unity – UniteBoston

Aug 18 2026

Dovely’s 1st Birthday Party: Loving the Sojourner

Dovely is a gospel-centered, voucher-first daycare increasing accessible childcare and growth-potential jobs for refugees and the broader community.

Because of the support of Boston’s Christian community, we’ve been able to faithfully serve families since opening this time last year! Join us in celebrating what God has done:

Treats, games, and more!
Hear stories from Dovelys Teacher’s and families
Connect with believers in Boston passionate about loving the sojourner
Kids welcome! Playplace, face painting, etc.

Click here to RSVP

Aug 14 2026

Convergence: Becoming a River of Healing

Unity isn’t something we have to manufacture; it’s a reality Jesus has already accomplished that we are called to actively practice together. Pastor Josiah Armstrong—reformer, revivalist, and founder of The Body United —challenges us to cross denominational, cultural, and generational lines to steward what God is releasing across New England.

Dive into his blog reflection below, and register now for The Body United: A Divine Convergence happening September 11–12 right here in Boston!

P.S. If you are interested in learning how to lead your community in the peacemaking, reconciling Way of Jesus, consider joining us for the Online Beloved Community Lab. Applications are due this Friday August 21!

There are moments when God calls His people not simply to do more, or continue on in business as usual, but to shift and come together differently.

We believe we are living in such a moment.

Across Boston, New England, and beyond, God is stirring His Church. New believers are coming to faith. Churches are being strengthened. Leaders are being raised up. Communities are being served. New ministries and initiatives are emerging. There is a growing hunger for the presence of God and a renewed desire to see the Gospel embodied in ways that bring hope, healing, and transformation to our cities.

Yet in the midst of all that God is doing, we must ask an important question:

How will we steward what God is releasing among us?

No single church, denomination, ministry, or network can contain everything God desires to do. We need one another.

Psalm 46 gives us a beautiful picture: “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” The picture is not of one stream replacing another, but of many streams converging into one river—bringing life to the city and ultimately becoming a source of healing.

Photo by Rolands Varsbergs on Unsplash

This is the heart behind Body United.

Body United is not an attempt to erase our distinctions or create another organization. It is an invitation to discover what becomes possible when the diverse expressions of Christ’s Church learn to walk together in the reconciliation Jesus has already accomplished for us.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that Christ Himself is our peace. He has broken down walls of hostility and made us one (Eph 2:14). Unity, then, is not something we manufacture; it is something Jesus has already given us. Our calling is to learn how to walk in it.

And this is where the challenge becomes deeply practical.

We live in a divided world. Political, racial, cultural, theological, and generational divisions are increasingly shaping how people see one another. Sadly, the Church has not been immune. We see silos between denominations, cultures, networks, theological traditions, generations, and expressions of ministry. We can faithfully labor in our own assignments while remaining largely disconnected from the rest of the Body of Christ laboring around us.

We cannot believe that this is the fullness of what Jesus intended.

Jesus prayed in John 17 that His people would be one, “as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You.” And He connected that unity to the witness of the Church: “that the world may believe.”

That means our unity is not merely an internal concern for the Church. It is part of our mission.

The question, then, is not simply, “Do we believe in unity?” The question is, “Will we practice it?”

What would it look like for us to intentionally cross the lines that have separated us? To sit at tables with people who don’t look like us, worship exactly like us, or share all of our theological language? To listen before we critique? To honor what God has entrusted to another part of the Body? To choose relationship over suspicion, reconciliation over rivalry, and love over territorialism?

This is where convergence becomes more than a gathering. It becomes a way of life.

I remember experiencing a small glimpse of this at a previous Body United gathering. Leaders who had served in the same region for years sat around tables together, some meeting one another for the first time. They came from different traditions and expressions of the Church, yet as they shared stories, listened, prayed, and discovered one another’s assignments, something began to happen. Barriers that had existed simply because people had never met began to disappear. What had been separate became relational. And what became relational suddenly became possible.

That is the power of convergence.

It is more than gathering in the same room. It is coming to the table—to listen, to honor, to learn, to pray, to discern, and to ask, “What is God doing among us, and how might we participate together?”

So, what do we do now?

We begin by saying yes.

Yes to relationship. Yes to reconciliation. Yes to the humility required to learn from one another. Yes to the hard and beautiful work of practicing the “one another” commands of Scripture across the lines that have historically divided us.

We begin by finding one another.

