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Nurturing Relational Connections Across Boston's Christian Community

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Oct 25 2018

Come Grill a Christian

Join us for a riveting weekend with Q&A sessions on topics that make us “tick” with Dr. Timothy Sansbury.

Friday, November 2nd:
“Is God a Sexual Dictator?” (7:30 pm)

Saturday, November 3rd:
“Energy of the Unknown” (3-5 pm)
“Clintology versus Trumpology” (6-8 pm)

Sunday, November 4th:
“Justice, Peace and the Crux of the Matter” (11 am)

Location:
Newton Corner Worship Center
187 Church St, Newton, MA 02458

All sessions are free and open to the public. Snacks and beverages will be served following the sessions.

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1275330849274105/

Written by Andrew Walker · Tagged: christianity, godisinthiscity, uniteboston

Aug 26 2018

What’s Next After the Worship Night And Photo Contest Winners!

Group photo of UB volunteers! Photo Credit: Koo Chung

By Kelly Fassett, UniteBoston Team Leader

When I agreed to Chloe Gaydos’ idea last summer to organize a worship night in the Boston Common, we had no idea what God would do. As she began recruiting for the worship team, we were amazed to see the interest and involvement of Christians from a variety of communities. The attendance at this year’s worship night was over 1,000, which was double or triple the amount from last year, including Christians of all denominations and ethnic backgrounds and many people passing by who were in the park that evening.

 

The worship team did an incredible job leading us in a variety of types of music, including gospel, Christian rap, Messianic Jewish, charismatic, and traditional hymns. I helped to coordinate the sponsored tables of thirteen local churches and organizations that surrounded the perimeter of the premises. There was also great fellowship – a family reunion of sorts – and even a woman who painted canvases throughout the evening and a spontaneous dance party! A sense of joy filled my heart as I saw all these groups come together in worship as we sought to witness to the love found in Christ.  Check out the photo gallery here!

A great crowd at the event, and thirteen sponsored tables! Photo Credit: Elijah Mickelson

 

Worship. Photo Credit: Koo Chung

 

Lori Dupre painting “One City.” Photo Credit: Koo Chung

 

The 2018 UB Worship Team in front of Lori Dupre’s paintings. Photo Credit: Elijah Mickelson

 

One of the greatest joys for me as the Team Leader of UniteBoston is seeing more and more people running with the vision of Christian unity. Unlike other UB events where I’ve been the main person to make everything happen, at the very heart of this event was unity: an amazing team of volunteers, sound technicians, and musicians to plan and implement all of the logistics.  Thanks to the UB community, the event on Facebook was shared 228 times, and over 50,100 people viewed the event (yes, that’s 50 thousand people! Not a typo!)

Below are some stories of people who were impacted; click here to give your feedback and input from the worship night – We would love to hear your input on how this movement can continue to build and grow!

Personal Stories

“You’d be hard pressed to find as diverse a crowd of believers worshiping together in Spirit and Truth as were gathered that night. Some have moved to Boston because they believe the Holy Spirit is not at work. Strange how those people never attend events where the fullness of the Church is being expressed in the diversity of God’s people!”
-Rev. David Wright, Black Ministerial Alliance

“As we gathered on the Boston Common, our ‘common neighborhood backyard,’ the vibrancy, joy, diversity of our common faith came alive. It was truly incarnational, if one had to use a theological term. Although much of the style of the event was different from my Catholic style, I felt welcomed and engaged. Christ is our Center, our Life. Thank you so much.”
-Fr. Michael McGarry, The Paulist Center

“The August 19 evening worship on Boston Common was as filled with God’s Spirit perhaps as the Common has been on a number of historic moments over many years, such as the First Great Awakening there in 1740 or the Billy Graham meetings there in 1950.  We pray God is increasingly filling Boston with His Spirit now in 2018.”

-Ralph Kee, Emmanuel Gospel Center Church Planting Collaborative

Continue the Momentum Towards Unity 

Ephesians 4:16 says that the body of Christ is joined and held together by every supporting ligament. This is Christian unity: Every person has a part to play to build up the body. The participation of every community matters. You have a unique, valuable contribution, by which others can learn and receive from.

