UniteBoston

Bridging Divides Across Christians for the Flourishing of the City

He Will Establish the Work of Our Hands: An Interview with FaithWorks Founder Camille Sery-Ble

A world-class city anchored by rich history, influential industries, and notable educational institutions, Boston’s culture can be tightly bound to profession and progress. In this setting, an important Christian movement has begun. FaithWorks, a non-profit dedicated to helping Christians integrate their faith with their professional lives, is drawing together a diverse and vibrant community of believers across Greater Boston.

As FaithWorks prepares for its second annual conference this April, Faithworks’ Research and Analytics Chair Luke Redington sat down with Founder and President Camille Sery-Ble to discuss the origins of this young ministry and the impact it is already having in the lives of Christians from many different backgrounds.

By Luke Redington 

A Vision Born in an Inspired Moment

The rapid success of FaithWorks can be traced back to a singular, inspired moment. One day, Camille felt a distinct calling: Boston needed a space where believers could learn to thrive as disciples while pursuing their careers.

She grabbed a pencil and paper, and began to write. The ideas came like a flood. She began listing names of people she would like to see attend (two-thirds of whom would eventually participate) and specific industries that needed representation. When she looked back at what she wrote, she could see that God had woven these plans from the strands of her own entrepreneurial, workplace, and personal experiences. She sensed that through this dream, God would redeem her frustrations and realize her hopes. And God did! A few months later, a venue in Cambridge hosted the first FaithWorks Conference in April 2025.  

Unity by Design

Though FaithWorks is young, its impact is already measured in the hundreds. Perhaps more impressively, it has become a model for Christian unity. Both the executive board and the conference attendees represent a wide tapestry of denominations and backgrounds—a goal Camille built into the organization’s founding principles. 

Her explanation of how the Lord brought this goal to fruition is straightforward: “To embody Christ is to unite people. To walk in Christ and love your neighbor as yourself—whether as an employee or as a business owner—will unite you with many people.” 

Camille knows this truth through experience. Now, whenever she attends a professional networking event in the Boston area, she sees people she knows and greets them with a smile.  

Shared Pressures, Singular Purpose

When asked why faith in the workplace has become such a unifying idea in Boston, Camille’s answer is both highly practical and deeply theological. “Christians are subject to the same economic pressures as everyone else in the city,” she explains. Commuting to work, pivoting from one career to another, or just trying to make ends meet are concerns that confront Bostonians, no matter their creed. 

Yet, for the believer, there is a unique concern: a desire to honor Christ not just on Sundays, but in the 9-to-5. FaithWorks helps believers address this concern by bringing together the practicalities of work and the theology of vocation.

         “We can model Christ at all times—in family, social, and work settings,” Camille says. “That doesn’t mean we are simply evangelizing at work. It means your coworkers should encounter the love of Christ through you. They should experience the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ in your professional conduct. That experience should make them curious.”

Join the Movement: The 2026 Conference

The second annual FaithWorks Conference is set for Saturday, April 25, 2026. Building on last year’s momentum, the event will feature specialized workshops tailored to various career sectors—from tech and healthcare to the arts and trades.

The theme for 2026 is An Urgency of Holiness: From Repentance to Deliverance, focusing on the link between a believer’s inner spiritual life and their public witness in the workplace. With a diverse lineup of Boston-based industry leaders and ministers, the conference is designed to help you place Christ at the very center of your career. 

Event Details

By integrating the practical and theological dimensions of faith in the workplace, FaithWorks provides a model for faithfully carrying Jesus into the public sphere—the very “faithful witness” UniteBoston attests to. Consider joining this conference and movement in Boston and help us spread the word!

UniteBoston’s Annual Fundraising Celebration & Community Gathering

You are invited to UniteBoston’s Fundraising Celebration and Community Gathering on Friday, May 29 from 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm at the Bruce C. Bolling Building in Roxbury. This will be an evening of celebration with food, joy, and an opportunity to partner with us in our bridge-building work across Greater Boston.

Our theme this year is “Illuminate.” In a time when division and uncertainty can feel heavy, we believe Christ calls us to shine (Mt 5:16)—bringing light to hard places, clarity to confusion, and hope to weary hearts. At UniteBoston, we are committed to equipping Christians to be peacemakers and bridge-builders—agents of unity, reconciliation, justice, and repair. Illuminate reflects our prayer that the Church would not hide its light but embody it boldly and beautifully for the good of our city. Here is our Fundraising Letter

This year’s keynote speaker is Rozella Haydée White, a public theologian and “Love Big” coach. Dedicated to nurturing a love that is life-giving, justice-seeking, and restorative, she has authored a book entitled Love Big: The Power of Revolutionary Relationships to Heal the World.

