UniteBoston

Bridging Divides Across Christians for the Flourishing of the City

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)

 

Meet the UB Worship Team

It’s been incredible to momentum growing for the upcoming UniteBoston worship night. Chloe Gaydos, UniteBoston’s intern this summer, has pulled together an incredibly talented team of individuals. One of the most beautiful aspects is the diversity of people represented in the team.

A few members of the band include:

  • An Asian exchange student from Berkeley playing the violin
  • A Catholic singer/songwriter
  • A Protestant drum teacher from Berklee
  • A Nondenominational Gospel Singer
  • A Boston-based Rap Artist
  • An Indie/Jazz Worship Leader 
  • A young man from one of the first Pentecostal churches in Indonesia

In light of the recent events in Charlottesville, this is a crucial time for us to lift up the message of love and peace found in Christ. We have been planning to have our worship night in the Boston Common for months, which turned out to be the same location that Saturday’s “free speech” rally took place. Our leadership team felt like this was a God-ordained opportunity for us to proclaim that Jesus unites, and Jesus is the true source of peace for the city, so we made “peace for the city” the theme of the worship night.

Meet the members of the worship team!

Name: Korleen Sheridan

Instrument: Guitar & Vocals

Home Church: St Cecilias Parish

“I am so excited to see God working in Boston and seeing so many Christians praising God together. This is so needed in a city where you walk by people every day and you don’t know their faith background.”

Name: Caleb McCoy  (http://www.welcometotheoak.com/)

Instrument: Vocals

Home Church: Neighborhood Church of Boston

“I am excited to worship with a diverse group of people from  different backgrounds. I think the fact that the worship team is represented by different races, denominations, and styles of worship will make this night extra special.”

Name: Anita Maldonado 

Instrument: Guitar & Vocals

Home Church: The City

“I’ve been in Massachusetts for 5 years, but it’s been tough for me to integrate into the city. As soon as I heard about UniteBoston’s worship night, I knew this was the event that I’ve been waiting for. It’s  beautiful that we can all worship our Father with no barriers, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

Name: Ola Olukorede

Instrument: Vocals

Home Church: Dayspring Chapel

“I am excited about experiencing God in a new dimension than before through worshipping with people from around Boston who have the same faith as me. Though sometimes we might feel like we’re alone, this night proves that God’s people are everywhere and God’s praise is real.”

Name: Ben Hills

Instrument: Sound Team

Home Church: First Presbyterian Church Northshore

“I’m excited to see a worship gathering on a place as public as the Boston Common. I can’t wait to see what God will do with it.”

Name: Calvin Limuel

Instrument: Keyboard

Home Church: Heart Change Fellowship

“There aren’t many events that bring together Christians very often, especially for public worship, and this is so needed in our city.”

Name: Tony Lee

Instrument: Vocals

Home Church: Aletheia Church

“My college was immensely supportive of diversity, and I got to witness some amazing things. I saw dance as worship, art as worship, spoken word as worship. Things that I never saw in church were happening on campus, and it was incredible to participate. As various cultures of students came together, I witnessed God’s creativity flowing through them. And let me testify, I felt an immense amount of joy when a congregation jives to a funky beat within the context of a new style of worship. In my life, I experienced this through corporate worship between Korean and American churches. We are made as limitless beings, and I know that unless we go beyond our boundaries, we will miss out on the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in us, the hope of glory. I had heard about UniteBoston and wanted to be a part of it. I love worshipping… Any way that I can spend more of my waking hours worshipping draws me closer to God.”

 

UB Worship Team Dinner

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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