Pastors need to know pastors outside their denomination. Churches need to know the churches serving their neighborhoods. Ministries need to discover the resources and gifts present in other streams. Leaders need places where they can listen, discern, pray, and dream together. We need rhythms of relational connection that move beyond occasional events into sustainable patterns of collaboration.

And then we begin to work together- to build the kingdom side by side.

We pray together. We serve our communities together. We respond to needs together. We share resources. We strengthen and train leaders. We collaborate around mission. We celebrate what God is doing in another church as though it were happening in our own.

This is the radical shift required for the next season.

If God is entrusting His Church with a greater measure of His presence, influence, harvest, and responsibility, then we need a new wineskin capable of stewarding what He is releasing. We cannot carry a new work of God with old patterns of isolation, competition, suspicion, and fragmentation.

We need to recover the ancient paths in our modern times.

The wineskin must become relational as God always intended it- as a covenantal family.

It must become collaborative.

It must become mature.

It must look like a people who don’t merely preach reconciliation but embody it; who don’t merely sing about oneness but practice it; who don’t merely affirm the Body of Christ in theology but actually make room for the whole Body in relationship and mission.

This is the prophetic witness our divided world needs.

Imagine what Boston might see if the Church became a visible demonstration of another way of living together. Imagine Pentecostal and Presbyterian, Catholic and evangelical, charismatic and traditional, younger and older, Black, white, Latino, Asian, immigrant and native-born believers discovering that their differences do not have to prevent their love.

Imagine the city seeing a people who disagree on some things but refuse to divide over them; who honor truth without sacrificing love; who pursue holiness without losing humility; who carry different assignments but share one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one mission.

This is convergence.

Many streams. One river.

Many expressions. One Body.

Many assignments. One mission.

And one Lord who is worthy of a Church that faithfully reveals His Son.

The hope of Body United is not simply that we would gather. It is that we would become—a people increasingly formed into the likeness of Christ, walking in the unity He prayed for, and releasing through our relationships transformative good works and a visible witness of His glory.

As we converge, may God teach us to walk in the reconciliation He has given us, to embrace the gifts He has placed in one another, and to become a river of His presence that makes glad our cities and brings healing to the land.

Jesus, make us one. Teach us to walk together.  And let our unity become a visible witness of Your glory.

Save the Date: Experience “Convergence” Live on September 11–12

If Josiah’s message resonates with you, we invite you to move from reading about unity to practicing it! The Body United 2026 Gathering is bringing together Christians of all backgrounds to seek God’s wisdom and vision for our cities. Through shared worship, strategic conversations, and relational networking, this event aims to build sustainable, long-term partnerships across New England.

Last year, over 1200 people attended from over 120 different churches and ministries! Space is limited for this regional gathering—click here to view the schedule and secure your spot!

Aug 07 2026

The Heart of Belovedness: My Journey in the Beloved Community Lab

UB Board President Dr. Michael James shares his personal reflections from participating in the inaugural Beloved Community Lab pilot cohort. In a culture driven by polarization, Michael explores what it truly takes for Christian leaders to remain present to one another across deep theological, political, and cultural divides.

Read his moving testimony on how truth, love, and belovedness can transform our leadership, and learn how you can join our nationwide Fall Beloved Community Lab Online Cohort!

What does it actually take for Christian leaders to remain present to one another across deep theological, political, and cultural divides?

In a world increasingly shaped by polarization, contempt, and fear, the Church is often tempted to mirror the very hostility surrounding us. But as I look back over this past year in the inaugural pilot cohort of the Beloved Community Lab (BCL), I feel a profound sense of gratitude and hope: the Church can become a different kind of community—one where truth is spoken in love, wounds are acknowledged, and no one’s humanity is sacrificed for the sake of winning.

As UniteBoston prepares to launch its Fall Beloved Community Lab Online Cohort, I want to share a bit of my story and what this year-long journey of deep discipleship has meant for my heart, my faith, and my daily leadership.

My Background: Seeking Unity in the Academy and the Church

In my daily work, I serve on the faculty and as a Resident Minister at Boston College, alongside my active participation in the Boston Focolare Community—a global movement within the Catholic Church dedicated to building unity, dialogue, and universal brotherhood across religious and cultural divides. I also serve on the executive leadership team with UniteBoston, working ecumenically to foster bridges of trust across Greater Boston’s diverse Christian traditions.

