UniteBoston

Bridging Divides Across Christians for the Flourishing of the City

Thanksgiving = Friendsgiving?

In the American culture, holidays provide a unique opportunity for reconciliation because it’s not often that we intentionally spend time with those we are close to and those we might not normally connect with. Alexei Laushkin from the Kingdom Mission Society writes that Thanksgiving is an incarnate moment of Psalm 23:5:

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

He goes on to describe that, “Thanksgiving often brings the juxtaposition of peace and reconciliation in the midst of ongoing brokenness in the life of any family. Thanksgiving puts relationships into sharp focus in a culture that doesn’t do relational intimacy very well.”

Research from The Barna Institute shows that often, Americans choose to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends. In fact, practicing Christians are 17% more likely to eat dinner with their neighbors than those with no faith.

Here is a snapshot of Barna’s research on how Americans interact with people in their neighborhood. Millennials are the most likely generation to say that their neighbors are like family (12%, compared to 3% and 5% among Boomers and Elders). In fact, 30% of Millennials include those who live nearby in their holidays or at their dinner tables.

This Holiday season, let’s be a Church that is known for loving and serving our neighbors. Here is a liturgical worship service that you can use in your congregation or small group to consider Jesus Christ’s call to love our neighbors.  https://www.faithandleadership.com/preparing-love-and-serve…

 

“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.

A Case For Neighborhood Chaplains in Boston

Steve Daman from the Emmanuel Gospel Center considers how Christians can respond to Boston’s population growth and declining interest in church. He writes: “Imagine a church, or a collaborative of churches, sending certified chaplains into new communities to extend grace and life in nontraditional ways to new, young and/or affluent Bostonians. Could this be a way to implant a compelling Gospel presence among this population?”

Various ministries are highlighted, including Rev. Dr. LeSette Wright’s Peaceseekers, which cultivates partnerships in Boston to prevent violence. She has trained over 100 people in the area to serve as community chaplains.

Read more

2017 UniteBoston Worship Night – Pictures & Stories

On August 21, 2017, more than 400 people came out to a worship night in Boston Common. This event took place in the Parkman Bandstand, which was the same location as the “free speech” rally one week beforehand. While last week, the bandstand was the center of conflict in Boston, this week it was a call for peace from the God who can bring it.

We don’t believe that the answer will be ultimately found in politics or just in human effort but in the work of God who has the power to change hearts and bring peace to the world.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
-Jesus, in John 14:27

“Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
-Jeremiah 29:7

“UniteBoston made the love of God visible in Boston on August 26th. God’s peace paid us a visit because it is only when we come together to love one another, that God’s peace will show up.”
-Read Rev. David Nunez​’s blog about his experience

“I have never quite seen something like the worship night in Boston in such a public space. The location was perfect for catching passerby’s who would perhaps not normally find themselves at church but enjoyed the music. Also, because the music was specifically Christian, some people came up and asked for prayer or names of churches in the area. This provided a wonderful opportunity for ministry.”
-Jacqueline Turner, Aletheia Church

“I was surprised by the movement of God in my heart that night. I was inspired to commit to deeper prayer about a specific issue that divides churches. I went home hopeful, feeling the weight of what’s to come, and grateful.”
-Jessica Van Nest Mason, Forest Hills Covenant Church

“This event was attractive and attracted all kinds of people. Passersby were stopping to sign up, asking questions. This reaches people who would never otherwise have the idea of Christian unity or even consider a church. And it also literally puts Jesus in the heart of Boston. Right on the Common, the oldest park in America and a training field for the Revolutionary army. As ever, the simple act of all different people coming together to lift up the Name of Jesus is the witness to the world that He is Lord. Our response to hate is the Ancient Love. Our response to being created by God is to love Him and to share that with the city. As the lights came one in the buildings and the moon came up in the dark blue velvet sky, we planted God’s love in the heart of Boston.”
-Dr. Vito Nicastro, Archdiocese of Boston and UB Board Chair

“I found my faith in Christ through a powerful worship experience, so my favorite part was seeing people who wouldn’t normally step inside a church building experience Christian worship and the presence of God. Plus, when people asked which church we were from, we said, “all of them!” I’ve found that the presence of God is magnified as we come together to seek Him.”
-Kelly Steinhaus, UniteBoston Team Leader

“I really appreciated praying and worshipping the Lord in this spot specifically, where only a week before there was darkness at our doorstep.”
-David Yazenko, Park Street Church

“Thank you UniteBoston and others who helped to make this night possible. God did so much in my heart that night. I don’t even know where to begin! I will suffice it to say that I had the God-given pleasures of praying with several different people; the chance to witness one person pray for God’s forgiveness and ask Him to make her more like Him; an opportunity to connect with believers across congregations and the awesome privilege to witness firsthand what it looks like to see the Body of Christ at work and the beautiful things that come out of that unity. After this event God has given me a newfound love and passion for the city of Boston and the people that live here.  I am so excited for what he is doing in the city of Boston. Indeed the harvest is ripe! Let’s each be a part of asking Him to send out more laborers and volunteering to be those laborers!”
-Cleopatra Mohammed, Mars Hill Fellowship Church

