peace – UniteBoston

Aug 14 2026

Convergence: Becoming a River of Healing

Unity isn’t something we have to manufacture; it’s a reality Jesus has already accomplished that we are called to actively practice together. Pastor Josiah Armstrong—reformer, revivalist, and founder of The Body United —challenges us to cross denominational, cultural, and generational lines to steward what God is releasing across New England.

Dive into his blog reflection below, and register now for The Body United: A Divine Convergence happening September 11–12 right here in Boston!

P.S. If you are interested in learning how to lead your community in the peacemaking, reconciling Way of Jesus, consider joining us for the Online Beloved Community Lab. Applications are due this Friday August 21!

There are moments when God calls His people not simply to do more, or continue on in business as usual, but to shift and come together differently.

We believe we are living in such a moment.

Across Boston, New England, and beyond, God is stirring His Church. New believers are coming to faith. Churches are being strengthened. Leaders are being raised up. Communities are being served. New ministries and initiatives are emerging. There is a growing hunger for the presence of God and a renewed desire to see the Gospel embodied in ways that bring hope, healing, and transformation to our cities.

Yet in the midst of all that God is doing, we must ask an important question:

How will we steward what God is releasing among us?

No single church, denomination, ministry, or network can contain everything God desires to do. We need one another.

Psalm 46 gives us a beautiful picture: “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” The picture is not of one stream replacing another, but of many streams converging into one river—bringing life to the city and ultimately becoming a source of healing.

Photo by Rolands Varsbergs on Unsplash

This is the heart behind Body United.

Body United is not an attempt to erase our distinctions or create another organization. It is an invitation to discover what becomes possible when the diverse expressions of Christ’s Church learn to walk together in the reconciliation Jesus has already accomplished for us.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that Christ Himself is our peace. He has broken down walls of hostility and made us one (Eph 2:14). Unity, then, is not something we manufacture; it is something Jesus has already given us. Our calling is to learn how to walk in it.

And this is where the challenge becomes deeply practical.

We live in a divided world. Political, racial, cultural, theological, and generational divisions are increasingly shaping how people see one another. Sadly, the Church has not been immune. We see silos between denominations, cultures, networks, theological traditions, generations, and expressions of ministry. We can faithfully labor in our own assignments while remaining largely disconnected from the rest of the Body of Christ laboring around us.

We cannot believe that this is the fullness of what Jesus intended.

Jesus prayed in John 17 that His people would be one, “as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You.” And He connected that unity to the witness of the Church: “that the world may believe.”

That means our unity is not merely an internal concern for the Church. It is part of our mission.

The question, then, is not simply, “Do we believe in unity?” The question is, “Will we practice it?”

What would it look like for us to intentionally cross the lines that have separated us? To sit at tables with people who don’t look like us, worship exactly like us, or share all of our theological language? To listen before we critique? To honor what God has entrusted to another part of the Body? To choose relationship over suspicion, reconciliation over rivalry, and love over territorialism?

This is where convergence becomes more than a gathering. It becomes a way of life.

I remember experiencing a small glimpse of this at a previous Body United gathering. Leaders who had served in the same region for years sat around tables together, some meeting one another for the first time. They came from different traditions and expressions of the Church, yet as they shared stories, listened, prayed, and discovered one another’s assignments, something began to happen. Barriers that had existed simply because people had never met began to disappear. What had been separate became relational. And what became relational suddenly became possible.

That is the power of convergence.

It is more than gathering in the same room. It is coming to the table—to listen, to honor, to learn, to pray, to discern, and to ask, “What is God doing among us, and how might we participate together?”

So, what do we do now?

We begin by saying yes.

Yes to relationship. Yes to reconciliation. Yes to the humility required to learn from one another. Yes to the hard and beautiful work of practicing the “one another” commands of Scripture across the lines that have historically divided us.

We begin by finding one another.

Pastors need to know pastors outside their denomination. Churches need to know the churches serving their neighborhoods. Ministries need to discover the resources and gifts present in other streams. Leaders need places where they can listen, discern, pray, and dream together. We need rhythms of relational connection that move beyond occasional events into sustainable patterns of collaboration.

And then we begin to work together- to build the kingdom side by side.

We pray together. We serve our communities together. We respond to needs together. We share resources. We strengthen and train leaders. We collaborate around mission. We celebrate what God is doing in another church as though it were happening in our own.

This is the radical shift required for the next season.

