UniteBoston

Bridging Divides Across Christians for the Flourishing of the City

Embodying the Presence of Jesus

Today, we are honored to feature Erika Anderson as a guest blogger, who writes about the significance of our embodied lives. “Embody: Follow. Seek. Take.” is the theme behind an upcoming conference and public display in the Boston Common coordinated by Park Street Church. Erika is a farm girl from South Dakota but has called Massachusetts home for ten years. She is a lawyer and lives with her husband and three daughters in Brookline. Read below to hear the theme behind the conference, about how Jesus beckons each of us to “embody, follow, seek, and take.”

“Failure to honor God in the material realm cannot be compensated for by religiosity in the spiritual realm.” ~Chris Wright

Jesus’ arrival on Earth forever negated the notion that material does not matter. The entire material universe matters to God – He created it, and He called it good. And He took on flesh and walked and ate and breathed among us. With us. Even Jesus’ miracles cannot be separated from the body. Guests celebrated by drinking new wine; newly whole bodies walked, and leaped and praised God. When Jesus speaks of who will inherit his Father’s kingdom, he speaks of welcoming bodies: “As you have done to the least of these, you have done onto me” (Mt 25:40).

The Son of God put on flesh and moved into our neighborhood. This is called incarnation. Christianity can become an intellectualized set of ideas rather than a way of life.  This is called excarnation. Jesus of Nazareth invites us to embody his life in the world.

To embody is to give a tangible or visible form to. During the past year, we have been instructed to keep our bodies at home, to keep our bodies distanced, to keep our bodies safe. Yet, as Christians, we are still called to continue to embody the presence of Jesus. We are called to give a tangible form to Jesus’ love in a city that is scared, isolated, unmoored from the familiar, and uncertain about the future. As we dreamed about a conference to engage our city, we knew we wanted to tell stories of Jesus still embodied even this year – perhaps especially this year.

We have invited voices from our city to share their stories, and we invite you to a different kind of a conference: “Embody: Follow. Seek. Take.” EMBODY is a week of community happenings about incarnating the Presence of Jesus in the City.

We will consider three of Jesus’ invitations and promises through the lenses of these voices in the city: 

(1) Follow me and I will make you fishers of the human race (Mt 4:19). We will walk through our neighborhoods and pray for our neighbors. We will listen to the voices of city pastors share how they created community and reached people when their doors were closed. We will hear from professionals – teachers, doctors, professional musicians, and entrepreneurs who pivoted their livelihoods and faced a health crisis unlike our city has ever seen and still found purpose, still found the kingdom at work in the midst of crisis.

(2) Seek first my kingdom, and I will add all these things to you (Mt 6:33). We will hear from an author and creator of authentic communities, Hugh Halter, speak about mission as the everyday stuff of life. We will hear voices in our city from those who sewed thousands of masks to keep our communities safe, who distributed groceries to families. We will hear how kingdom seekers fought food insecurity: from writing grants to support food pantries to food banks packing hundreds of pounds of food each week. We will hear children and teens who shared sandwiches and conversation with people experiencing homelessness at warming centers.

(3) Take my yoke, and you will find rest for your souls (Mt 11:29). Church planter and Park Street Church lead pastor, Mark Booker, will share a good word on taking Jesus’ yoke to find Jesus’ rest. We will hear from college students sharing how they have seen the embodied presence of Jesus during disruption on their campuses. And we will close the Embody conference with a special candlelight vigil, of gratitude for Jesus’ invitations and promises, gratitude for his continued embodied presence among us. 

In a special photography exhibit in the Boston Common throughout the weekend, Hope Rising, we will invite the public to view photographs of people who live and work in our city and listen to their voices share their hopes and dreams for our city. We will invite each of you to add your photo and your hopes and dreams, too. These and so many more opportunities await you to follow, seek, and take during the Embody conference, April 11-18.

The kingdom continues. 

Find out more at https://www.parkstreet.org/cityengagement/embody-conference/

Where do we go? [Original Video]

“I remember feeling grateful for all my blessings, but sickened by the inequities around us and empowered to make an effort to do something more….It is my sincere prayer that this song will both entertain and inspire everyone who hears it, to do more, for those who are less fortunate.”

This week, we want to feature a song co-written by Issa Bibbins, who is a pianist, rapper and content curator and former minister of music at Roxbury Presbyterian Church. “Where Do We Go” is the sixth release on the Treatment Project. This song addresses homelessness and how a lack of empathy, greed, and indifference perpetuate this growing problem. As COVID-19 has furthered economic inequities in Boston, this is a timely and crucial message for contemplation and action – Watch his video below!