Mike is the President of UniteBoston’s Board of Directors

Because my life’s work sits at the intersection of spiritual formation, higher education, and ecumenical community life, I came to the Beloved Community Lab with a deep hunger for sustained, heart-level reflection. The Lab turned out to be much more than a series of thoughtful sessions. It offered a sustained invitation to examine my own heart, to become more attentive to God’s presence in people whose experiences and convictions differ from mine, and to consider more honestly whether my leadership helps create the conditions for reconciliation, belonging, and shalom.

“I Am Beloved. You Are Beloved. We Are Beloved.”

The truth I most want to hold onto from this year is beautifully simple and endlessly demanding: “I am beloved. You are beloved. We are beloved.”

Our sessions introduced a framework called the “Stool of Belovedness“—the dynamic balance of loving God, loving neighbor, and receiving one’s own belovedness. I have long believed this conceptually, but I do not always live it with equal consistency. Love of God, love of neighbor, and a healthy reception of my own belovedness are inseparable. When any one of those relationships is neglected, my capacity to participate in beloved community is diminished.

The Lab deepened my conviction that the belovedness of another person is not something I confer upon them because they agree with me, behave as I would prefer, or belong to my community. It is a reality that precedes my judgment. The truest thing about the person before me—even someone who thinks, lives, votes, worships, or interprets the world very differently—is that this person is a beloved child of God.

This does not mean that every action is acceptable, every conviction is equally true, or every disagreement can be easily reconciled. But it means that disagreement must never become permission for dehumanization.

Holding Conviction and Compassion Together

Another crucial lessons I carried away was the distinction between compassion and conviction. The Lab challenged the false assumption that fidelity to Christ requires choosing one over the other.

Christian maturity means learning to speak truth in love—holding our convictions sincerely while refusing to use them as weapons. Compassion without truth can become evasive, but conviction without compassion can become cruel, self-righteous, and spiritually violent. Jesus calls us to a much more demanding integration of grace and truth.

Our sessions on “righteous hubris” and “enemy love” were particularly searching for me. They invited me to ask an unsettling question: Where might my own convictions, however sincerely held, have caused unintended harm? I learned that bringing grief, anger, or bodily reactions honestly before God isn’t an obstacle to spiritual discernment —it can become a doorway through which the Holy Spirit reveals wounds, attachments, fears, and invitations to repentance.

How Difference Enriched My Catholic Identity

One of the greatest gifts of the Lab was developing genuine friendships with leaders whose ecclesial traditions, theological language, cultural experiences, and ministry settings differ from my own.

One friendship in particular taught me that I don’t need to translate difference immediately into either agreement or disagreement—I can first receive another person’s story as a gift. Through our conversations, I became more attentive to the communities that nurtured them, the wounds they carry, the Scriptures that sustain them, and the hopes that animate their ministry. I was reminded that another Christian tradition is not simply a collection of doctrinal propositions; it is a living community of prayer, memory, suffering, faithfulness, and encounter with God.

That experience actually made my own Catholic identity more—not less—meaningful. I was invited to articulate my tradition with greater humility and gratitude, while receiving the wisdom of another without feeling that difference threatened my fidelity. Dialogue does not require us to become less fully ourselves; it enables us to encounter one another more fully as human beings and as fellow disciples.

Bringing the “Lab” into My Daily Leadership

The Lab is showing up directly in my leadership at Boston College and beyond through a more intentional commitment to pause before responding.

I find myself asking more frequently: Am I entering this conversation primarily to persuade, defend, or resolve—or am I genuinely prepared to understand and connect? I am practicing the movement from judgment to wonder: What am I missing? What experience lies behind this conviction? What does this person most need me to understand?

In a recent leadership conversation where I felt the familiar impulse to explain my position quickly because I believed I had been misunderstood, I forced myself to pause. I allowed the other person to finish, asked a clarifying question, and reflected back the concern and value beneath their words. I eventually stated my own perspective and maintained an important boundary, but I did so without dismissing the other person or treating the disagreement as a contest. The relationship remained intact, and the conversation became far more honest.

I am discovering that beloved community doesn’t mean the absence of boundaries; a boundary can be stated firmly without contempt, and accountability can be pursued without humiliation. Conflict can be approached with care for everyone’s dignity.

An Invitation to Join the Journey

I leave this year with immense gratitude, hope, and a renewed sense of responsibility. The Beloved Community Lab reminded me that reconciliation is not an optional side interest alongside the Church’s mission—it is at the very heart of God’s mission. The credibility of our Christian witness depends upon the quality of our relationships, the manner in which we disagree, and our willingness to recognize Christ in one another.