Here are some things you can do to continue the momentum towards Christian unity after the worship night:

1. Build relationships with other Christians 

While large events are great, the power of Christian unity comes from relationships. It is relationships across our varied church traditions and backgrounds which empower inter-church collaboration. Thus, one of the greatest things you can do is to set up a time to meet with someone from a different background than you – perhaps ethnically, denominationally, or socioeconomically. To do this, you can visit a worship service from another church in your neighborhood, asking, “What can this form of Christian worship teach me about God?” It’s often as we step outside our comfort zone that our false understandings are revealed and we discover the manifold wisdom of God present within the church (Eph 3:10).

2. Join a UniteBoston Neighborhood Dinner

UniteBoston has a team of nine dinner coordinators that are coordinating regular gatherings for prayer and fellowship within neighborhood communities.  The goal for the dinners is to build relationships and to let our relationships inform our shared mission of revealing Jesus’ love within our communities. We gather to hear our personal stories of faith in Christ and to answer two questions: “What is God already doing in our community?” and “What can we together to better demonstrate the love of Christ?”

You can sign up for a dinner in your neighborhood by clicking here. Our neighborhood dinner coordinators are also happy to sit down with you and grab a cup of coffee to learn how we can be supporting you and what God is doing in your midst. Please contact us – We’d love to hear from you!

Neighborhood Dinner at Adam’s house in East Boston

3. Share about UniteBoston on Facebook or Instagram

This year, we increased our marketing strategy and have discovered the power of social media. We encourage you to take one of our photos and share it on Facebook (@uniteboston10) or Instagram (Uniteboston) – or simply email your friends and encourage them to get involved with UB/sign up for our weekly newsletter!

“Organizations have programs. People have friends. Friends trump programs every time…The world has been shouting over the noise of our programs that it doesn’t need more presidents or organizations, what it needs is more friends.” – Bob Goff in Love Does

Photo Credit: Koo Chung

4. Submit an event from your church/ministry to UniteBoston’s weekly newsletter

UniteBoston has a large infrastructure for promotion and advertising. Our website is viewed by 2,000+ people monthly and our weekly newsletter goes out to over 3,000 Christians in the Greater Boston area, so it’s a great way to get the word out about your event and increase visibility. Many people attest that posting on UB helped them to connect with new people and increased their event size!

There are two options for posting:
-Free: Posted on the UniteBoston.com website

-$30/week: Featured on our weekly e-newsletter

Click on the link here to submit your event to UniteBoston!

5. Join our team!

The current UniteBoston team is a tight-knit group of people that is committed to one another and to joining God in His work in this city. If you believe in Christian unity and want to be a part of a community that is working to make the unity we share in Christ visible, please prayerfully consider joining our team!

Right now, we have volunteer opportunities available in finance, journalism, and neighborhood dinner coordination.

Photo Contest Winners!

And here are our photo winners from our photo contest! Each of the three people below will receive a gift card to Neighborhoods Cafe, which is a cafe run by David and Betsy Hill from CityChurch. Neighborhoods is a local coffee shop in the Fenway/Kenmore neighborhood that has organic fair trade direct trade coffee and crepes. Thank you Betsy Hill for donating the gift cards to UniteBoston!

Harim @Hrl88 from Highrock Cambridge wrote “One day, we will remember that this was the start of everything.” We loved this photo that highlighted her creativity and graphic design with the worship night theme!

 

Kristine Guo @kristine.guo with her friends Faith, Godwinna, and Elizabeth! Kristine told us that Faith was a close friend that she met at UMass Boston last year and they unexpectedly found out that we were both Christian after following each other on Instagram and seeing that they both had Bible verses in our bios! Kristine attends CBCGB, the Chinese Bible Church of Greater Boston.

 

Camille Gaydos @anursewhocares posted this photo. We loved how she caught this moment of worship amidst the hustle and bustle of city life, which captured the worship night’s theme of “One City, One Love.”

Written by uniteboston · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: contest, ecumenism, next, photo, uniteboston, unity

Jul 27 2018

Meet the 2018 UB Worship Team

It’s been incredible to momentum growing for the upcoming UniteBoston worship night – over 950 people have already indicated that they are interested/attending the event on Facebook! One of the most beautiful aspects is the diversity of people represented on our worship team.

A few members of the band include:

  • 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 Messianic Jewish Musician
  • A Latino Worship Leader
  • A young man from one of the first Pentecostal churches in Indonesia

With our diversity, we seek to be a witness of the power of a reconciling, loving, redeeming God…See below to meet the members of the worship team!


