UniteBoston

Bridging Divides Across Christians for the Flourishing of the City

Honoring All Mothers

Connected Mother’s Day by GLOO

Happy Mother’s Day! Today we honor all of the mothers in our lives. Whether you come with hope or pain, in joy or in sadness, we see you. God sees you.

1. The Biological Mothers

“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.” 1 Samuel 1:27

We honor biological mothers because this is how God designed that each of us enters the world. We appreciate your sacrifices, acknowledge your pain, and thank you for instilling faith in us.

2. The Adoptive Mothers

“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:5

The process and intentionality of adoption is an honor of its own. You have chosen to adopt children and have a special calling to care for other children as if they were your own. We honor the sacrifices that you have made and recognize how we, too, have been accepted into the family of faith through Jesus Christ. 

3. The Single Mothers

“[Hagar] gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’” Genesis 16:13

Today we honor your faithfulness. Like Hagar who was forced into single parenthood; your circumstance may not be one you chose. As the church, we rally around you, we support you, and we recognize all that you do.

4. The Stepmothers

“But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16

Today we honor your faithfulness to God in loving children that you did not bear. Like Ruth, you have chosen not only to love and unite with a spouse, but to also love and unite with your husband’s children as your own. We celebrate your choices as a reminder of the choice all believers have made to commit to Christ and to Christ-followers.

5. The Foster Mothers

“I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:30

We honor your willingness to fill in the gaps, likely between a biological mother and an adopted one. You choose to show up for children however you can. We thank you.

6. The Expectant Mothers

“So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I asked the Lord for him.’” 1 Samuel 1:20

This time of pregnancy is often filled with anxiety, especially for the first time mothers who don’t know what to expect, and it can be especially challenging for those who have experienced miscarriage or

7. The Grieving Mothers

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

For those who’ve lost children or your own mother, today we see you. God sees you. We make room for your grief and the healing power of God’s love at every stage of life and loss.

8. The Grandmothers

“I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” 2 Timothy 1: 5

For the first time in many decades, our church is seeing mothers, grandmothers, and great- grandmothers all at the same time. Today, we celebrate the prayers and faith of grandmothers and great-grandmothers that allowed each of us to be where we are today.

9. Those Longing for Motherhood

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

We acknowledge your longing for children and honor your desires to the Lord. We pray for you and support you on your journey. God, show compassion to these mothers.

10. Our Church mothers

“After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases…These women were helping to support them out of their own means.” Luke 8:1-3

To those who are mothers of all in our church, we thank you. You shepherd, guide, and care for us, and are models in the church. God recognizes the sacrifices you’ve made, and we do too.

UniteBoston’s Six Ministry Priorities for 2023

Where is God moving in the city and in the Church? What is God’s invitation for UniteBoston this year? These are the questions that our staff and board prayerfully considered in a recent retreat. Together, we came up with six ministry priorities for this year – We are grateful to have you as part of our mission as we are all UniteBoston!

All-Night Vigil for St. Richard of Wessex

Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in Somerville, MA invites you to join us once again in a special festal offering: an All-Night Vigil (Vespers, Orthros, and Divine Liturgy served together) commemorating St. Richard of Wessex, one of the great saints of early medieval England.
While St. Richard is celebrated on the Greek Orthodox calendar ( https://www.goarch.org/chapel/search?month=2&day=7 ), last year’s services were the first time there had ever been a full liturgical office for him (save for a lone Latin antiphon).
Come and share this unique blessing with us – an All-Night Vigil commemorating a saint of the British Isles who died in Italy traveling to Jerusalem, celebrated today by a Greek Orthodox community in New England, with an office composed in English specifically for Greek Orthodox use, that will be sung according to the tradition and practice of Byzantine chant.
And if your name is Richard – come celebrate your name day with us in our newly-renovated church!
A BRIEF LIFE:
St. Richard of Wessex (+722 A.D.) was a king in Anglia who, with his wife St. Wuna, raised his children Ss. Willibald, Winnibald, and Walpurga in the Christian faith, but remained focused on his own worldly concerns and privileges as king.
Eventually, St. Richard’s children lovingly reproached him. They implored him to set a Christian example for them, just as Noah had first entered the Ark ahead of his children, and to heed the words of our Lord to give away all that he had and follow Christ.
St. Richard heard his children’s rebuke and repented. With tears in his eyes, he cast off his crown and distributed his wealth. His sons convinced him to go with them on pilgrimage to visit holy sites in Rome and Jerusalem, and they set out on the journey.
In Lucca, Italy, St. Richard fell ill and reposed in the Lord. Ss. Willibald and Winnibald buried him at the church of Saint Frigdian (San Frediano).
Miracles and healings began to occur at St. Richard’s tomb, leading to his veneration and glorification as a saint. His son, St. Willibald, became bishop of Eichstätt in modern-day Bavaria, and had relics of his father translated to his cathedral there as well.

UniteBoston School of Prayer

This fall, UniteBoston is offering a second round of a school of prayer to deepen, broaden and expand our understanding, experience and expression of prayer with followers of Jesus from a broad variety of churches in the Greater Boston area.

Goals:

–  To pray more effectively to see God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven

–  To create a learning community across churches around prayer

–  To put our learning into practice by praying together

Dates & Times:

Tuesday Nights, September 7 – October 12 from 7:00PM-8:30PM

– Tuesday, September 7: Mary Earl – “Spiritual Warfare”

– Tuesday, September 14: Lorraine Anderson – “Written VS Spontaneous Prayer”

– Tuesday, September 21: Dave Hill – “The Lord’s Prayer in Conjunction with the Names of God”

– Tuesday, September 28: Shannon Parker – “Praying for our Children & Grandchildren”

– Tuesday, October 5: Anne Freeman – “Using the Creative Arts When We Pray”

– Tuesday, October 12: Bishop Frank Kelly – “How Should We Pray and What does God Answer?”

Teaching will be for the first hour and we will spend the last half hour praying, using what we learned from the teaching.

We would love for you to join us!  For more information or to sign up, please contact Anne Freeman, coordinator of the UniteBoston School of prayer, via email at AnneFreeman14@gmail.com or by phone/text (617) 447-5477.  Participants should commit to attending all of the sessions and will be limited to the first fifteen participants who sign up.

Lighthouse Conference

Ready for the best weekend of the year?! Lighthouse Conference is a 3-night gathering where we will be challenged to follow Jesus more holistically and worship more authentically. This year we’ll be at the Doubletree in Danvers, MA from September 3-6. This conference is coordinated by one of UniteBoston’s Board Members, Kika Ghobrial!

We’ve got Pastor Shane Lima coming from Ambassadors Church in Rhode Island as our Keynote Speaker, Ben Laine will be leading our community in worship, and Pastor Marquis Lockhart from Lynn, MA as our Middle School Speaker! There is also a full kids program as well as an Arabic Program for Arabic speaking community as this conference is partnered with Arabic Evangelical’s summer conference as well!

Sign up with 3 other friends to get the best rate! It’s going to be unforgettable, click this link to sign up NOW and make sure to choose “English College and Graduates” under the “Service to Attend” dropdown menu.

-4 in a room: $145/person for 3 nights and breakfast
-3 in a room: $165/person for 3 nights and breakfast
-2 in a room: $210/person for 3 nights and breakfast

PS!! If you’re interested in the FREE option (yes, totally free and no… we’re not just talking about livestreaming) you can come for just the sessions, but there are limited spots! Email Ben at dossben@gmail.com to reserve your spot for any or all of the sessions.

For more information, follow along on our facebook page and instagram @lighthouse.boston


Give to Further Christian Unity

DONATE!