If God is entrusting His Church with a greater measure of His presence, influence, harvest, and responsibility, then we need a new wineskin capable of stewarding what He is releasing. We cannot carry a new work of God with old patterns of isolation, competition, suspicion, and fragmentation.

We need to recover the ancient paths in our modern times.

The wineskin must become relational as God always intended it- as a covenantal family.

It must become collaborative.

It must become mature.

It must look like a people who don’t merely preach reconciliation but embody it; who don’t merely sing about oneness but practice it; who don’t merely affirm the Body of Christ in theology but actually make room for the whole Body in relationship and mission.

This is the prophetic witness our divided world needs.

Imagine what Boston might see if the Church became a visible demonstration of another way of living together. Imagine Pentecostal and Presbyterian, Catholic and evangelical, charismatic and traditional, younger and older, Black, white, Latino, Asian, immigrant and native-born believers discovering that their differences do not have to prevent their love.

Imagine the city seeing a people who disagree on some things but refuse to divide over them; who honor truth without sacrificing love; who pursue holiness without losing humility; who carry different assignments but share one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one mission.

This is convergence.

Many streams. One river.

Many expressions. One Body.

Many assignments. One mission.

And one Lord who is worthy of a Church that faithfully reveals His Son.

The hope of Body United is not simply that we would gather. It is that we would become—a people increasingly formed into the likeness of Christ, walking in the unity He prayed for, and releasing through our relationships transformative good works and a visible witness of His glory.

As we converge, may God teach us to walk in the reconciliation He has given us, to embrace the gifts He has placed in one another, and to become a river of His presence that makes glad our cities and brings healing to the land.

Jesus, make us one. Teach us to walk together.  And let our unity become a visible witness of Your glory.

Save the Date: Experience “Convergence” Live on September 11–12

If Josiah’s message resonates with you, we invite you to move from reading about unity to practicing it! The Body United 2026 Gathering is bringing together Christians of all backgrounds to seek God’s wisdom and vision for our cities. Through shared worship, strategic conversations, and relational networking, this event aims to build sustainable, long-term partnerships across New England.

Last year, over 1200 people attended from over 120 different churches and ministries! Space is limited for this regional gathering—click here to view the schedule and secure your spot!

Jun 10 2026

Join Us for the Next Unity Walk of the Summer

Hi Faith Leaders,

Our last Unity Walk is this Thursday, August 27 at Harambee Park (15 Talbot Avenue Dorchester, MA 02124) at 6:00 p.m.! These walks are a great way to engage community members while uplifting our faith and praying together. Please fill out the RSVP form below if you plan to attend!

8/27/26 Unity Walk RSVP

We encourage you to join us and invite members of your congregation and community to participate in this kickoff event. Together, we can strengthen connections, foster hope, and continue building a more united community.

Thank you for your partnership and continued commitment to our community. We look forward to walking alongside you.

May 15 2026

In a Time of Division, the Church Must Shine

Are Christians simply mimicking the divisions of our culture, or are we offering a counter-cultural witness?

In this week’s UB Newsletter, we are featuring an inspiring sermon from UB’s Executive Director Rev. Kelly Fassett on Ephesians 2:14-22. Originally delivered at the 2026 American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts (TABCOM) Annual Gathering, Rev. Kelly Fassett highlights how we can represent the gospel by moving past our internal divisions to become true agents of the hope and peace of Christ.

We invite you to read the full reflection below and listen to the complete sermon on Youtube, “Removing Walls of Hostility to Preach Peace.”

P.S. You can explore more photos and key talks from the 2026 TABCOM Annual Gathering here.

P.P.S. Don’t forget to mark your calendars—we would love to see you at our “Illuminate” fundraising celebration and community gathering on May 29!

In a Time of Division, the Church Must Shine: Tearing Down the Walls of Hostility

By Rev. Kelly Fassett, Executive Director of UniteBoston

We live in an age of fractures. Look around, and you can’t avoid seeing how our world is siloed by political affiliation, ideologies, and digital algorithms. The world is experts at erecting walls—walls of suspicion, walls of fear, walls of indifference—which only contribute to our growing polarization and underlying postures of hostility.

But what about the Church? For those of us who call Jesus “Lord,” the time has come to ask: Are we mimicking the divisions of our culture, or are we offering a radical, counter-cultural witness?