Rozella’s work deeply aligns with UniteBoston’s mission to heal divisions and strengthen the Church’s collective witness. Over the past year, she has also played a vital role behind the scenes, working directly with Rev. Kelly and Rev. Devlin as a coach for a capacity-building grant initiative. We are thrilled to have her voice guide us faithfully illuminating the gospel and bearing witness to Christ’s reconciling work in our beloved city.

The evening will also include a conversation with Rev. Kelly and Rev. Devlin, stories of impact from our UniteBoston community, and creative expressions that reflect the heart of this year’s theme, including:

  • Convene: The Power of Collaborative Conversations for City-Wide Gospel Movement by Rev. Melinda Priest
  • Testimony about Beloved Community Lab by Rev. Gina Tillotson-Cordy
  • Poems on “Illuminate” by Bill Ivanov and Dzidzor Azalgo
  • Closing Song led by Rev. Devlin Scott

Join us to connect with friends old and new—and to discover how you can participate in God’s reconciling, restoring, peacebuilding work through UniteBoston.

We’re excited to offer FREE childcare during the event, provided by safe and vetted volunteers. Children do not need a ticket to the event, but advance registration is required.

This gathering will take place at the Bruce Bolling Municipal Building in Nubian Square, 2300 Washington St, Roxbury, MA 02119. Local parking lots include the large City of Boston Municipal Parking Lot #33 around the corner of the building.

We can’t wait to gather, celebrate, and shine together.  REGISTER BELOW

Ticket Options:

  • General Admission: $50
  • Student Admission: $25
  • Volunteers: Free (Register Here)

Our Goal: Raising $40,000

Your generous contributions will directly support our efforts to fortify Christian unity in Boston through strategic planning, staff and consultant support, and partnerships with local ministries.

Thank you for partnering with us to God’s work towards reconciliation, justice, and peacemaking in our city. If you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to reach out. We are deeply grateful for your friendship, encouragement, and support, and look forward to seeing you at the event!

Loving Our Neighbors: Two New Opportunities for Boston-Area Churches

“When we see a civic promotion of fear, hate and violence as the trajectory of our politics, we need a civic faith of love, healing and hope to defeat it. Loving our neighbor, and learning to practice the politics of love, will be central to the future of democracy in America.” — Jim Wallis

This spring, UniteBoston is highlighting two new ways that Boston-area churches can put “love your neighbor” into action: CarePortal and Neighborhood Support Teams. By leveraging digital tools and relational solidarity, these initiatives unleash the power of community. Read more about these initiatives and discover how you can join in!

NEW: Showing Up Well: A Training for Volunteers on Genuine Engagement

UniteBoston hosted a training session entitled “Essential Practices for Showing Up Well,” led by the incredible Sarah Blumenshine from the Emmanuel Gospel Center. We explored how our interior mindsets—including unspoken expectations, cultural lenses, and the instinct to fix things—shape how we serve and accompany our neighbors in Greater Boston.

Every volunteer engagement is first and foremost a relationship. Sarah shared practical tools built around three essential practices for showing up well:

  • Practice 1: Slowing Down (The Accordion Method)
  • Practice 2: Being Attuned (Inner and Outer Alignment)
  • Practice 3: Acting Sustainably (Right-Sizing your contribution)

May these practices strengthen your hands and heart as we follow Jesus to love, serve, and accompany our neighbors at this critical time in our city and country. 

1. CarePortal: A Digital Bridge for Local Families

Massachusetts is filled with an abundance of incredible ministries, foster closets, and outreach teams. CarePortal provides the infrastructure to ensure that existing resources can reach the people who need them most, exactly when they need them, through the local church. It is a rapid-response infrastructure for families in crisis vetted by child-serving professionals that alerts local churches to tangible needs—like a bed for a child, or a working refrigerator. This builds a meaningful connection with someone who cares for them within their own communities.

Imagine a single mother in our region, forced to flee an unsafe situation with almost nothing. When a caseworker posted her need for beds and a way to cook a meal, within hours, a local church arrived not just with a bed and a microwave, but with a spirit of service. They stayed to help her set up the room and offered prayer. Through this digital bridge, the mother received more than just furniture; she received community support and tangible emotional care.

Another father described, “The investigator told me I had 48 hours to get a working refrigerator or my kids couldn’t stay with me. I had no money and no truck. Within four hours of the request going up, a family was in my kitchen installing a fridge. They saved my family that day.” 

