is a small contribution towards the broader expenses associated with furnishing you a tent and table.
We appreciate your cooperation with the application process and kindly ask you to submit your completed Display Application and $30 commitment fee by February 24, 2024 to reserve your tented booth space.
Emmanuel Gospel Center’s Race and Christian Community Initiative is developing a Multiracial Collective Action Community for Christians who desire to take practical steps to contribute to the dismantling of racism. We are looking for justice-loving BIPOC folks and white folks who are RCCI cohort alum or have commensurate experience.
We envision this group taking collective action to support equity building, BIPOC-led initiatives. This action would be supported by training, reflection, and fellowship as well as race-specific support and accountability that increases folks’ capacity to collaborate effectively across racial lines.
We invite you to learn more and speak into this opportunity at a gathering on Saturday September 30th from 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm on the Rose Kennedy Greenway by the Aquarium T Station. RSVP HERE!
It will be a chance to…
-Get to know other Christians interested in taking action
-Hear about what RCCI is imagining for our multiracial collective action community
-Shape this vision together
-Explore next steps
We’ll have some hot drinks and snacks to enjoy together. Please come and invite a friend. Bring your own picnic blanket or chair.
RSVP at tinyurl.com/rccimcac.
For more information, visit egc.org/rcci-action-communities.
If it rains, we will meet at Boston Harbor Community Church in the North End (9 Salutation St, Boston, MA 02109).
This is the same day as Unite Boston’s “Again I Say Rejoice” Worship Concert at 4pm. We encourage you come early to connect with RCCI and then walk over to the concert across the Greenway!
In these weeks leading up to Boston Flourish on November 10, we’re featuring the organizations that will be presenting at the conference. This week, we’re featuring the City of Boston’s Office of Returning Citizens. We had the chance to learn more about this ministry from the director of this office David Mayo – Read below to hear about what led him to this work and how they serve returning citizens in our city!
Can you tell us a little bit about your background and your interest in working with returning citizens?
I grew up in a family of five with a single mother in an inner city community of neighborhood crews and gangs in New York City. I then became a “Fatherless Son” and spent five years as a foster child in the New York Child/Family Services system. This led me to have an interest in working with returning citizens, which I began in 2014 as a youthful Parole and Reentry Officer. I felt drawn here by God and the greater opportunity to work with incarcerated young men.
Wow, that’s fascinating. Can you share more about your church background?
I was introduced to church when I was 13 by my Great-Grandmother and found my love for God in the choir. I gave my life to Christ in June of 1990 and was called to preach six months later. I now have over thirty years of ministerial experience, having planted two churches and served as founding and senior pastor of congregations in Northern Virginia and South Carolina.
Can you share about how you serve and support returning citizens in your office?
I have had the privilege of serving in this role for the past three months and it is my job goal to engage, equip and to empower the 3000+ returning citizens of Boston with the tools to create and advocate for their independence and stability in restoring their lives. The Returning Citizen process to reentry begins about 90 days before release in setting up a reentry plan and and discussing next steps. Upon release, we connect returning citizens to resources and programs in the community and monitor their transition with case managers.
What are you hoping to come out of the gathering on November 10?
I’d love to come away with new partners who are passionate and committed to restoring the lives of returning citizens.
Can you share a story about the impact of your work?
We recently had a gentleman who was released into a halfway house. He had no ID, no family, no support and we were able to get him into a housing program. You can also watch Arlis Evans’ story below.
What is a resource that everyone should know about?
Our website has a great list of resources that are available for returning citizens – everything from birth certificates, to housing and health services, to transportation and food resources. I wish that everyone knew about it so they can help people they know in the process of reentering back into life in Boston.
What does it mean to you to see Boston Flourish?
Seeing Boston Flourish means the destruction of stereotypes and silos for the purpose of unity and the influence of the kingdom of God in the earth. If we seize the moment of this opportunity to walk in the kingdom principles that God offers to us, we have the possibility to affect change, not only in the lives of the Boston community but in the earth completely! Selah!
