UniteBoston

Bridging Divides Across Christians for the Flourishing of the City

Transformation at UMass Boston

For the past five months, the UniteBoston Reps have been engaging in various activities to listen and learn from their communities. These next four weeks, each rep will be writing a brief blog to share their findings with the Greater Boston Christian community. This week, Amanda Green, UB Rep at UMass Boston shares her insights.

We dream of having every community in Boston connected with a UB Rep! UB Rep Cohorts begin in October and finish in May. If you’re interested in being a UB Rep in your community, email Kelly Steinhaus, kelly@uniteboston.com

Most of us spend the majority of our lives with other people, those we work, study and play with. Being a research assistant at the University of Massachusetts Boston, my life is very normal in that way. I spend my time with others, yet as a Christian I seek work and school transformation by the most healing truth that comes from Jesus Christ. If you are a Christian, than you will likely agree you would like all spheres of your life to reflect God’s grace and peace.

Being a Unite Boston representative at UMass Boston has inspired me to look at all what God is doing around me. He has been there long before I came and will be there long after, which is a historical perspective that is wise to assume when considering on how to approach work or school transformation. Recognizing God’s work that is already present in other’s lives will help us to take a more effective approach of partnering with what He is already doing. At UMass, there are multiple Christian groups, of various sizes, that already have a mission to reach students with God’s love. Also, individuals who are not in these groups each have a story and their lives have likely been touched by a Christian in the past. As Nehemiah surveyed the land before the action of rebuilding, so must we.

The groups on campus have the same mission to reach students do not communicate or pray very much, as they would admit themselves. Having a united love for students through prayer seems to be a next step for the transformation of this institution. Providing a moment for prayer by students and leaders for the campus will invite more spiritual transformation to this broken campus. Prayer before any work on campus should be a priority, as prayer and mourning should happen in light of brokenness (Nehemiah 1:4). Also, unity will help people at UMass to believe the gospel we proclaim (John 17:23).

Over my time at UMass, I am thankful to say I have met students who did not know Christ when we first met and became believers after many conversations and prayer with many Christians. Often this has taken years. Transformation in individuals and institutions is a progression and is often not done quickly or alone. UMass Boston is a diverse campus, and all of these students have had significantly different backgrounds, and yet God has met them all in a simple way; through the care of individuals who believe in God.

So, the big question is, where is God already working in your workplace? Let us continue to pray for transformation!

Keeping the Peace in Cambridge

By Kelly Steinhaus, UniteBoston Team Leader

Above, about fifty people gathered for a prayer vigil in honor of Kensley Davidson on Wednesday evening, who lost his life in a shooting on the corner of Windsor and Harvard Streets in Cambridge last Thursday night after the fireworks.

Amidst fears of retaliation, Bishop Greene called together pastors and leaders in Cambridge for this prayer vigil, sending a message to those who are considering revenge that “there is another way, a different path, and a better choice; one that will nurture healing and hope, instead of sowing more seeds of tension, strife, and destruction.” Pastor Ford also delivered a powerful message on the importance of coming together, keeping the peace, and stopping the violence in order to heal the land. It was a moving time of uniting together around the only One that can truly bring the peace that this city needs.

“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.“ Colossians 3:15

Visions in Dark Places

This week, Doug Hall from the Emmanuel Gospel Center shares with UniteBoston a reflection following an event he had attended at Lion of Judah in the South End of the city.

Doug and Judy Hall have had a tremendous influence in the body of Christ, here in the Greater Boston area over the past 50 plus years. Doug began leading the Emmanuel Gospel Center, with his wife Judy, in 1964, and is also the current president. He is an adjunct professor with Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary as well. Together, they wrote, ‘The Cat and The Toaster,’ and have worked side by side in urban ministry since the early 1960’s.

This past April during an event hosted at Congregation Lion of Judah’s new facility, they were both impacted by the dramatic difference they had witnessed at the site of this new building, at 68 Northhampton Street in the South End.

They reflected on how much had changed in the past 35 years. Once this had been a terrible slum with a violent bar at it’s center, but over the decades a tremendous transformation has taken shape.