See an overview of Care Portal from President and Founder Adrien Lewis:

How the CarePortal Model Works

CarePortal functions as a communication hub that alerts local churches to the needs of families in crisis, vetted by child-serving professionals like social workers, teachers, pastors, or caseworkers. It offers a tangible network of support through four simple steps:

  1. Uncovering Needs: A child-serving professional identifies a specific need of a vulnerable child or family. 
  2. Submitting Needs: The professional vets the request and enters it into the CarePortal platform.
  3. Sharing Needs: CarePortal sends a real-time geo-located alert to nearby churches and community members.
  4. Meeting Needs: The local church responds, providing the items or services, and explores how to build meaningful connections with families for the long term. 

Drunell from Harvest Time Church describes, “Through CarePortal, we are able to touch lives that we wouldn’t ordinarily be able to meet. We’re able to connect with families, and not only provide the need, but pray with them, speak with them, encourage them, and love on them.”  

This platform has already made a difference nationally – you can see their impact live here – to date, 176,000+ needs met and 467,000+ children served!

Beatriz Acevedo is the new Area Director for CarePortal, which recently launched in Cambridge, Burlington, Waltham, Arlington, Chelsea, Malden, Medford, Revere, Somerville, and Woburn. They have plans to expand to the Metro Boston area soon. With a background in public health and pastoral leadership, she has high hopes for CarePortal: “If just 50 churches commit to meeting 2 needs per month, we will serve 1,200 families every year.” This is God’s love in action!

2. The “Love Your Neighbor” Project: Support and Solidarity with Immigrant Neighbors

For five years, WelcomeNST has empowered Neighborhood Support Teams to transform neighborhoods into communities of welcome for newly arrived refugee families. In response to shifting resettlement policies and the current political climate, they are now developing a model to support immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking families that are already living in our communities.

In partnership with UniteBoston, WelcomeNST is forming Neighborhood Support Teams by matching local congregations with “sister churches” composed primarily of newcomers through the Love Thy Neighbor Project! Boston is the first area in the country where they are piloting this model! 

Imagine an immigrant family in Boston who has been part of our community, but is now living in constant fear of separation due to shifting immigration policies. A Neighborhood Support Team is there to walk with them in solidarity and accompaniment. 

  • Relational Support: Mutual friendships help families navigate systems and overcome isolation.
  • Practical Assistance: Teams listen to the family’s self-identified needs and goals, then come alongside the family with information and resources, such as job readiness, legal support, and language skills.
  • Proven Model: Every team receives a Preparedness Playbook, “Know Your Rights” training, and ongoing support from a WelcomeNST Specialist.
  • Grant funding: We’re pleased to share that the first NSTs will start off with a small amount of seed funding to support families.

The beauty of these partnerships lies in their mutuality; everyone has resources to give and places to receive. Recently, North Shore Community Baptist Church partnered with WelcomeNST to resettle a refugee family from Afghanistan. As they walked together, both the church and the family grew through a deep, transformative friendship.

Scott describes the experience: “We didn’t realize what was missing in our own lives until we met this family. Their hospitality and warmth drew us out of our frantic world and reminded us that life is about relationships. By simply being themselves, they showed us a better way to live.”  Scripture calls us to welcome one another as Christ welcomed us (Romans 15:7) and to love the “stranger” as ourselves (Leviticus 19:34). By reestablishing infrastructures of care, and extending our hands in mutual friendship, we follow God’s call to show belonging and welcoming to our immigrant neighbors so that our entire community can be strengthened. 

Join the Movement: Your Next Steps

We are calling pastors, ministry leaders, and compassionate neighbors in Greater Boston to join these two initiatives to live into Jesus’ commandment to “love your neighbor.”

Here is a recording from a Zoom interest call where Kasey Dillon and Beatriz Acevedo shared more about CarePortal and the Love Your Neighbor Project:

Care Portal

We are hoping to recruit 10 new response teams with congregations in the pilot phase.

You can enroll your church or team right away: Get Involved with Care Portal. For questions regarding CarePortal, contact Beatriz Acevedo at ​​Beatriz.Acevedo@careportal.org 

The “Love Your Neighbor” Project (NST)

Our immediate goal is to establish 5 matches between churches seeking support and sister churches by the end of March, with another 5 matches by the end of April.