Issa describes: “This song started from a conversation with producer, singer, and long time collaborator Sam Jones about two months ago. I had just released the fifth song on The Treatment Project, titled  ‘Superhuman DNA,’ and I reached out to Sam about producing the next song on the project. I remember spending a few minutes talking about music, and the conversation shifting from music business, to friends checking in about life. We spoke about the changing responsibilities we both have, as ministers of music at Roxbury Presbyterian Church and New Hope Baptist Church. We discussed COVID-19 and how it has impacted live performance opportunities for musicians in the city. As we all have faced uncertainty during these complex times, it is interesting how vulnerability can give way to both fear and anxiety but also serve as a unique tool to inspire empathy for those who are less fortunate.

A few days later, Sam sent me a rough draft of the composition. It was as if divine inspiration was deposited into my consciousness as soon as I heard the first measure. The song literally wrote itself! My heart erupted with so much emotion, I finishing writing the first verse in less than twenty minutes. I remember feeling grateful for all my blessings, but sickened by the inequities around us and empowered to make an effort to do something more. Sam called artist “ItsyourboyKR”, and I called good friend and artist Abria Smith, and they masterfully brought completion to this piece of art. I had the privilege to volunteer with my daughter at the Friday Cafe at First Church in Cambridge to take an extra step in fulfilling this call to do more, which came as a result of this collaborative experience. It is my sincere prayer that this song will both entertain and inspire everyone who hears it, to do more, for those who are less fortunate.

To watch other videos from the Treatment Project, check out Issa Bibbins’ Youtube channel here. Also, you can learn more about Issa Bibbins music ministry at pearlfortheworld.com

Light Shining in the Darkness: Boston’s Urgent Missional Opportunities

(Photo by Bhushan Sadani on Unsplash)

God’s breath filled all things
  with a living, breathing light—
A light that thrives in the depths of darkness,
  blazes through murky bottoms.
It cannot and will not be quenched.

– John 1:5 (The Voice)

Dear friends,

Wherever you are at in the midst of this crisis, know that God sees you. Through the life of Jesus, we know that God relates intimately to any pain and suffering that we experience. God also particularly cares for the sick, the poor, and the vulnerable. And where God is, light shines – the darkness has not overcome it.

We see this light shining in the midst of this crisis through followers of Jesus responding to tangible needs with faith, hope, and generosity. We wanted to send out a special email today elevating two urgent opportunities right now. Consider whether you might be able to act, and sharing with your church community.

Food Insecurity in Chelsea

Chelsea is currently the hardest-hit city with COVID-19 in the state of Massachusetts. Chelsea is also facing an overwhelming amount of community need for food. Chelsea doesn’t have access to the Resiliency Fund and other volunteer resources that the city of Boston has.

In response, Pastor David Searles from Central Assembly of God Church in East Boston has put together a list of food resources for the community.

Chelsea is currently looking for:

-Diaper donations – Email Mimi Graney or text 617-831-8332 to schedule a time to drop off items.

-Food packaging volunteers – Shifts Monday through Saturday, 8am to 12pm – Contact Alex Train (Assistant Director of Planning and Development) for more information.

 -Economic resources for a funeral fund for the community so families can have the resources necessary for a dignified funeral and cremation. Donations can be made out to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church at 201 Washington Ave., Chelsea, MA, attn: Vicars Funeral Fund. 

-Diapers for families. People can donate to a Baby Products & Supplies Fund coordinated by the Emmanuel Gospel Center. Diapers will be sent to Chelsea, Boston, and greater Boston where we find there is need.

Boston Hope

The Boston Hope is a field hospital that has been set up at the Boston Convention Center, primarily for individuals experiencing homelessness who have tested positive for COVID-19 and patients who are recovering from COVID. They have an urgent need for:

-Bibles for bible studies run by hospital chaplains

-Everyday Items to support the behavioral health needs of patients, including art supplies, journals, and games.

To help, you can either purchase an item off of their Target wish list, or if you’d prefer a tax-deductible donation, you can donate to UniteBoston (Indicate “COVID Response”) and we will distribute these funds to them.

https://vimeo.com/404108104

Click on the image above to watch a beautiful depiction of various people striving to make light shine in the darkness: “And when this passes, may we say that love spread more quickly than any virus ever could.”