This is the core question that drives the mission of UniteBoston. My own journey as a bridge-builder began years ago. I arrived in Boston in 2008 as a young woman with dreams of joining an elite rowing team on the Charles River. One morning, however, I woke up with a complete lack of desire to row. I asked God, “Why am I here in Boston if I’m not here to row?” And I sensed God’s voice more clearly than anything else I had known before: “Kelly, you are here to unite My bride.”

Woah! What does that mean? This moment led me into a beautiful, messy, and challenging experiment that became UniteBoston. I became passionate about not only orthodoxy but orthopraxy – right belief and right practice – that in our divided world, us Christians need to not just “talk the talk” but “walk the walk” and put our commitment to neighbor-love into practice in the places where we live, work and play.

The urgency I feel today is captured powerfully in one of my favorite passages of scripture: Ephesians chapter 2. In our current, deeply polarized context, this letter feels as though it was written for our exact moment. In my preparation for this sermon, one verse, in particular, continued to stand out:

“Jesus came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” (Ephesians 2:17)

This simple statement is a profound theological challenge. Are we, the modern-day “household of God,” preaching that same peace to those near and far from the Church today?

The Scandal of Our Disunity

We must take a hard, honest look in the mirror. When we analyze the witness of the Church today, the results can be sobering. The research confirms what many of us feel on a daily basis.

In the Great DeChurching, Jim Davis and Michael Graham tracked 40 million Americans who stopped attending church in the last 25 years. They found that hyper-politicization, inability to listen, and an emphasis on culture wars are among the top reasons people leave. Additionally, Barna research has shown that 87% of people view Christians as “judgmental,” and 85% see us as “hypocritical.” It is clear that there is a widening “witness gap,” where the grace of the gospel is drowned out by internal hostility, division, and fighting.

The primary criticism isn’t about our doctrine; it’s about our posture. It isn’t just about what we believe, but how we believe it. The world is watching, and what they see is often a “hostility” that looks identical to the divisions outside the Church.

I say this as a practical theologian: we cannot just talk the talk; we must walk the walk. To become the agents of peace Christ calls us to be, we must commit to three practical and difficult steps: grieving our disunity, finding our walls, and extending a hand of fellowship.

1. Grieve the Scandal of Disunity

When we think of ecclesiastical “scandals,” we usually imagine financial theft, abuses of power, or sexual misconduct. While these are truly grievous, Scripture suggests that our divisions, hatred, and hostility are just as offensive to God and are equally effective at distorting the core message of the Gospel (Eph 4:3).

The root of this sin is a posture our UniteBoston team calls “righteous hubris.” This is the insidious, often subconscious belief that “me and my people are the ones truly following Jesus, and those people (whoever they are) need to become like me to really be Christian.”

This hubris is not new. Ephesians 2 addresses this exact dynamic between two groups of people defined by a history of animosity: Jews and Gentiles. Gentiles often despised the Jewish people for their “otherness,” while the Jewish people saw themselves as the exclusive possessors of the only path to God. They considered the Gentiles “far away” spiritually, devoid of access to God, and inherently unclean.

Archeologists have actually found a physical stone barrier that used to separate Gentiles from the holy parts of the temple. The wall stood five feet tall and bore a terrifying inscription: “Let no one of any other nation come within this fence around the Holy Place. Whoever is caught doing so will himself be responsible for his death.” This was a literal wall of hospitality that promised death to those who were “far away.”

Temple Warning Inscription. Copyright CBN Israel

This makes Paul’s message in Ephesians 2 truly radical. He looks at this historic, violent divide and makes an astonishing claim: because of Jesus Christ, there is an exchange, a transfer from hostility to fellowship.

To the Gentiles, God says, “You who were once far away are now brought near because of Christ.” (v. 13)
“For [Christ] himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.” (v. 14-16)

This is ground-breaking! It means that “they” (whoever your “they” is) are actually part of our same family.

The hostility between Jews and Gentiles? Banished at the foot of the cross.
The hostility between Democrat and Republican? Eliminated by the cross.
The hatred between Liberal and Conservative? TORN DOWN by the cross.

When we preach peace to those who are near and far, we must remember that there is no longer a “closer to God” group and a “further from God” group defined by culture or politics. The cross is the great leveler. And why is it the leveler? Verse 12 is vital: because we were ALL enemies of God. Every single one of us was separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship, without hope, and without God. But now—only because of God’s grace—we are chosen. At the foot of the cross, we are all just God’s children in need of grace.