Name: Korleen Sheridan

Instrument: Guitar & Vocals

Home Church: St Cecilia Parish (Roman Catholic Church)

“The worship night allows people to experience God’s love through song. To be able to bring Boston together to showcase this unconditional love is powerful, humbling and transformative.”


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: Jireh Calo

Instrument: Piano & Voice

Jireh is a graduate of Berklee in Contemporary Writing & Production, and an incoming master’s student for the Berklee Global Jazz graduate program

Home Church: Revive Community Church

“The more I grew as a believer, the more I felt the desire and need for more unity within the Church. We may attend different churches and come from diverse backgrounds, but as believers of the risen Christ, we are all essentially part of one Church — God’s church. Together we embody Christ. I am so excited to be part of UniteBoston’s worship night because I get to worship together with my fellow brothers and sisters!”


Name: Ola Olukorede

Instrument: Vocals

Home Church: Dayspring Chapel (Non-Denominational)

“I’m excited to worship with an amazing group of people who are determined to make a difference. We want to show the world that a new generation of Christians are rising. God is equipping His people – We are God’s instruments of praise to shake up the city of Boston, for His glory.”


Name: Ope Olukorede

Instrument: Vocals

Home Church: Dayspring Chapel (Non-Denominational)

“I love the idea of bringing people of different ages, backgrounds and even denominations together to worship the one true God. I am excited to sing and worship God with my friends, family and city! I cannot wait to see where God brings us next as we pour our hearts out to him on this special night! ”


Name: Joseph Miterko

Instrument:  I am a pianist, percussionist, and vocalist. I have been playing piano since the age of 5. After attending Berklee College of music, gigging in quite a few venues, and doing some teaching, I finally settled down and am now teaching at the Yamaha Music School of Boston.

Home Church: Ruach Israel (Messianic Jewish)

“It’s always amazing to worship with other Believers from an array of backgrounds! You never know what is going to happen next….I’m excited to see God do something new and exciting in our midst.”


Name: Christian Schmutz

Instrument: Drums (Berklee graduate ’15 in Drum Set Performance)

Home Church: Antioch Community Church (Non-Denominational)

“I really believe that when believers come together as one body to worship, we get an idea of what the Heavenly throne room will be like. It was such a beautiful thing to see God move during the worship gathering last year. I’m excited again this year because I believe this gathering really ministers to the heart of God, blesses his church, and is a powerful step in the advancement of the kingdom here in Boston!”


Name: Chae Rin Park

Instrument: Voice

Chae Rin grew up listening to church music and started going to music school since when she was 17, and she is currently attending Berklee College of Music.

Home Church: City Life Church (Presbyterian)

“I have been on tours around the US for Korean Churches on a team called “True Worshippers 12.” Since I’ve been in school, I haven’t had a chance to participate on a praise team. I am excited to be a part of this worship night with people to praise and worship God.”


Name: Ben Hills

Instrument: Sound Team

Home Church: First Presbyterian Church Northshore

“I’m excited to see people from all different denominational backgrounds worship Our Creator as one body. It’ll be a distant echo of when we are united in the new heavens and new earth.”


Name: Calvin Limuel

Instrument: Keyboard, graduate of Berklee College of Music (Jazz Piano/Drums Performance, Contemporary Writing and Production)

Home Church: Anchor Church Boston (Assemblies of God/Pentecostal), Forest Hills Covenant Church (ECC), Heart Change Fellowship (EFCA), Gereja Pantekosta di Indonesia (Pentecostal Church of Indonesia/International Church of Foursquare Gospel Network).

“One of the aspects that I enjoy in my ministries and musical occupations is diversity. I’ve played different kinds of music, both inside and outside the church setting. I’ve been engaging in conversations with Christians of different denominations and theological understandings, but also I’ve been exposed to different cultures and languages. I see myself personally as a mesh of all these things, and it’ll be beautiful to see those things manifested in a night of worship.”


Name: Jordan Knott

Instrument: Vocals

Home Church: The Shepherd’s House, Woburn, MA

“Though I’m from Northern Mass, I attended UniteBoston’s Worship Night last year. It was so refreshing to worship with the body of Christ in such an open area. I have been a worship leader at my church and campus ministry for years. I knew I wanted to be apart of this amazing event this year! It’s an honor to meet all the diverse and talented people that help to make it happen!”


Name: Alyssa Fuller

Home Church: Alyssa is a member of Hillsong Boston and is the technical director for Hillsong.