If you are a church with interest in providing support please complete the Interest Form.  If you are a church seeking support, please complete the LYN Church Intake Form. Churches are all differently resourced and our hope is to nurture reciprocal relationships where all give and receive in different ways. For questions regarding the Love Your Neighbor Project, contact Kasey Dillon at kdillon@welcomenst.org.

churches are all differently resourced – strong in different ways – finances, others strong in relationships and care, churches indicate the types of support they are looking for – reciprocity & how everyone benefits when we extend our hearts and hands to give our resources time and talents to support one another – unleash the power of community

Together, we can unleash the power of community to ensure every neighbor has access to needed resources and friends who care. While much in our world today is pulling us apart, as Jim Wallis suggests, practicing the “politics of love” is an important action step we can all take to re-weave the ties that bind us together and our common life together. 

“Our work lives far above the realm of politics. It lives at the core of every faith – to love our neighbors. It’s the great commandment – and it applies everywhere in the world to everyone in the world. At the heart of it, this isn’t about a program, it is about standing together in kinship with those who are targeted, abused, persecuted and hated.  And it’s our chance to write the story that we will one day tell our grandkids when they are learning about this era in their history books in hopes that one day, they too will do the same.​” 

— Elizabeth Davis-Edwards, Executive Director of Welcome NST 

Collaboration in action! Snapshot into a call we had this week with Beatriz from CarePortal, Rev. Kelly from UniteBoston, and Kasey from Welcome NST

Six Ways to Celebrate Boston’s Black History

This is the 100th anniversary of celebrating Black History Month, and UniteBoston celebrates Black History Month by honoring the rich legacy of Black leaders, churches, and communities who have shaped Boston. We recognize the pivotal role of the Black Church in the Civil Rights Movement, whose faith and resilience followed in the footsteps of Jesus Christ to champion racial justice, equality, and shalom.

This month, we invite you to join us to celebrate Boston’s Black History with the opportunities below:

1. Glean From the Stories and Perspectives of Black Pastors

In his powerful sermon on Psalm 78, entitled “What Will We Tell the Next Generation?”, Pastor Willie Bodrick II of Twelfth Baptist Church reminds us that remembering our history is a spiritual responsibility: “Black history isn’t just something we celebrate – it’s something we need to survive our present. The moment we are living in is trying to make us forget who we are. Remembering is our spiritual responsibility and we tell our history so people can put their hope and trust in God.”

Click above to watch Rev. Bodrick’s sermon preached on February 1, 2026 beginning at 1:30

We also commend a message by Rev. Sabrina Gray from Bethel AME Church on how Black history isn’t only what we remember. It’s what we live, what we carry, and what we continue.

2. Dive into EGC’s Fact Friday series

Jaronzie Harris explores the church’s history and legacy in Boston, one short video at a time. Click below to watch their Instagram videos!

  • Did you know that the African Meeting House on Beacon Hill was co-founded by Cato Gardner, a formerly enslaved man born in Africa? 
  • Or that Twelfth Baptist Church was the spiritual home of Wilhelmina Crosson, a pioneering Black school teacher in Boston, who also was instrumental in launching the precursor to Black History Month? 
  • Why is a church on Warren Street in Roxbury called “The Historic Charles Street AME Church?”
  • How about this gem? The founding pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Rev. Peter Randolph, led a group of 66 freed slaves from Virginia to Boston before the Civil War and also obtained a lawyer to win their rightful freedom! His autobiography is available online!
  • And Union Methodist Church was a stop on the Underground Railroad as well as the home church of David Walker, author of one of the most important early attacks on slavery, Walker’s Appeal. 

3. Take a Black Theology course

This course is part of the Theology Lab at Highrock Church and features scholars, musicians, and church leaders, including Prof. Tom Baskett (Highrock; Berklee College of Music), explores how the faith experiences of Black Americans open up distinct ways of reading Scripture, shed light on the gospel’s liberating power, and model the importance of social engagement for all Christians. Central to this class is the theological claim that the faith of Black Americans is a gift to the whole church. There are six videos and a discussion guide is available here.

4. Learn about Boston’s Black History

Experience Boston’s Black History Firsthand:

  • Use this guide from WBUR to experience the history firsthand in downtown Boston, Cambridge, or Roxbury
  • Use this Map to go on a Boston Greenbook Tour, compiled by Rev. June Cooper, Sankofa cohort member and Theologian in the City at Old South Church. The Boston Green Book was part of The Negro Motorist Green Book, a travel guide published from 1936 to 1967 that listed safe businesses for Black travelers during segregation. Featuring hotels, restaurants, and social hubs along Columbus Avenue and Tremont Street, it highlighted key establishments like Slade’s Bar and Grill and Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe, which remain cultural landmarks today.
  • Use this guide to discover places associated with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King in Boston.