Thank you for being part of the UniteBoston community – We’re here to connect Christians for the flourishing of our communities. May God help us to be sensitive and courageous in embodying God’s love to our neighbors.

Design By Faith Lecture Series: Heidi Lee

The Well at Massart, Massart’s Intervarsity Chapter, is pleased to welcome Heidi Lee as the first speaker of their Fall ’19 Faith in Design Lecture Series.

Heidi Lee — Heidi Lee, Unbound Visual Arts (UVA) Vice-President, resides in Jamaica Plain. She worked as the Artist in Residence for the Common Art program for seven years, where she guided and instructed unhoused community members. She coordinated many exhibits for the program throughout the Boston area, including Common Art’s involvement in City Heart, a citywide art exhibit and sale for homeless and low-income artists. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Painting from Gordon College and a Master of Education with a concentration in Visual Arts from Lesley University. She founded the art program at an inner city middle and high school in Hyde Park, taught there for nine years, and has since been teaching students of all ages independently. She works in mixed media, acrylic, and oils at her studio in Newton.

Hope for Your Block

Our guest blogger this week is Rev. Davie Hernandez, Senior Pastor of Restoration City Church (Formerly Defenders Boston Church). Rev. Davie has a heart to see the city of Boston and surrounding towns experience true revival and restoration through the redemptive work of Jesus. Rev. Davie shares with us about his plans to share the love of Christ with our city, block by block.

There are bright summer days: the children are running around on the concrete sidewalks, basketball courts are full, play grounds are packed, folks are sitting on stoops, laughing and enjoying one another, as the sun starts to set…

Not far from this, people struggling with homelessness gather by the highways, many addicted to drugs and feeling hopeless, doing anything to survive another day. Some are asking for money as they watch cars pass by, just waiting for another meal or a hit of drugs to cope with their reality…Sirens go off as another young man is brutally shot. As this blog was written, two young men were shot in our city, one being only 14 years of age.

We see both sides of our city. The irony is that both sides are just as much in need of hope, but in different ways. You see, Christ has has given us salvation, and in Him we have the love and hope we need. He has sent us out to be that hope! While some believe that being sent out means going to a far-off place, but I’m convinced that often it’s to be sent right outside your door. As we work the harvest that is here before us, all the people, regardless of socioeconomic class, will be impacted by this message of hope.

In the summer 2017, we were led to start a campaign entitled “Hope for your Block.” We see that it is our responsibility to reach out to our neighbors and communities block by block, claiming back our city for the Lord. To do this, we take a hand painted block and put a message of love, hope, faith and peace on each one. This block is taken by an individual or a family to any block in the city. They begin to pray for that block and place the message of hope where all could see. In this way, we are seeking to reach the lost the hurting and broken of our city with the Good News of Jesus Christ! So far, we have placed hundreds of blocks across our city.

Scripture tells us in Acts 1:8 that “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Where is your Jerusalem? Your Jerusalem is your block, your Jerusalem is your neighbor, and your Jerusalem is the local corner store, families, children and youth that surround you….

Additionally, in Luke 10:29, the man asks Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus answers by telling the story of the Good Samaritan, inviting the man to compassionately serve and minister to those who are in our midst.

In essence, Jesus is saying, “Your neighbor is the next women selling her body to feed her children, your neighbor is that young man or woman crying out for help by that highway you drive by daily, your neighbor is that mother or father who has lost a child to the violence in our streets, your neighbor is that single mom who needs a roof over her head.”  It is our mission and our responsibility to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, hug the hurting and bring the Good News.

Our prayers are not only for those in our communities that are lost, hurting and broken, but also for the community of faith in our city. In our very own block, there are six different churches that need to come together as the body of Christ. This is seen across our city with blocks filled with communities of believers who largely function in isolation of one another. As we place the blocks with the words “Faith, Hope and Love,” I am reminded from scripture that love is the greatest of these. To love our neighbors, to love our brethren in the Lord and to love our city!

Romans 10:15 says, “And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Oh how beautiful it is that you and I were made for such a time as this, that you and I met the God who saved us through Christ, who anointed us and sent us out to share the gospel of hope, the gospel of healing, the gospel of restoration and transformation! Oh how beautiful it is to know that we have been called to this work. Your salvation is not for you, your privilege is not for you, and your gifts and skills are not for you alone. They are all meant to be for God’s glory! Be encouraged today and don’t let your neighbor pass you by.

 


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