Doug shared that they remembered a important evangelistic meeting that was held at this location in 1969. Following that event two significant things transpired:
1. The bar in the center of this slum, ‘Louie’s Lounge’, burned to the ground that very same night.
2. Judy experienced a vision where she saw that this location would be redeemed by significant Christian developments in the days to come.

The redemption did not happened as quickly as they hoped, but over time the spiritual landscape has indeed changed not just in this location but in the city of Boston and surrounding communities.

Doug said that they were encouraged years ago, when an anointed church planter named Juan Vergara came to start a Hispanic church in the South End, together with Ralph Kee and the Conservative Baptist group. The church originally started at EGC’s building, but later moved to Cambridge, under the name Central Baptist (Iglesia Bautista Central). Years later an EGC staff member Eduardo Maynard, challenged this church to acquire some property that had come available on Northampton Street, they did so, with no knowledge that it overlooked the very site of the evangelistic prayer meeting held in 1969. What was once an urban ghetto became the site of a thriving Christian community.

It is significant to note that this all began with a meeting that invited the presence of God, and a vision from God given to a woman who would foresee that in this dark place God would do a redemptive miracle.

Doug shared, “When I think of the restoration we are witnessing today, it appears to be aligned with the scripture found in Luke 3:4-6:”
“ As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:
A voice of one calling in the desert,
Prepare the way for the Lord,
Make straight paths for him.
Every valley shall be filled in,
Every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
The rough ways smooth.
And all mankind will see God’s salvation.”

Doug said, “This was one of a number of visions that were revealed in dark and desolate places, visions that prophesied God’s redemptive power would indeed be poured out in our city. The Quiet Revival, that represents the move of God happening now just below the surface through church planting and ministries throughout the city, began when Boston was on the verge of economic collapse, and filled with slums. But God has made the rough places smooth. It may be wise for us to pay attention to visions that occur in dark places, because surely through those visions we are seeing God’s redemptive power being displayed today.”

Below, two young woman pray over the city during UniteBoston’s spring evening night of prayer for Boston.

Written by Sheila Donegan

Only Full Unity Between Us Is Enough

Today, associate director of Ecumenical Affairs for the Archdiocese of Boston Vito Nicastro shares the significant of the issuing of Thursday’s joint letter between the Catholic archbishop and the Greek Orthodox metropolitan of Boston.

Above, Cardinal O’Malley joins Metropolitan Methodios at the Cathedral of the Annunciation for the Greek Orthodox celebration of the Easter Vigil April 19. Photo courtesy Alexander Mavradis

The reason why each and every one of us as Christians needs to play a part in the work for Christian unity is rooted in fidelity: Fidelity to the Church, to the Gospel, and to the Lord. That is why the Holy Father Pope Francis is going to meet Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and other Christian leaders May 24-26. It is also why Cardinal Seán with Metropolitan Methodios of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston issued a joint letter to their clergy and faithful on May 21.

Vatican II taught us that Christian unity was one of its principal aims; that “The attainment of union is the concern of the whole Church, faithful and shepherds alike;” and that the work “extends to everyone, according to his or her talent” (Decree on Ecumenism, 1 and 5). Just like in evangelization, the Church has no superfluous personnel.

And the link between ecumenism and evangelization is fundamental. “Discord among Christians is the greatest obstacle to evangelization,” said the Holy Father in March. And Jesus’ dying wish for us was that we all be one (John 17:21) “so that the world may believe.” If we are evangelizers, one of our goals each day should be to make some mark for Christian unity.

How do we do that? Everyone can pray for it. Everyone can offer it silently at the intentions of Mass – in general and in particular ways. Everyone can strive for greater personal holiness – drawing closer to the meeting point of all Christians, Jesus. Everyone can examine himself or herself for over-generalizing about other Christians.

They say, “Blood is thicker than water.” But what if the blood is the blood of the Cross and the water is the water of Holy Baptism? Then both form a bond which eternally connects all Christians into a family. We can all hold our thoughts, words, and actions to the standard of utmost charity towards our brothers and sisters. All of us can learn more about them. All of us can build relationships. All of us can see the world differently in light of this bond.