The Greek word Paul uses for “reconcile” in verse 16 is apokatallassō, and it implies this radical exchange—a transfer from hostility to intrinsic oneness. It’s not just a cease-fire; it is a declaration of belovedness that we must extend to all who are created in God’s image.

2. Find Your Wall of Hostility

If Jesus modeled this radical fellowship across dividing lines—purposefully choosing both Matthew the tax collector (who worked for the empire) and Simon the Zealot (who wanted to overthrow the empire) as his disciples—then we must do the same. We cannot model the kingdom of God monoculturally or monopolitically.

Yet, somehow, over the years, we always seem to lose our way. History is cluttered with the fragmentation of Christianity, from the Great Schism to the bloody slaughters of the Anabaptists. We might not be killing each other physically in Boston today, but we are too often ostracizing, publicly calling out without relationship, and acting out in destructive ways.

This issue of “righteous hubris” was made painfully clear to me last summer when I traveled to Northern Ireland to study peacebuilding. I learned about the Troubles, where hostility between Catholics and Protestants became so profound that in 30 years, 3,700 people were killed. I stood before “peace walls” that were 20 feet tall and extended for 21 miles. People told me that as they built the walls higher to “keep the peace,” others just threw larger stones and bombs over the top.

But I also met a pastor named Steven, a youth worker who knew the walls had to come down. He told me, “I knew the youth had to grow up together because it’s hard to throw stones at someone you know.” He partnered with Tracy, a Protestant leader, and it took them eight years to build enough trust to start a joint youth group. But by God’s grace, transformation took place. This neighborhood that once saw 30 youths jailed annually now sees only one youth jailed every four years. Violence was replaced by community.

Pastor Steven said something that I will never forget: “We have to eliminate the word ‘themens’ from our language.” This is Irish slang for “them,” a word that conveys profound suspicion and a posture of inner hostility. He told me, “When you talk about ‘themens,’ remember you’ve got three fingers pointing back at yourself. It’s not something that happens out there, but ‘in here.’”

There Are No Walls in Heaven: What Peacemakers in Belfast Taught Me

This is our work. We must go back to the imagery of Ephesians 2 and find our own walls that are keeping some “in” and some “out.”

To “preach peace to those far away,” you must first be willing to consider the people you see as “far away.” Yet, the tricky things about walls is that they are often invisible.

You can ask yourself: Which groups do you avoid? Who feels threatened? Who makes you uncomfortable? Which particular group do you cringe at the thought of praising? Is there a people group where you feel the world would be better off if there were less of “those people” around?

I invite you to dig deeper and get curious about where this comes from. Howard Thurman once said, “Often the degree to which we oppose a thing marks the degree to which we do not understand it. Sometimes we use our opposition to an idea to cover up our own ignorance.” Some of us are carrying hurts and trauma that need the healing balm of the Holy Spirit, not the projection of our hostility onto others.

I invite you to pause and give God a moment to reveal your wall. What precious thing are you trying to protect with that wall? What “themens” are on the other side? What might be their story, their hopes and dreams?

3. Extend Your Hand of Fellowship (With Curiosity)

Once we find our wall and our “themens,” the answer is simple, ancient, and difficult: Beloved Community.

In the early Church, cities were divided into ethnic enclaves, with physical walls keeping groups separate. But in Antioch, they did something radical: they crossed those walls to worship, eat, and fellowship together. Historians believe it was this behavior—not their dogma—that made them notice they were “little Christs.”

UniteBoston is carrying out a holy experiment called the “Beloved Community Lab.” We have been in a multi-year process of listening to stories of unity and disunity in the Church, and have landed on some clear understandings and practices to help all of us live out God’s call for unity, justice, and reconciliation in the places where we live, work, and play. We currently have 16 group of incredible pastors from many backgrounds who are journeying together to do the hard, deep work of beloved community.

We are learning that this unity isn’t just about a “kumbaya” moment that papers over our differences or focuses on what we have in common. The unity we are called to runs through our divisions, not around them.

To build a strong bridge, our hearts must stay tender. We need to ‘tend to the wounds’ of our estrangement. Bridge-building can feel like finding the right tools and skillsets. Tending to wounds requires us to lean in close to someone who is hurting and ask, “What happened? What hurts? How can I help?”

By God’s grace, we are seeing the Holy Spirit shift postures of hostility into humility, hospitality, and curiosity.

