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Dec 15 2017

13 Volunteer Opportunities in Boston This Holiday Season

“We believe that we should actively work to make Boston a better place for all of its residents. We want to dream about what Boston could be at its best, then work together to bring that to reality.”

At Christmas, we remember that God gave so willingly for us by entering our humanity, and we are likewise called to give our time, talent, and treasure to others. In this blog, Mags Benz from Renewal Church Boston highlights 13 different opportunities for serving and loving the city of Boston through volunteering this holiday season.

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Oct 07 2017

“We Will Rise” Pastor William Nunez Declares at Boston City Council

Rev. William Nunez, local Diocesan priest at Diocese of Christ the King and Community Building Coordinator at IBA Boston, was invited to last week’s Boston City Council Meeting to pray in light of the devastation from the recent hurricane in Puerto Rico. Here, he shares opportunities for people to send supplies to Puerto Rico, and offers a benediction, declaring “we will rise.” (See 4:00 to 10:00 for the portion of the video that Pastor William shares)

The Franciscan Benediction & Prayer of St. Francis

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.
May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.
And the Blessing of God, who Creates, Redeems and Sanctifies, be upon you and all you love and pray for this day, and forever more. Amen.

Nov 11 2016

Poem: Cry and Sing of Hope

In light of all that is happening in our nation, we need to remember that Jesus is on the throne and we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We also need to listen and fight for those who are most vulnerable in society.

A few years ago, after hearing the story of a young woman, Sarah Dunham, director of the Abolitionist Network at the Emmanuel Gospel Center, wrote this poem:

Cry and Sing of Hope

Race, privilege – authenticity? Belonging? Permission to grieve?
Who am I who has so much, who am I to cry?
I cry hearing the pain of my sister.
I have not lived it.
I chose to give up what I can easily choose to take back.
My education, my family network opens many doors others cannot access.
But I cry for that reality to change.
Can my cry be a trumpet blast in halls of complacency?

Can the cry of a middle class white girl on behalf of the sad broken state of our justice system, our schools, our neighborhoods and families, be heard and deemed legitamate?
Does it matter if they are?
I think so, but then I wonder, by who?

My friend is being sold. Abused. Exploited!!
No, I am not.
I have never been raped or molested, but my friend, my sister, has and is and This Must Stop!
I carry so many stories in my heart and they are heavy.

I cry out with a cry of empathy
No, I will never fully understand
So I will not try to be your voice but rather sound the trumpet, shake the ground,
open the cages of systems holding you back,
usher you into the doors I can, and then You cry out Your song of lament,
of truth,
and together we proclaim the song of hope.

“injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”
If I see the injustice done against you and say nothing, what is that?
If I weep, not on my own behalf but for what is happening to you, am I not showing you I care? That I wish there was some other reality? That I wonder why you and not me and I am sorry for my privilege?

And I do weep on my own behalf in sorrow, regret, apology for what I – my race, my religion and my country have done.
What my government has done and fails to do, what my Church has done and fails to do.
I am part of the problem.
I am so sorry.

But I hear the rumblings of another way possible- in the cry and lament, imagining there must be something better
Do you hear it?
The low, steady heartbeats of hope reverberating in my spirit and yours, calling towards harmony!?
It rises
And I know I must not keep silence!
I invite you to join me in my weeping and my obstinate hope.
Let me not tell your story for you, label or forget you in my rush to sound the trumpet.
You and I together – we will cry and sing of hope.

Jan 09 2016

Boston Dream Center 2015 Highlights Video

UniteBoston is excited to highlight the Boston Dream Center this week.

The Boston Dream Center is doing amazing work in the area to meet the needs of people in Boston through care and compassion ministries, groups, and outreaches!

Check out their video highlights from 2015 here:

May 08 2014

Arise & Shine: A Message for Boston

Today, Kelly Steinhaus, UniteBoston’s Team Leader, shares her perspective on God’s destiny for the city of Boston and how this is reflected in what is currently happening within the Christian community.

Above: Sunrise over the Charles River

Do you like watching the sunrise? I sure do.

Whether or not you prefer to wake up that early in the morning, we are in an amazing time where God is rising over this city, awakening hearts and calling people to the place of prayer.

Isaiah wrote this message to the city of Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, and I believe it’s also a representation of what God wants to do in here in the city of Boston.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.“ (Isaiah 60:1)

I want to specifically draw your attention to verse 3: “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” This is actually strikingly familiar to a sermon preached by John Winthrop on his way to America, where he spoke that the new community they would form would be "a city upon a hill, that the eyes of all people are on us…We shall be made a story and a by-word throughout the world.”

You see, Boston’s destiny is to be a beacon of the nations.

Thus, the question becomes: what do we want to be known for?

Currently, Boston is one of the smallest world-class cities, known for its rich history and being an intellectual hub. With over 300,000 college students, Boston is a popular place to come to pursue high-class education.

But I believe that God has so much more for us – This is only the beginning.

What if Boston were to be known for the way the Christian community works together? As a city where people pray? As a place where love is displayed?

If you’re intrigued by this, I’d encourage you to listen to the short message that I shared on Easter at the first Awaken Winchester service.

We all cry out for revival but don’t realize that what brings revival is repentance. Two weeks ago, Dr. Paul Jehle gave a lecture on the spiritual history of Massachusetts – he said that the Great Awakening was a direct result of the repentance that happened after the Salem witch trials.

Above: Pastors and leaders gathering to pray for Boston at the New England Regional Leaders meeting

I’m convinced that God wants to bring revival to Boston, we’re not ready for it. Our light shines brightest when we extinguish the darkness, so my prayer is for conviction and changed hearts, that we might be capable for the revival God seeks to pour out.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may we arise and shine, so that the glory of the Lord can come upon us, that Boston might be awakened to its destiny as a city on a hill and a light to the nations.

Below: A photo of His Eminence Sean O’Malley of the Boston Catholic Archdiocese and His Eminence Methodios of the Metropolitan of Boston of the Greek Orthodox Church joining together to light the first candle of Easter night. Photo taken by Alexander Mavradis.

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