shine – UniteBoston

Jun 26 2026

A 250th Anniversary Prayer Gathering and March for Democracy and Justice

***Updated Schedule due to the Heat **DUE TO THE HEAT WE HAVE MERGED THE TWO PROGRAMS AND CANCELLED THE WALK.

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States, we invite people of all faiths and of goodwill to gather in prayer, song, and community, and to walk together in support of democracy, justice, and liberty. We will also read from the Declaration of Independence.

At this milestone in our nation’s history, we are called not only to celebrate, but also to act. We are deeply grateful for the blessings of our democracy, and we recognize that some of our nation’s core commitments need our renewed attention and care: justice and kindness, due process and the rule of law, voting rights, immigrant rights, and the dignity of every person.

Join Prayers for Liberty as we gather on the Lexington Battle Green and then walk together to Arlington, lifting up these beloved American principles in a spirit of hope, faith, and nonpartisan civic responsibility.

This gathering follows the spirit of our Prayers for Liberty gatherings and walks from last year.

Schedule for Friday, July 3, 2026 – UPDATED

8:45am — Clergy and faith leaders gather at Hancock Church across from Lexington Battle Green
9am Prayer Gathering on the Lexington Battle Green, near the Minuteman Statue. We will sing, pray and reflect together.
10:00Am — Program concludes.
DUE TO THE HEAT WE HAVE MERGED THE TWO PROGRAMS AND CANCELLED THE WALK.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I invite my friends?

Yes. This gathering is open to everyone: people from churches, temples, mosques, synagogues, other houses of worship, and those not connected to any faith community.

This is a nonpartisan event. We welcome people from across the political spectrum who want to stand together for democracy, justice, kindness, due process and the rule of law, voting rights, and immigrant rights.

Please spread the word.

What should I wear?

Please dress comfortably for the weather. We recommend comfortable walking shoes, sunscreen, a hat, water, and clothing appropriate for a summer morning.

To help keep the focus on our shared values, please do not wear clothing with political slogans, partisan messages, or words or images that may alienate others.

Can I bring a sign?

Yes, but signs should focus only on the values we are lifting up together: democracy, justice, kindness, due process and the rule of law, voting rights, and immigrant rights.

Please do not bring signs that mention political parties, political candidates, elected officials, or signs that mock or attack others.

Lexington Alarm signs are welcome. We will also bring Prayers for Liberty signs.

What is the spirit of the event?

The spirit is joyful, prayerful, hopeful, and positive.

Bring friends, family, or just yourself. Meet new people. Schmooze. Sing. Pray. Walk. Lift your voice for democracy and justice.

Please stay on the sidewalk, obey all laws, and do not engage with anyone who tries to provoke or distract us. We are gathering with positive energy and a shared commitment to our country’s highest ideals.

What should I bring?

If you are walking, please bring comfortable shoes, sunscreen, a water bottle, and a hat. Bring an umbrella or rain gear if needed.

The event is rain or shine.

Where should I park?

Please park legally near the Lexington Battle Green or in the Hancock Church parking lot.

How long is the walk?

The walk is approximately six miles, from Lexington Center to Arlington Center along Massachusetts Avenue.

Can I share this with others?

Yes, please share this invitation widely with your communities, clergy, local leaders, elected officials, and news media.

I am a clergy member. When should I arrive?

Clergy and faith leaders should gather at 8:45 AM at Hancock Church.

Questions?

Please contact Elissa Oppenheim in Rabbi David Lerner’s office at Temple Emunah in Lexington.

Phone: 781-861-0300
Email: EOppenheim@TempleEmunah.org

Please REGISTER HERE

Mar 13 2026

Showing Up Well: A Training for Volunteers on Genuine Engagement

Every volunteer engagement that involves another person is a relationship. And like any relationship, what we bring into it shapes what’s possible.

Often volunteers’ biggest challenges aren’t logistical, they’re invisible. The unspoken expectations we attach to our help, the moments when our instinct to fix things gets ahead of what someone is asking for, how our own cultural lens can shape — and sometimes distort — how we show up.

UniteBoston is partnering with Sarah Blumenshine, Director of Intercultural Ministries at the Emmanuel Gospel Center, to offer a zoom training where we can all take an honest, non-judgmental look at the mindsets that can quietly undermine the very relationships we’re hoping to build. We’re especially encouraging congregations and volunteers who have been part of our spring “Love Thy Neighbor” initiatives to join this opportunity!

Expect honest conversation, relatable scenarios, and practical tools to help you engage with love and care.

Mar 28 2018

Zach Williams Worship In The Adirondacks 2018

This is a great song from Zach Williams filled with great truth! We are so excited to have Zach joining us at this years Worship In The Adirondacks 2018. For details and tickets go to www.worshipintheadirondacks.com.

Dec 23 2017

God With Us: Artistic Representations of the Incarnation

This week, we celebrate the beauty and mystery of the incarnation, God coming to be with us in the form of Jesus Christ, whole divine and wholly human, God in the flesh.

Here are a few artistic renditions displaying the wonder of the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

“Yearning and Promise,” created by FULLER studio, explores the expectant longing for the birth of Christ. This artistic reflection draws from scriptures from Isaiah 40 and Matthew 1 and utilizes some of the major world languages with the audio and text.

O Adonai

Shield against the name given of fire—
Beyond comprehension or captivity,
The use and power of names.

Adonai—what we call you because
The truth of redemption weighs heavily on us—
The smoking mountain, the plagues, the sea’s retraction,
Cloud and pillar, bread-speckled desert,

Land of milk and honey and the taste of blood—
All this your Name contains, Spoken and unspoken at once.
Base of creation, vessel of remembrance
For a hundred billion lost tongues, I AM, so we are
Momentary embers.

But Adonai, you privilege your clay:
You appeared once in a thicket of scrub-brush aflame—
You gave the Way so our burning
Would not consume us—
Come and deliver us again Into your wilderness.

-from The Yearning Life: Poems by Regina Walton

Regina L. Walton is pastor and rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Newton, Massachusetts. Her book of poems, The Yearning Life, won the inaugural Phyllis Tickle Prize in Poetry, and was published by Paraclete Press in 2016.

Above, Kelly Brown Douglas, on the God who is always coming towards us, from The Work of the People.

Poem on the Incarnation

Written by Saint John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was with God in the beginning.Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

(John 1:1-5, 14 NIV)

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.