We are seeing Black pastors challenge White siblings to stand with them in the face of the injustices they are facing in our city.
We are seeing Conservatives help everyone remember Scripture and stay centered on Jesus.
We are seeing dreams emerge of collaborations across churches that would never be possible if we stayed in our isolated silos.
People are saying, “I don’t get how it all works out—but I’m really starting to love and care for these kin in Christ and want their good over my own.”

This are signposts of Beloved Community. We’re not there yet, but in a season of profound polarization, our ability to gather across differences bears witness to Jesus’ prayer for oneness (Jn. 17:23), serving as a living sign of the Gospel and a powerful testimony to Christ’s reconciling work in the world.

Tending to the Wounds Through Curiosity

Our final tip for bridge-builders is this: When the going gets tough, get curious. Turn to wonder. Ask: What is going on inside of me causing this reaction? and Where is Jesus here? What is the gift I need to receive from this other person?

We are inviting all who are stirring with a desire to see this kind of unity and reconciliation to join us. We are beginning to offer training and coaching for pastors and congregations in the practices of the Beloved Community Lab.

What should Christians be known by? Scripture’s answer is simple: Love (Jn 13:35).

Love has always been the mark of the Christian church and our greatest apologetic.

May this be true of us today as we embody the radical grace of the gospel by grieving the disunity, finding our walls of ‘themens,’ and extending a hand of fellowship that turns hostility into curiosity, and preaching peace to all.

My closing blessing for you is a prayer by Fr Gerry Reynolds. Fr. Gerry led a movement called the Unity Pilgrims who traveled between Catholic and Protestant churches in Northern Ireland. He wrote this prayer for the Unity Pilgrims:

Lord Jesus,
who on the eve of your death,
prayed that all your disciples may be one
as you in the Father and the Father in you,
make us feel intense sorrow over the infidelity of our disunity.
Give us the honesty to recognize,
and the courage to reject,
whatever indifference towards one another,
or mutual distrust,
or even enmity,
lie hidden within us.
Enable us to meet one another in you.
And let your prayer for the unity of Christians,
be ever in our hearts and on our lips,
unity such as you desire and by the means that you will.
Make us find the way that leads to unity in you,
who are perfect charity
through being obedient to the Spirit of love and truth.
Amen.

P.S. UniteBoston recently released a missional letter to clarify our calling as an organization, offer clarity about the values that hold our community together and what you can expect as you journey with us. Check it out below!

Mar 27 2026

Solidarity is Sacred: Good Friday Public Worship & Action for Immigration Justice

“During Holy Week, Christians remember Jesus’ death as a confrontation with – and triumph over – the powers of empire. Jesus’s crucifixion was God’s ultimate act of solidarity with persecuted people — an act that calls us into radical solidarity with the crucified people of today.”

As a key practice this Holy Week, we invite the Boston Christian community to join Solidarity is Sacred, a movement devoted to reclaiming the story of Good Friday to stand in solidarity with our immigrant friends and neighbors.

Read more below as the organizers share the theological heartbeat of this initiative, which transforms the Stations of the Cross into a powerful public witness for Christ-centered sanctuary and justice.

By Sarah Hansman, Stef Grossano, and Katy Fazio

In March 2025, just blocks from First Church in Somerville – where one of our authors is the pastoral resident – plain clothes, masked men grabbed a Tufts graduate student off of the street in broad daylight and put her into the back of a car. For hours, the young woman’s attorney could not figure out where she had been taken. The student, later identified as Rümeysa Öztürk, had her visa revoked and was shipped thousands of miles away to a Louisiana detention center – all because of a student journalism piece Ozturk had written for the Tufts Daily. Members of First Church Somerville knew Ozturk and her friends. Fear and anger set in. Immigration enforcement tactics were changing and many wondered who would be next. The next 12 months revealed a campaign of cruelty towards immigrants that we continue to live through today.

Immigration enforcement tactics have long threatened the safety of our neighbors. But in this moment of authoritarian breakthrough, state violence is intensifying, causing fear and outrage in our communities. We have seen a record number of deaths in US detention centers (including Emmanuel Damas on March 2, a Haitian man living in our Boston), a near total ban on asylum, and the continued separation of families.

We are the co-coordinators of a grassroots, ecumenical coalition of people of faith responding to this moment. Our response to this moment comes out of our shared humanity, in recognition of the fundamental dignity in each person that has for too long been violated. Our distinct voice, however, is a Christian one. Our strength comes from drawing upon who we are and what we believe, which breaks through with striking clarity on Good Friday.