I pray that I will continue to become a leader who is less anxious about controlling outcomes, less quick to defend, more willing to listen, and more courageous in speaking truth with compassion.

If you are a pastor, ministry leader, or non-profit director longing for a space to be formed as a peacemaker, I warmly encourage you to apply for UniteBoston’s upcoming Fall Online Beloved Community Lab Cohort. You will find a rich, challenging, and safe container to integrate your head, heart, and hands for the work of shalom.

Closing reflection and commissioning service at Larz Anderson Hill Park

God of reconciliation,
You have knit us together in Christ
And called us to the hard and holy work of mending divides in your Church and in the world.
Send us now with your Spirit
To live with integrity,
To stand in solidarity,
To speak truth in love,
And to build bridges where others have built walls.
Make us living signs of your Beloved Community.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Looking Forward: Expanding the Movement

As this pilot year came to a close, we began to hear of leaders in other contexts who share a longing to bring the journey of mending divides to their own contexts. We believe this instinct and dream for deep unity is something the Holy Spirit is birthing in our day and age.

In response to this growing movement, UniteBoston is thrilled to announce the next chapter of our story:

Beloved Community Consulting Opportunities & Workshops: We are extending customized training, interactive workshops, and coaching to help local congregations and community organizations put these concepts into practice in their own staffs and leadership teams.
Online Beloved Community Lab Cohort (Launching Fall 2026): We are officially opening up our 12-session interactive curriculum to pastors and ministry leaders nationwide who have interest in bringing this to their contexts and cities through a digital cohort space and in-person closing retreat.

The Beloved Community Lab is far more than a leadership program—it is an active experiment in Christian unity that meets this cultural moment with grace, truth, and hope. You can read a few testimonies and fruit that is emerging from the pilot cohort here! As we look to the future, we invite you to join us in living out this mission, leaning into difference without fear, and embodying the reconciling love of Christ across lines that seek to divide us.

Interested in bringing the Beloved Community Lab to your church or joining our Fall Online Cohort? Contact our team at info@uniteboston.com – we’d love to hear from you!

Aug 06 2026

CONNECTING CHURCHES AND NON-PROFITS WITH LENDERS

We Connect Churches to Lenders

We connect churches with potential lenders based on the principles of Responsible Financing—not merely because financing is available.

Helping churches explore financing responsibly, with their mission and long-term financial sustainability in mind.

Our objective is not to encourage churches to borrow more, but to help them explore appropriate financing responsibly when it can contribute to a realistic and sustainable path forward.

We strive to assist churches in considering and understanding key factors, including:

Their financial condition.
Repayment capacity.
Purpose for borrowing.
Governance requirements.
The potential impact of proposed debt on their mission and long-term financial sustainability.

Responsible Financing is about finding an appropriate path forward—not simply finding a source of funds.

For more information, contact Pat Jankie – pmspm22@gmail.com

Aug 05 2026

Information and Opportunities for Youth and Teen Trauma Healing

Overview

Online session to learn more about resources available from the American Bible Society to help youth and teens heal from wounds of the heart.

Details: Trauma knows no boundaries of nationality, gender, age, social class, or race. We all live in a fallen world and groan inwardly from the painful consequences of the fall. Children and teens are very vulnerable and deserve special attention and healing. The The Church is uniquely called to this mission field – it provides a theology for suffering, a community bound together in love, access to a God who is willing to hear our honest laments, and a Savior who knows what unjust suffering feels like and whose death on the cross heals the broken-hearted and forgives their sins.

This informational session will include:

An overview of the Trauma Healing program.
The various resources available from the American Bible Society specific for teens and youth.
Time to determine the need and response for your church, organization, or group.
Information about the Children’s Trauma Healing Facilitator training in August and next steps for the Teen programs available.

Who should attend this Information Session?

This meeting is for people who want to know more about the material available to help youth and teens process past heart wounds, the Trauma Healing Institute’s approach to trauma healing, and how to move forward in helping our younger generations heal from trauma.

Important Information:

Registration deadline is Tuesday, August 10 at noon.
Attending the entire session is highly recommended and appreciated.
This session will take place on Zoom; a link will be sent to you in an introductory email by Monday August 10th.
Please contact Jennie Fournier at jennie@bostoncollaborative.org directly with any questions.

American Bible Society would like to thank the generous financial partners who have made this event possible.