Instrument: vocals, cello, and piano

“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body,whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”


Name: Ben Laine

Home Church: Victory Chapel (Pentecostal)

Instrument: Guitar/Vocals

Influenced by his drummer father, Ben started playing the drums at 6 years old. He picked up the saxophone at 9 and piano at age 10. Since then, he has heavily focused on piano, singing and songwriting. Many of his songs are influenced by life struggles and his faith in God. Ben’s music is a pop/rock sound, with heavy piano and rhythmic parts. Through his music, Ben wants to reach out to the lost and give hope to a world in need.

“I’m super excited to be worshipping with such amazing people and ushering the spirit of God into Boston and All of New England!”

 


Name: Ronald Ayala

Instrument: Electric Bass

Home Church: Hillsong Church

“I’m excited about UniteBoston because I believe that there is power in worship. It allows us to bring people from different backgrounds to create an atmosphere that is entirely devoted to bringing God glory.”

 


Name: Volt Jingjit

Instrument: Violin

Volt is a graduate of Berklee School of Music in Violin Performance, and he was also a part of the Berklee  Global Jazz Institute.

Home Church: Mars Hill Fellowship

“I have been on worship teams since I was young. After I moved to Boston, I was far from my home in Thailand, but God is always the same, and God’s presence has stayed with me. The UniteBoston worship team feels like family to me; I enjoy that together we have a thirsty heart to worship and praise God!”


Name: Erich Clark

Role: Sound/Tech. Erich Clark has over two decades of live and recorded sound engineering experience. He started in bars, meeting halls, and private recording studios. In 2006, he attached himself to Ipswich Presbyterian as media tech, trainer, and renovator.

“The family of God in Boston is so colorful, talented, and skilled. Bringing top notch music that glorifies God to such a beautiful park is a life changing experience.”


Name: Tom Baskett

Role: Tom is this year’s UniteBoston Worship Team Director. Tom is also a singer, percussionist, producer and teacher on the faculty of Berklee College of Music.  He specializes in gospel, R&B and jazz, and has directed music and worship events throughout Boston and the U.S., and in Asia and Africa.

Home Church: Tom currently worships at Highrock Church Cambridge and Highrock Church Arlington.  He comes from a long line of Black American gospel singers, preachers, teachers and church leaders.

“I am moved and thrilled to worship with the universal Body of Christ in Boston!  Stretching over divisions of race, language, nationality and generation makes us more like God, Who transcends all barriers and breaks every chain.”


Name: Chloe Gaydos

UB Role: Worship Team Coordinator

Home Church:
Congregation Lion of Judah

What Chloe enjoys about UB:

“My transition to Boston is vibrant because of my relationships with other Christians who are different than me. When I’m with the UB volunteers, I feel another level of love and support that I want my city to also experience. Through UB, I have not only learned about the power of Christian unity, but I have also experienced the impact firsthand through planning the worship night.”

About Chloe:
Chloe works in the consultant field in Boston. She loves to climb, play the drums, and serve the community in her spare time.


Worship Planning Team Meeting in June – Dreaming big with God about what the 2018 worship night will become!

First UB Worship Team Rehearsal

Our UB worship team got the opportunity to meet the prayer team yesterday at a rehearsal at Berklee! Our musicians are sounding really good, thanks in part to our music director Tom Baskett.

Written by uniteboston · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: christianity, christians, diversity, ecumenism, gospel, jesus, movement, night, team, uniteboston, unity, worship, youth

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.

Written by Andrew Walker · Tagged: body of christ, boston, boston night of worship, breakthechains, catholic, christian, christianity, christians, christiansinboston, concert, faith, friends, gathering, godisgood, heal, hope, inspiration, jesus, jesus christ, jesus unites, jesusshines, light, lightinthedark, massachusettscouncilofchurches, mennonite, music, orthodox, shine, spirituality, sun, talent, uniteboston, united night of worship, worship

Nov 28 2016

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an international initiative where Christians worldwide are reminded of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples that “they may be one so that the world may believe” (John 17:21). Locally, UniteBoston coordinates evening collaborative gatherings of fellowship, prayer and worship from January 18-25 annually.

This year’s theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is from Isaiah 1:17, “Do good; seek justice.” The entire scriptural passage for the theme is Isaiah 1:12-18, lamenting a lack of justice among the People of God. Yet, it also promises redemption by encouraging acts of justice in how we can live our unity as Christians so as to confront the evils and injustices of our time.