We are a coalition of Christians from various faith traditions and experiences. Sarah is a doctoral student in theological ethics, a hospital chaplain, prison minister, and Catholic woman committed to bridging the worlds of the worlds of theology, ministry, and community organizing. Stef believes in the creative power of human beings and the Holy Spirit to bend the moral arc of the universe towards justice. She has tried to flex that creativity and Spirit as an organizer, a prison educator, a facilitator, a legal worker, and now as the queer pastoral resident at First Church Somerville, UCC. Katy is a children’s minister, mom of two, and a gardener- all roles that require hope for the future and the pursuit of peace. This is the second year we are coordinating this action, because we believe that Good Friday is a unique moment for us to join together, as people of faith, to remember the memory of Jesus’ crucifixion and how it calls us to be in solidarity with the crucified peoples of the present.

Christians follow a God who was murdered by the state so that no one else would be subjected to such cruelty. The moment we forget this story is the moment we forget our call to solidarity as followers of Christ. If the cross is a spiritual instrument, it must be a mirror challenging us to never allow what happened to Jesus to happen to anyone else.

Last year, we joined together on Good Friday for Sanctuary is Sacred, a public worship and action, to call out persecution and scapegoating and demand that our state government protect our immigrant neighbors and refuse cooperation with ICE. We made it clear that the Jesus who was himself scapegoated calls on our politicians, and each of us, to pick up their cross and walk with the oppressed.

This year, we return stronger for Solidarity is Sacred: Public Worship & Action for Immigration Justice. We refuse to be scared into silence by the disappearance of our neighbors and the deployment of ICE into US cities. We refuse to fall prey to scapegoating narratives that seek to turn us against each other, self-interest that feigns ignorance, or despair that believes that there is “nothing we can do.” We believe public worship and nonviolent collective action matters and so we come to Good Friday with three main goals.

1. By publicly praying the Stations of the Cross, we hope to provide a theological framing and spiritual grounding for this political moment that moves us closer to solidarity with our immigrant neighbors and to God’s call to set the captive free and to break every yoke.

The Via Crucis, or Stations of the Cross, is not only a reenactment of distant history, but as a living prayer through the streets of our own time. This longstanding Christian practice traces the path of Jesus’ suffering and execution at the hands of empire. We will join together in front of the JFK Building in downtown Boston, the location of the Boston Department of Homeland Security Office, to pray five out of the fourteen Stations of the Cross and stand in solidarity with crucified peoples of our time. The stations we will observe include: Jesus is condemned to die, Jesus meets his mother, Jesus falls for a third time, Simone of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross, and Jesus dies on the cross.

As we mark the moments along Jesus’ final path——each station reveals Christ present in the crucified peoples of today: in the bodies of those detained and deported without due process, the grieving mother torn from her child, the imprisoned denied medical assistance, the refugee turned away at the border.

To pray the Stations is to see the world as it truly is—to name suffering, to confront injustice, and to refuse to look away. In a world that still builds crosses, we walk the stations to say: this is not the end. Even as we confront the forces of death—racism, poverty, xenophobia, colonialism, environmental destruction—we do so with the conviction that love is stronger, and that resurrection is real.

This walk is a prayer, a protest, and a public witness. We ask not only what happened to Jesus, but also what is happening to our neighbors, and what is being asked of us. We pray to be awakened. We pray to be changed as people and leaders.

2. To bear public witness to our Christian faith and values.

We refuse to cede the public square to White Christian nationalism. Too often, Christianity has been distorted for political gain and against our most vulnerable communities, including our migrant siblings. Our Catholic Vice President has wrongly used the ‘ordo amoris’ to justify the Trump administration’s nationalist agenda and Christian Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has used isolated and faulty Bible interpretation to defend Trump’s immigration policy. We are mindful that the story of Good Friday itself has been used across for centuries to foment violence and prejudice against our Jewish siblings and is a part of the legacy of antisemitism today.

We repent for and reject any weaponization of Christianity. We feel called to provide a counternarrative that witnesses to another way of being Christian. Migration is at the heart of the Christian story. From the Exodus, to the story of Ruth and Naomi, to the Holy Family, scripture tells us of people on the move. And Jesus’s death on a cross declares where God chooses to dwell—not with the powerful, but with the broken, the cast off, the dispossessed.

