unity – Page 2 – UniteBoston

Feb 15 2019

Transforming Hostility into Enemy-Embracing Love Sermon

Do you want to learn more about the theology behind Christian unity?

UniteBoston’s Executive Director Kelly Fassett preached at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary this past Wednesday. Her sermon was titled “Transforming Hostility into Enemy-Embracing Love.” Jesus redefined who we should associate with and modeled enemy-embracing love, even for the people that were nailing him to the cross. The sermon is centered on the scripture text Ephesians 2:11-22, which emphasizes Jesus’ reconciling peace, and the work of Christ that destroyed hostility between Jews and Gentiles.

^“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” (Ephesians 2:14-17)

As Christians, how can people believe that we are reconciled to God, if we aren’t reconciled to one another? Kelly believes that there is one major component that is preventing unity and reconciliation: hostility. She highlights four steps we can take to uncover the hostility we may be holding towards other Christians by:

Reflecting on which Christian groups we consider to be outside of the “true Christian church”
Going with curiosity to learn from people and worship settings
Reflecting and discerning which aspects of their faith that you want to adopt into your own Christian practice
Speaking well of fellow Christians and treating them as if they were the living, breathing body of Christ

She states boldly that Christian unity is a process by which the church is brought to maturity (Eph 2:21-22, Eph 4:15-16). Our differences even among Christians seem to lead to intractable polarization and division – Listen to the sermon below to reflect, learn and grow together across the diversity of Christian belief and practice.

Please join us for Chapel at 11:10am (EST) to hear Kelly Fassett preach the Word.

Publicado por Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary en Miércoles, 13 de febrero de 2019

Feb 09 2019

Divided We Stand? Evangelicals and Catholics Search for Common Ground

Big News! UniteBoston is featured this week on the Neighborly Faith Podcast!

Neighborly Faith Podcast hosts Kevin Singer and Chris Stackaruk searched nationwide for the cutting edge of Evangelical-Catholic ecumenism, the work towards unity among Christians. They traveled to Boston and Chicago to investigate the status and future of Evangelical-Catholic relationships in these cities, interviewing pastors & priests, professors, laypersons, seminarians, and musicians from both traditions. In their extensive and exclusive interviews, they investigate: What can today’s leaders in ecumenism teach us about the future between these two traditions?

Episodes include:

Evangelicals, Catholics, and Jesus’ Call for Unity: How should Christians follow the NT command for the Church to be one as Jesus and the Father are one?”
First Impressions of Evangelicals/Catholics…and Why They Changed: Leaders talk about their first impressions of the other, and how those impressions are changing.
Why is Christian Unity Difficult?: What are the hindrances Evangelicals must overcome in order to engage better with Catholics?
What Does Christian Unity Look Like?What does unity realistically look like in our world today?
Evangelicals and Catholics Working Together: How are Evangelicals and Catholics working together now for the betterment of their churches, communities, and societies?

Click here to download the research and media report

Here are links to the series: SERIES // SITE. These episodes would be great to listen to on a morning commute!

Here is the link to the “Evangelicals and Catholics Working Together” episode that features UniteBoston.

Featured Guests from UniteBoston include:

Kelly Fassett, the Founder and Executive Director of UniteBoston
Korleen Sheridan, member of UniteBoston’s Worship Team
Dr. Elizabeth Smith, Catholic scholar and ecumenist
Chloe Gaydos, UniteBoston Worship Team Band Manager
Rev. Dana Baker, Pastor of Social Justice and Multicultural Ministry at Grace Chapel and UniteBoston Board Member

“Ecumenism is us functioning as a body in which each part is playing its own role, yet there is synergy, conjunction, and coordination. I do what I can to promote a sense of honor and respect across the differences. Not that we would erase our differences but recognize them and be challenged by them. This giving and receiving is in the nature of God the Trinity”
-Kelly Fassett
Executive Director, UniteBoston

Please share this resource as widely as you are able. We’d love for the series to reach all who care about the future of Evangelical-Catholic ecumenism.

You can keep up with Neighborly Faith here: TWITTER // FACEBOOK // NEWS

Jan 26 2019

Reconnecting with Jamaican Roots on the UB Worship Team

Jordan Knott is our guest blogger this week. You may have seen Jordan up on stage at last summer’s Worship Night as a vocalist on the UB worship team. Modeling unity within diversity, our song set was created by each worship team member choosing a song that represented their own background, which was then taught to the whole team. This led Jordan into important conversations with her mother and grandmother where she rediscovered her Jamaican roots – Read about her experience below!