The 2023 theme was developed with the assistance of a group of Christians in Minnesota, USA, convened by the Minnesota Council of Churches. Minneapolis, MN became a flashpoint for calls for racial justice and equity during the responses of communities to the George Floyd murder. This received world-wide attention and spurred on an awakening for the unjust reality that communities of color have faced for centuries and the change that is so imperative today.

In its Introduction to the Theme, the organizers write: “Today, separation and oppression continue to be manifest when any single group or class is given privileges above others. The sin of racism is evident in any beliefs or practices that distinguish or elevate one “race” over another. When accompanied or sustained by imbalances in power, racial prejudice moves beyond individual relationships to the very structures of society – the systemic perpetuation of racism. Its existence has unfairly benefitted some, including churches, and burdened and excluded others, simply due to the color of their skin and the cultural associations based upon perceptions of ‘race’.”

Calling to mind our common Christian commitment to justice and mercy, we pray that the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, January 18-25, 2023 will be full of moments of conversion of heart through our encounters, so that “all may be one.”

Mark Your Calendars – You are invited to mark your calendars and plan to attend the evening gatherings! In this time of Epiphany, we encourage you to receive the manifestation of Jesus Christ through those of different denominations, races and cultures. Let’s make the most of these opportunities in order to truly be the family of God and serve as the body of Christ in the world.

Spread the Word – We also appreciate help spreading the word to people in your congregation, family, friends, and neighbors. A personal invitation goes a long way.

Schedule

Worship and Prayer for Justice

Thursday January 19 at 7pm | In Person (Newton) and Zoom

Join a diverse group of believers and NewCity Church of Newton for a gathering to lament and repent regarding the church’s role in past and present injustices. Let’s lean on the Holy Spirit to bring true peace and empower us for the work to achieve it. Email Rev. Devlin Scott at devlin@newcitychurch.cc to RSVP for the specific address or Zoom info.

Christian Unity Taizé Prayer

Sunday, January 22 at 5 pm | St. Michael’s Church, 26 Pleasant St, Marblehead

Join for a Taize prayer gathering around the theme “Do Good, Seek Justice” through scripture readings, chanted song, and shared silence. All are invited to share in this experience of God’s quiet grace.

Christian Unity Prayer Gathering

Due to inclement weather, this gathering will be hosted online.

Please join us to pray and live our unity as Christians so as to confront the evils and injustices of our time.

We will be using the worldwide prayer template around the theme “Do Good, Seek Justice” that Christians throughout the world will be using this week. Rev. Edwin Johnson, Director of Organizing at Episcopal City Mission will be preaching, and we will hear stories testifying to how Christian unity can help overcome injustice from Rev. Jua Robinson (Boston Collaborative) and Savina Martin (MA Poor People’s Campaign). Co-presiders include Dean Amy McCreath (Episcopal), Rev. Devlin Scott (Assemblies of God), Rev. Kelly Fassett (American Baptist), Deacon Chuck Hall (Catholic).

We look forward to praying with you.

Join us on Zoom
Join The Youtube Livestream
Download the Service Program

Christian Unity Prayer Service

Sunday January 29 at 4:00pm | St. Barbara Parish, 138 Cambridge Rd, Woburn

A Christian Unity Service will be held on Sunday, January 29 at 4:00 PM at the Woburn Catholic Collaborative – St. Barbara Parish. This prayer service will be led by Fr. Edmund Ugochukwu, a Nigerian Catholic priest, alongside Deacon Ed Giordano, and Pastoral Associate Michelle Park. Please join us to celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.


Photos from Previous Years

In 2017, we coordinated a large worship service on January 21st in alignment with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, that had over 8 co-sponsors and was attended by over 800 people.
Here are many of the leaders hosting gatherings for the 2019 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
UB City-Wide Dinner Launch – November 2017
UniteBoston dinner at Sally’s house in West Roxbury
Prayer Gathering at the Greek Metropolis of Boston
Neighborhood Dinner at Adam’s house in East Boston
Co-presiders from various Christian traditions at the 2017 Week of Prayer Anchor Gathering

Written by uniteboston · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: boston, christian, dinner, ecumenical, ecumenism, fellowship, Institute for Christian Unity, john 17, movement, prayer, uniteboston, unity, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, worship

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