3. To create opportunities for local, interfaith relationship-building and platform existing ways to take action.

We learned from Minneapolis that voices of faith matter and so does knowing your neighbor. Scripture teaches us: love your neighbor as yourself (Matt 22:39). But before we love our neighbor, we have to know our neighbor. Who is my neighbor (Luke 10:29)? Massachusetts has a robust network of immigration justice organizations and coalitions to say no to state violence and yes to local and state networks that protect our communities. Rather than ask with despair, “how can I, one person, make a difference?” We join together as neighbors, in solidarity, to see how much power we have, and provide pathways to take action going forward.

Will you join us?

We will begin at the JFK Building, home of the Boston office of the Department of Homeland Security to pray the Stations of the Cross. After the liturgical portion of our event, we will march together, up to the State House, to hear from our final speakers. These leaders in the immigration justice movement will share how you can take further action to be in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors today. Come weary, come hopeful, come yearning, come energized, come lamenting, and bring your communities with you.

We have an incredible group of co-sponsors behind this effort. Massachusetts Communities Action Network (MCAN), MA TPS Committee, Pax Christi Massachusetts, Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ (SNEUCC), Catholics in Communion, UniteBoston, Episcopal City Mission, Center for Public Theology & Migration, and First Church Somerville, UCC

📅 Good Friday, April 3rd, 4PM

📍 Downtown Boston

🔗 RSVP here: https://bit.ly/goodfriday2026

Feb 25 2026

UniteBoston’s Annual Fundraising Celebration & Community Gathering

You are invited to UniteBoston’s Fundraising Celebration and Community Gathering on Friday, May 29 from 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm at the Bruce C. Bolling Building in Roxbury. This will be an evening of celebration with food, joy, and an opportunity to partner with us in our bridge-building work across Greater Boston.

Our theme this year is “Illuminate.” In a time when division and uncertainty can feel heavy, we believe Christ calls us to shine (Mt 5:16)—bringing light to hard places, clarity to confusion, and hope to weary hearts. At UniteBoston, we are committed to equipping Christians to be peacemakers and bridge-builders—agents of unity, reconciliation, justice, and repair. Illuminate reflects our prayer that the Church would not hide its light but embody it boldly and beautifully for the good of our city. Here is our Fundraising Letter

This year’s keynote speaker is Rozella Haydée White, a public theologian and “Love Big” coach. Dedicated to nurturing a love that is life-giving, justice-seeking, and restorative, she has authored a book entitled Love Big: The Power of Revolutionary Relationships to Heal the World.

Rozella’s work deeply aligns with UniteBoston’s mission to heal divisions and strengthen the Church’s collective witness. Over the past year, she has also played a vital role behind the scenes, working directly with Rev. Kelly and Rev. Devlin as a coach for a capacity-building grant initiative. We are thrilled to have her voice guide us faithfully illuminating the gospel and bearing witness to Christ’s reconciling work in our beloved city.

The evening will also include a conversation with Rev. Kelly and Rev. Devlin, stories of impact from our UniteBoston community, and creative expressions that reflect the heart of this year’s theme, including:

Convene: The Power of Collaborative Conversations for City-Wide Gospel Movement by Rev. Melinda Priest
Testimony about Beloved Community Lab by Rev. Gina Tillotson-Cordy
Poems on “Illuminate” by Bill Ivanov and Dzidzor Azalgo
Closing Song led by Rev. Devlin Scott

Join us to connect with friends old and new—and to discover how you can participate in God’s reconciling, restoring, peacebuilding work through UniteBoston.

We’re excited to offer FREE childcare during the event, provided by safe and vetted volunteers. Children do not need a ticket to the event, but advance registration is required.

This gathering will take place at the Bruce Bolling Municipal Building in Nubian Square, 2300 Washington St, Roxbury, MA 02119. Local parking lots include the large City of Boston Municipal Parking Lot #33 around the corner of the building.

We can’t wait to gather, celebrate, and shine together. REGISTER BELOW

Ticket Options:

General Admission: $50
Student Admission: $25
Volunteers: Free (Register Here)

Our Goal: Raising $40,000

Your generous contributions will directly support our efforts to fortify Christian unity in Boston through strategic planning, staff and consultant support, and partnerships with local ministries.

Thank you for partnering with us to God’s work towards reconciliation, justice, and peacemaking in our city. If you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to reach out. We are deeply grateful for your friendship, encouragement, and support, and look forward to seeing you at the event!