Other resources on Boston’s Black History:

Hidden in Plain Sight is a new documentary that tells the history of the Black Catholic community within the Archdiocese of Boston through interviews and archival footage of people and meaningful places within the community. This 30-minute documentary explores the contributions, experiences, and enduring faith of Black Catholics. Watch Video Trailers Here: Trailer #1 Trailer #2

They are hosting screenings in Boston on February 10, February 22, and March 21! More info here

5. Incorporate Black History into your daily devotional time

The Evangelical Covenant Church has just published a Love Your Neighbor: A Black History Month Devotional Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. This seven-day devotional explores biblical texts on sacrificial love, justice, and Christian neighboring through the life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beginning with young Martin’s painful encounter with racism and his parents’ affirming response, it moves through the Parable of the Good Samaritan, examining what it means to truly love our neighbors—including our enemies. Drawing on Dr. King’s sermons and Scripture, this plan invites readers to address both immediate needs and systemic injustice, ultimately calling Christians to embody Christ’s countercultural love in a divided world.

6. Join us for the upcoming Gospel Experience Tour & the “Boston Sankofa Showcase“event!

 The United Gospel Experience Tour concert on February 21 will be from 3:00 to 5:00pm at UMass Lowell, 220 Pawtucket Street, Lowell, MA 01854, hosted by New Purpose Gospel Choir.

Centered on the theme “Come together, stay together, worship together” (Mt. 18:20), the tour centers on Jesus’ promise that “where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” In these challenging times, our prayer is that, through this united worship, God’s Spirit will move mightily to bring healing, reconciliation, and new life. We’ve discovered that when students from across New England join their voices in one choir, gospel music rises as a powerful proclamation of hope and freedom.

Click here to read the story behind this year’s tour and how you can be part of it. And don’t miss this documentary of highlights and testimonies from last year’s gospel experience tour!

Also, please plan to join us for a Moth-style storytelling night on Thursday, March 26 from 6:30 – 8:30 PM at Twelfth Baptist Church. As part of the Boston Sankofa Journey, our team has been working to record the stories of twelve Black Christian leaders whose faith in Jesus has fueled the work of racial justice and reconciliation in our beloved city. This gathering will bring these testimonies to life through a powerful evening of spoken word, art, and communal reflection. The showcase is designed to bridge the gap between history and the present, inviting the broader community to sit at the feet of these elders and discern how to carry the work of truth and repair forward.

Boston Sankofa Journey Luncheon we hosted in January 2026 with many of the leaders who are being featured in our story archive

It also serves as a launchpad for a city-wide season of story-collecting, encouraging others to record the living histories in their own neighborhoods to ensure that the leadership and spiritual vitality of the Black freedom movement continue to illuminate our path towards racial healing and shalom.

Sankofa teaches us that we cannot move forward unless we look back. By honoring those who paved the way, we carry their courage, conviction, and faith into what’s next. We’re grateful for every story shared and excited to preserve this living legacy for generations to come. 

Black history IS Boston’s history! There are so many onroads here… we encourage you to choose one or two of these this month!

As each of us take steps to learn and experience Boston’s Black history, we discover how remembering the past can help us pursue racial justice, reconciliation, and shalom in our city today.


Holy Hour in Christian Unity

Join fellow local Christians on Thursday February 12 from 7:30pm to 8:30pm to worship, pray and adore Jesus as we seek greater unity in the body of Christ.

Hosted by St. Mary’s Hakuna – a community dedicated to a joyful “Eucharistic lifestyle” – and in partnership with UniteBoston, who nurtures unity among diverse Christians through relationships for the flourishing of the city. Join us to worship Jesus together as one body, followed by an informal social hangout!

RSVP is not required, but if you know you will attend, please RSVP here to help gauge food and drink for afterwards. Also, parking is available at the church!

“All who accept Christ as Lord and Savior are brothers and sisters in Christ. Evangelicals and Catholics are brothers and sisters in Christ. We have not chosen one another, just as we have not chosen Christ. He has chosen us, and he has chosen us to be his together. However imperfect our communion with one another, however deep our disagreements with one another, we recognize that there is but one church of Christ. There is one church because there is one Christ and the church is his body” – The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium, FirstThings, May 1994    
 
“True Christian unity, we believe, is not so much a goal to be achieved as a gift to be received”
 
“As Evangelicals and Catholics, we pray that our unity in the love of Christ will become ever more evident as a sign to the world of God’s reconciling power”.
*The four statements are The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium, 1994, The Gift of Salvation, 1997, Your Word is Truth, 2002 and The Communion of Saints, 2003. All can be found on Firsthings.com


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