There is much more we can do to make a difference. The Church has given us guidance and exhortation, and providence has given us the circumstances in our city and in our lives to make the unity – albeit incomplete and imperfect–which we already share a living reality. In our region, one of the greatest opportunities for this is the presence of a wide range of Christian communities from all over the world, including the Greek Orthodox. Their Metropolis (like an archdiocese) is led by His Eminence, Metropolitan Methodios. Together, the cardinal and metropolitan – building on their predecessors – are continuing to actualize on the ground the intentions of the Holy Father and other Christian leaders to work toward unity.

That’s what the joint letter of May 21 is about. It is a fruit of the realization on the local level of the progress made so far towards completing the remarkable unity we Orthodox and Catholics already share. The letter is rare – something that happens perhaps once or twice a decade. It is significant in the way it links what we do with the Holy Father’s trip and all that our Churches have done building up to it. It is yet another manifestation of communion between our local Church and the Church of Rome – and communion is what it’s all about in the quest for complete Christian unity.

The joint letter describes a little bit of our relationship between the metropolis and the archdiocese. There is much more than one short letter could contain. At midnight on this past Easter Eve at the Cathedral of the Metropolis the metropolitan gathered with his clergy and faithful for the Easter Vigil. With the church nearly dark and all holding unlit candles, the cardinal arrived from having concluded the Easter Vigil in our cathedral. The metropolitan gave him the Gospel to read, and together they proclaimed the Resurrection as light passed from candle to candle symbolizing the life of Christ which we all share.

Only full unity between us is enough. That is why Pope Francis with Eastern Catholic Patriarchs is going to pray with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Armenian Christians and many other Christian representatives at the empty tomb from which that Easter light shines. Only full unity is true to the nature of the Triune God as communion. Only full unity obeys the will of Jesus, and therefore loves him. Only full unity is the goal set by the Magisterium. Only full unity honors the bond of our Baptism and eternal relation in Christ. Only full unity is coherent with the message of the Gospel of reconciliation. Only full unity empowers our compassion and unfetters our evangelization.

*First published on The Boston Pilot, republished with permission

Report on United Night of Worship / Cape Cod

by Ed de la Cour, reposted with permission

Whenever the Body of Christ – or a solid representative sampling of that Body – gathers together for worship and prayer, it is a very good thing! Over nearly thirty years, we on Cape Cod have been blessed with a growing appreciation for the whole Church of Jesus Christ. In those early years, such gatherings were tentative and rocky as people sought to find ways to work together. Although those early efforts were bathed in prayer, God’s Church moved exceedingly slowly, frustrating many but energizing some to continue to seek God’s face in prayer. We certainly have a long ways to go, but truly we have seen and we have experienced the blessing of God upon us.

Last year, Cape Cod churches worked to together to hold an outdoor Sunday worship service on the Hyannis Green on September 29, 2013. It was a day filled with joyful worship and the presence of God was noticeably and keenly felt.

This blessing found us again on Saturday, May 10, 2014, as United Night of Worship, led by Zenzo Matoga, came to Cape Cod. Twenty-three churches agreed to join together. The churches and pastors ranged from denominational and non-affiliated, evangelical and Charismatic, liturgical and Pentecostal churches.

The worship music also ranged between modern and loud worship songs, and traditional hymns. The music was fun, enjoyable, and Christ-centered. From the viewpoint of this observer, the greatest moments came when Nick Gatzke spoke on the evangelistic need of this area, when John-Paul Lotz responded prophetically, and when the collected pastors prayed. There were three major movements of prayer during the evening. In the first season of prayer, ten pastors prayed concerning the foundations of our culture. The second season of prayer, seven pastors prayed concerning repentance for our own failure to honor the Lord and for God to move the people of His church in evangelism. In the third time for payer, the whole congregation was asked to cry out to God for Cape Cod. The prayers of the pastors of Cape Cod were deep and passionate and powerful. It was humbling to hear and sense the embrace of God our Father in those moments.

We come together, worship together, and work together because we have come to believe God loves it when He sees His children living in love, walking in harmony, and working in peace. John 17:23 unity brings the manifestation of Psalm 133:3 blessing.


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