UniteBoston worship night, with over 1,000 people in attendance. Photo Credit: Elijah Mickelson

When I first attended the UniteBoston Worship Night in 2017, I knew that there was something special about this event. It was so refreshing to be able worship together in a busy public space as one big family in Christ. I loved the fact that curious strangers could walk by and witness God’s love and unity at work in our city, and even have the opportunity to join in the music. For this reason, I felt compelled to contribute to the planning of UniteBoston’s summer worship night. Though I live outside of Boston, I continued to stay up-to-date with UniteBoston by following UB on social media until I saw a post about volunteering for the 2018 Worship Night.

Serving on the worship team was such a blessing. For the last 6 years, I had been leading worship at my church, The Shepherd’s House in Woburn, MA. It was great to be able to connect with other worship leaders and expand my community with other brothers and sisters in Christ in Massachusetts. Though I was one of the few new members on the team, they embraced me and became a family to me. I was able to worship freely and comfortably with the diversity of dedicated and talented musicians.

Jordan with some new friends that she made through UniteBoston.

Jordan singing alongside the team of vocalists. Photo Credit: Koo Chung

As part of the worship team, I was given the opportunity to contribute a worship song to the setlist that represented my Jamaican background. In searching for a song, I dug into childhood memories of family cookouts and church elders dancing to Reggae gospel songs. I enlisted the help of my mother and maternal grandmother to pick the song. This led to sweet moments with my mom and grandma: we sang songs together, which helped me understand each song’s sentimental value and how the songs brought them closer to God.

The song that we ended up choosing was “Caribbean Medley” by Donnie McClurkin. On the day of the event, I saw people dancing and letting loose to such a unique and fun worship song with powerful lyrics. My family was proud of me for representing Jamaican worship music.

After the concert, I was even approached by a UB Worship Night attendee who was also Jamaican-American. He thanked me for singing a song he knew well, a song of his culture. It felt good to connect with a fellow believer in that way. Apart from sharing my own culture, I am so thankful to have experienced other cultures and music from our diverse worship team. Together, we worshipped in over four languages, and a variety of styles from our different denominations.

Serving on the team allowed me to witness people throughout the city excitedly joining together in the love of God and music that we share. During the concert, I looked out on the crowd and saw my family, my church, my college fellowship, and co-workers all worshipping God together. I don’t know what other event would collide all my church families throughout Massachusetts like this. I am grateful for what UniteBoston is doing for God’s glory in Boston and beyond.

Jordan singing as part of the team of vocalists. Photo Credit: Koo Chung

The 2018 UB Worship Team. Photo Credit: Elijah Mickelson

Jordan Knott graduated from University of Massachusetts in 2017, where she was heavily involved in international student ministry on campus. She currently is a Boston-based writer and freelancer in film and television.

Check out a photo gallery and video from the 2018 Worship Night here! Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter or follow us on Facebook to receive updates about the upcoming 2019 summer worship night.

Jan 12 2019

Visualizing Racial Justice and Reconciliation

Stephanie Irwin with Civil Rights Activist John Perkins

The theme of the 2019 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is “Justice, only justice, you shall pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:20). In light of this theme, we created this discussion guide around Stephanie Irwin’s artwork to invite local conversation around the ways in which we can contribute to God’s justice in our communities.

Stephanie lived in the Longwood Christian Community in 2011 to 2014 while training as a physical therapist. This project was inspired by Stephanie’s experience as part of reconciliation workshops in Rwanda, Africa with members of the Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups. It was there that she learned that healing “could only progress by facing the truth and acting upon it.” She created these art pieces seeking to share God’s call for justice and reconciliation with all those around her. Stephanie lives in Seattle now. Her artwork and photography are available at https://www.stephanielynnephoto.com/

We are planning to use the discussion guide below during some of the UniteBoston neighborhood dinners, but it could also be used within a church bible study or community group. When coming together with people from a variety of perspectives, it is always good to set expectations and guidelines for the conversation. Together, let us consider how God is inviting us to contribute to acts of justice and reconciled relationships within our lives and communities.

