UniteBoston

Nurturing Relational Connections Across Boston's Christian Community

The Byzantine Choral Inheritance by Cappella Romana

Made possible by generous support from The Saint John of Damascus Society and a grant from Cambridge Arts, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, and The Saint John of Damascus Society at First Church in Cambridge, Cambridge MA

Vocal Ensemble Cappella Romana presents THE BYZANTINE CHORAL INHERITANCE with rarely heard music from the historic traditions of Byzantium and new works inspired by them.

Music Director Dr. Alexander Lingas will lead the first half of the program. The concert will begin with works in Greek from medieval Constantinople, followed by liturgical works by twentieth-century Greek American composers such as Tikey Zes, Theodore Bogdanos, and Frank Desby.

The second half, led by Associate Music Director John Michael Boyer, will feature the East Coast premiere of Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation, a setting of Psalm 103. Commissioned by the Saint John of Damascus Society to celebrate the discovery of the Higgs boson, six composers: Tikey Zes, +Richard Toensing, GRAMMY-nominee Kurt Sander, Alexander Khalil, John Michael Boyer, and Matthew Arndt, each set a portion of the Psalm, creating a seamless tapestry.

Celestial City: The Story of John Bunyan and His Pilgrim’s Progress

This “auto-bi-allegory” is based on the life of 17th century author, preacher and tinker John Bunyan and interwoven with his spirit quest story, “The Pilgrim’s Progress” along with portions of his other writings all penned during his 12 year imprisonment in Bedford England under the Act of Uniformity.

Perhaps life’s truest metaphor, Bunyan’s timeless tale tells of one man’s journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City.

“And as I slept, I dreamed a dream.” Once there was scarcely a home in England where these words would not be recognized as a fragment of the opening lines of the world’s best-selling spiritual quest story, “The Pilgrim’s Progress.”

Hailed as “the ancestor to the English novel,” “The Pilgrim’s Progress” has never been out of print. For more than 250 out of its 335+ years in publication, it has been the world’s best-selling book, next to the Bible. It has been translated into more than 200 languages. It is the story of Everyman, embraced by people of all nations.

John Bunyan was a prisoner of conscience for 12 years in a cold, dirty jail in Bedford, England. But his imagination was not held captive. He writes an unforgettable allegorical journey from “The City of Destruction” (this world) to the “Celestial City” (that which is to come).

This musical adaptation from New Life Fine Arts is written and directed by David MacAdam and features 37 actors/singers/dancers ready to take you on the journey of a lifetime. It’s all here- the Hill Difficulty, Palace Beautiful, Vanity Fair, mountaintop exhilarations, valleys of humiliation, dungeons of despair and the unpredictable twists and turns on what proves to be the dangerous road of life.

Leading Boldly in the Midst of a Community in Crisis

Join us for Vision New England’s Women in Christian Leadership “Leading Well” forum, featuring Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, entitled “Leading Boldly in the Midst of a Community in Crisis.”

Historians often discuss watershed moments—critical turning points in history that fundamentally change how people think about and do life. The past 1 ½ years has been a quintessential watershed moment in which many communities have experienced multiple painful crises simultaneously. Just as God raised up and equipped Esther to respond to the crisis in her day, God is calling today’s Christian women leaders to step up with conviction, step out on faith and step forward with courage.

Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, M.D. is co-pastor of Bethel AME Church in Boston and a pediatrician who long practiced at the South End Community Health Center. She also co-directs the Harvard Medical School and Harvard Divinity School course, “Medicine and Spirituality in Healing.” Rev. Gloria is a longtime champion of health equity and publicly speaks about COVID-19 vaccination as a pastor and a physician, especially in communities of color. Rev. Gloria’s innovative ministries include Do The Write Thing, a creative writing mentoring ministry for high-risk adolescent girls; My Sister’s Keeper,  www.mskeeper.org , a humanitarian and human rights organization that champions social justice for women and girls in conflict zones; and Shatter the Silence, a ministry that addresses sexual victimization in communities of faith.

Zach Williams Worship In The Adirondacks 2018

This is a great song from Zach Williams filled with great truth! We are so excited to have Zach joining us at this years Worship In The Adirondacks 2018. For details and tickets go to www.worshipintheadirondacks.com.

Kendall Ramseur: Bringing Unity Through Music

Kendall Ramseur is a budding new artist in the Greater Boston area, and was recently awarded the Gospel/Inspirational Arts of the Year at the Boston Music Awards. This week, UniteBoston interviewed him to hear more about his journey, and how God is using his music to bring together Christians in Greater Boston.

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Kendall Ramseur describes one goal of his music: to inspire. And this is just the beginning of what he does.

When I first saw Kendall Ramseur play, I was struck by its unique sound: Classical instruments coupled with a strong rhythmic vibe and fresh lyrics. Somehow the instruments were able to pull in the older generation, yet the younger generation was head-bopping to the beat. The music had Christian undertones and values, and yet it wasn’t so explicitly Christian to turn off those who might not share the faith. As an artist, this tension is difficult to manage, and thus regardless of who you are or where you come from, Kendall Ramseur has something for you.

This was made evident at Kendall’s performance at First Night Boston, where a kaleidoscope of people were in the audience – Asians, African Americans, and Caucasians. Temi, manager of Kendall Ramseur Music Enterprise, states that “Kendall’s music is universal. It crosses gender, race and nationality. Everyone can listen to it and relate to it. In this way, it’s boundless.”

But Kendall hopes for so much more than just bringing people together. When asked about his dream for the Christian community, Kendall said that he hopes “We can all be in one accord, that we can be united and able to move past the whole denomination thing.” So how does he think this could happen? “It would be great if everyone could sit down together at the same table, making it clear that we’re all children of God and need to work together.” It sounds like God is already making this happen through the kaleidoscope of people that connect with his music.

For Kendall, it’s not just about playing music; he also sees the band as his greatest ministry. “When I played at the Dana Farber Cancer Center, someone came up to me and said that it brought him so much comfort. People sense things in my performance, and tell me that they have perfect peace.” He has also seen people physically healed by the power of God, simply through listening to the music.

It’s been quite a journey for Kendall this past year, and the one thing he would like to tell Christians in Greater Boston is that “God is faithful. I started out with no job, no income, and no clue of what I wanted to do. Within 8 or 9 months, I was playing fifty shows, and nominated for the Boston Music Awards. These are two opposite extremes – from nothing to great favor & blessings within a few months. This just shows that God is capable, God is faithful, and He is real. Once you find out what God is calling you to, give your all to that and trust it all to Him.”

What an incredible piece of advice. As you can see, God is using Kendall Ramseur to bring hope, inspiration, and unity to a world that is so desperate for it.

-Kelly Steinhaus
Team Leader, UniteBoston

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Learn more:
– If you’d like to see Kendall play, you can visit him at the Celebration of the Arts, downtown at the Fairmont on January 26th from 6 to 10pm.
– You can also help Kendall get a “real cello” by contributing to the Go Fund Me Account here
– Kendall Ramseur’s Documentary
– Click here to check out his TIME CD on iTunes


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