“I was on the commons that night and felt the Presence of the God come & rest on us and that whole area of downtown Boston….. Suddenly i noticed all the trees, the grass, the buildings, the street lights, the sky with the moon rising and the people looked so beautiful, and a deep sense of JOY filled my heart….. I believe this was the Lord’s pleasure with our worship and the unity of the Bride.”
-Michele, The Bridge Church

“A wonderful testimony to the power unified public worship to not only refresh, inspire, and empower the Body of Christ, but to also serve as a powerful means of evangelism to those not connected to the faith. The evangelism effect likely would not have occurred if this event was held inside the four walls of a church–very exciting!”
-Rev. Mark Orr, Executive Director of REACH Youth New England

 

Learn More:

Meet the UniteBoston Worship Team

View the Photo Album on Facebook & Tag Friends!

What’s Next: UniteBoston Neighborhood Dinners

 

 

“The Kiss of Peace” – UniteBoston’s 2017 Summer Worship Gathering

This week’s guest blogger is Rev. William David Nunez, a local Diocesan priest at Diocese of Christ the King and Community Building Coordinator at IBA Boston. Rev. Nunez attended our recent worship night on Boston Common, and reflects on his experience below.

You can follow Rev. Nunez’ blog at http://ancientfuturecoalition.blogspot.com

On August 19, I saw the power that abides in the midst of love and unity as I stood next to other ministers leading a march of over 40,000 people in Boston against hate and racism. Love was overwhelming and tangible everywhere you stood. People along the sidewalks would stop and give us water, ask for prayer, give hugs, wave their hands, send love gestures from their apartment windows.

I must admit, what really shocked me in this march was the reality of hate and racism. To stare in the eyes of hate brings such fear to the soul: fear of what’s to come, fear for our kids and the next generation that will soon be leading us into the future. As we arrived at the park where the free speech rally had just took place, I saw a group of men staring at me with a lot of hate. One of them spit on my shoe while the others mumbled words I couldn’t clearly hear but their face were filled with anger as they looked at me. Even vested in my black cassock and wearing my cross did not prevent the eyes of hate to look at the color of my skin, spitting on my shoes, mumbling words of hate. All I kept asking God as I walked was, is this what my kids are going to have to go through?

I left that march with such a heavy awakening, with my heart whispering every two seconds, “we must do more”. It just isn’t enough to meet on Sundays for a worship experience or have small fellowships in our homes once a week, and it isn’t enough to pretend hate and racism doesn’t exist because we haven’t experienced it personally.

So what do we do next?

That is the question that haunted my heart after that march. I saw this event someone shared on FaceBook titled“Peace for the City” by UniteBoston and decided to support because prayer was definitely something needed after that march.

Needless to say, this event was God’s answer to the question that haunted me. As I stood in the midst of the crowd in the Boston Common, enjoying God’s presence while a band composed of people from different denominations worshipping together in unity and love, I couldn’t help but look around. Everywhere I placed my eyes all I saw was people crying, praising, praying for one another, some standing, others kneeling, but everyone enjoying God’s presence in that park. A wonderful breeze brushed through us and at that very moment I felt peace…

This experience reminded me an ancient traditional Christian greeting, “The Kiss of Peace”. The New Testament refers to it as the holy kiss (en philemati hagio) and the kiss of love (en philemati agapes). It is beyond an act of greeting: St Augustine in one if his sermons calls it “the sign of peace” but also calls it “a powerful sacrament” because the kiss of peace is the visible sign of unity and love of Christ on earth. No matter if you’re rich or poor, a kiss is a universal act of love.

This expression of the Holy Kiss is still a part of worship today in many traditional churches and even in some Protestant churches. It was even believed that saints would share the holy kiss with one another before their martyrdom.

Why is all of this the answer to my question of what to do next? Martin Luther King once said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” The early church understood this: that even though our hearts may know we are called to unity and love, this corresponds with an external act will seal our belief.

Unite Boston made the love of God visible in Boston on August 26th and God’s peace paid us a visit because It is only when we come together to love one another, that God’s peace will show up. Our unity that night was heaven kissing earth and God saying “Peace be with you” and us responding to one another “and also with you.” God kissing us while we responded by kissing creation. This is what a sacrament is all about, making heaven visible to humanity. There are so many things we can do but if we all just start by loving one another, breaking down walls of denominational separation and coming together in unity, God’s shalom (peace) will always be amongst us, in our communities, and in our city. Keep up the good work UniteBoston!

 

 

Prayer for the City of Boston

Look upon us, O Lord,
and let all the darkness of our souls
vanish before the beams of thy brightness.
Fill us with holy love,
and open to us the treasures of thy wisdom.
All our desire is known unto thee,
therefore perfect what thou hast begun,
and what thy Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer.
We seek thy face,
turn thy face unto us and show us thy glory.
Then shall our longing be satisfied,
and our peace shall be perfect.

(Augustine, 354 – 430)

 


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