Note: While Stephanie’s art focuses on relationships between Black and White people, we recognize that racial justice includes people of all races. Additionally, we value Stephanie’s reflections as stated below through her own lens as a Caucasian woman, but we do not seek to universalize her experience or perspective. We felt that this was a valuable lens into one person’s understanding of the process of reconciliation, and hope that you will be inspired as well.

Jesus stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. (Luke 4:16-21, NIV)

“There is another thing that disturbs me to no end about the American church. You have a white church and you have a Negro church. You have allowed segregation to creep into the doors of the church. How can such a division exist in the true Body of Christ? You must face the tragic fact that when you stand at 11:00 on Sunday morning to sing “All Hail the Power of Jesus Name” and “Dear Lord and Father of all Mankind,” you stand in the most segregated hour of Christian America. They tell me that there is more integration in the entertaining world and other secular agencies than there is in the Christian church. How appalling that is.” (Paul’s Letter to American Christians, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, on 4 November 1956)

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in single garment of destiny.” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963)

Stephanie’s Artwork and Reflections

Yokes and Chains

The first piece, titled Yokes and Chains, sets the stage for both the pain of the past that continues to cause separation as well as a hope for abolition of that separation. When considering the process of arriving at reconciliation the pain cannot be ignored but rather must be confronted. As the two children face each other they reflect on the reality and pain of slavery. In this moment they bear witness to the fault, pain, consequence and responsibility of the transatlantic slave trade. In response, they express their pain through the shedding of tears. Both their tears reveal remorse for what transpired in the past as well as for the racism and segregation that persists even today. Though they are separated by a darkness that is fueled by American society, their sorrow also reflects a hope for future change. By first gaining awareness of the truth rather than hiding from it, they choose to be a part of that change.

The Call

The second piece in the series is the foundation of the process. True healing can only progress by facing the truth and acting upon it. The Call presents this truth as the Word of God. The part of the text in focus reveals Colossians 3:11-14 which reminds us that we are called to be one, that in Christ there is no separation and that we must embrace unity through forgiveness, healing and love. The silhouette brings to light the need to receive the truth as the two children from the first piece fall to their knees in surrender.

The Act

As she drew this picture, Stephanie describes, “My mind rushed back to another day in Rwanda where I saw a light emerge in the darkness through the joining of two men who expected to be lifelong enemies. A Tutsi man forgave the unforgivable of his Hutu neighbor and perpetrator from the 1994 Genocide. As I witnessed them walk hand-in-hand, I was convinced that I had never before seen a more beautiful sight. It was at this point that I acquired a renewed hope of flourishing unity between whites and blacks in America. Similarly, the two children who were separated by darkness in the first piece are now joined here to create a light as they respond to their call. With fingers interlocked they move forward together determined to never be divided.”

Beloved Community

The final piece brings the project and everyone together. The hands depicted in this piece are the hands of real people, including the artist’s, who choose to join with people of all color to stand for racial reconciliation and live in multicultural and multigenerational community. Bordering the hands are the words “united” and “reconciled” in twelve different languages to emphasize the beauty of diversity. The intention of incorporating these languages is to allow anyone to feel as if that they are a part of this piece. The piece is titled Beloved Community in order to portray racial reconciliation as specifically centered around love that is fostered through a community. Additionally, it references the song “Beloved Community” developed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which reflects the vision of all four pieces cumulatively. You are invited to join this beloved community with those building it around you.

Discussion Questions

Describe your initial thoughts or reactions to the scripture passage, quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., or Stephanie’s art pieces.
Where have you personally seen racial justice or inequity taking place? What most breaks your heart about this?
Where do you see people sharing in the prophetic mission of Jesus as described in Luke 4? Where is there evidence of the healing, liberating, redeeming power of God in your life or neighborhood? Share a story that comes to mind.
The Bible has continually been a source of inspiration for the Christian community to address conditions that are unjust or undermine human dignity. Where do you see an opportunity for the Church to come together for the cause of racial justice in this neighborhood or community?

Additional Resources:

-Read the Christian Churches Together response to Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail here (2013)

-Check out the Emmanuel Gospel Center’s Race & Christian Community Initiative

Dec 28 2018

UniteBoston’s Top Ten Photos of 2018

From a huge summer worship night to our neighborhood coordinator team tripling in size, UniteBoston has built and grown in big ways this year! Thanks for joining into our community and for all the ways you contribute to building bridges across Christians towards greater gospel movement in Boston!

Here are our top ten photos from this year

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