From hosting the United Gospel Experience Tour, to building and launching the Boston Immigrant Resource Dashboard, to hosting two leadership cohorts, and hiring our second full time staff person, this was an incredible year for UniteBoston! Check out our year in review for 2025 – Glory to God!
#15: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – Clergy from many Christian traditions were invited to join for a prayer service by Archbishop Henning for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Archbishop Henning shared, “I hope and pray that, in gathering together, we will all be strengthened in that same power of Gospel, in the midst of a world that is too often about violence, hatred, and taking, to give that witness of solidarity, of compassion, and faith in God.” Lutheran Bishop Nathan Pippho also shared a powerful sermon on how our belief in Jesus Christ is a witness to the world about God’s love.
#14: Partnership with Gordon College: Rev. Kelly was honored to share about UniteBoston with students in the new M.A. in Community Transformation program at Gordon College. We’re excited about the innovative ways they’re reimagining theological education—and their support for UniteBoston’s ministries as we collaborate together to seek the flourishing of the city.
#13: Maundy Thursday Prayer Service – On Maundy Thursday, hundreds of Christians from dozens of churches gathered for Churches Praying Together—a Spirit-filled night of worship, communion, and healing prayer where many lingered long after the service ended, moved by God’s presence.
#12: “Prayers for Liberty” Walk. On Labor Day, Rev. Kelly Fassett and Rev. Devlin Scott joined 300+ people of diverse faith traditions to walk 11 miles from Lexington’s Town Green to the MLK “Embrace” monument on Boston Common with Prayers for Liberty. Together we reversed Paul Revere’s ride to publicly witness to the need to build just societies where every person is treated with dignity as beloved children of God, and to uphold the foundational commitments of our Constitution—principles of liberty, justice, and equality.
#11: UniteBoston Cohort Alumni Friendsgiving: Our UB cohort alumni gathered in November for a Friendsgiving-style reunion at Pho Que Restaurant in Dorchester — a small, pastor-owned Vietnamese restaurant with some of the best pho in the city. Around steaming bowls of soup, we reconnected with friends old and new and shared both the joys and challenges of ministry today.
P.S. Pho Quê doesn’t just serve delicious food — it is owned by a local pastor of an Assemblies of God church. Pastor Daniel has a party room in the back, which he would love to see as a space for Christians to gather in community!
#10: UB’s Sankofa Cohort – This cohort seeks to cultivate a common memory and nurture the spiritual vitality that has sustained the Black freedom movement—past and present—rooted in the liberating heart of the gospel. This spring, the cohort members are conducting living history interviews, pairing seasoned Black Christian leaders with our Sankofa team members to capture their experiences and insights for future generations. Stay tuned for a Boston Sankofa Showcase in Spring 2026—a Moth-style storytelling night featuring voices, art, and testimonies gathered throughout the year.
#9: UniteBoston BIPOC Island Retreat – In July, we hosted our four annual “Circle of Restoration” Island Retreat. This annual day of rest and restoration brought together over 30 BIPOC leaders from across the city for a time of connection, creativity, and care. From a powerful devotional to dancing, painting, massages, and more—it was a sacred space to breathe, laugh, and be renewed.
#8: Christian Unity Cohort Retreat – This group of thirteen Christian leaders gathered under the shared hope of building something that could help the Church become more whole. Month by month, conversation by conversation, they started co-creating a discipleship experience for those longing to see reconciliation in the Church and the world. Read their testimonies of how it was a journey of unity, truth, and transformation.
#7: Civic Engagement Pastors Cohort – This courageous group of local pastors committed to staying in relationship through a divisive political season. Beginning in Fall 2024 with a gathering of 80+ diverse Christian leaders, they chose to resist “us vs. them” narratives and model a Christ-centered way of civic engagement rooted in curiosity and respect. They met monthly for one year to listen and share stories with one another on race, political engagement, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, immigration, and more, seeking to explore how the way of Jesus meets this civic moment.
#6: Boston Flourish. In November, UniteBoston worked with other organizations to convene a conference where 266 leaders gathered across sectors to collaborate around essential issues facing our city. Here, Rev. Devlin leads the session on Next Generation Engagement.
#5: “Fortify” Fundraising Party & Community Gathering – Over 100 people gathered together for an incredible evening where we enjoyed a delicious Caribbean BBQ meal, gained wisdom from a keynote talk by Rev. Michelle Sanchez, and heard a live music performance by Rev. Devlin Scott. We also met our fundraising goal, which enabled us to hire not just one but two full-time employees!
#4: Launch of the Beloved Community Lab cohort. This incredible group of pastors and leaders are a pilot cohort for our Beloved Community Lab, a new curriculum we’re working to develop to disciple leaders in holistic spiritual formation—loving God and neighbor, and living this love out in tangible ways, through belovedness, diversity, reconciliation, justice, and shalom.
#3: Hosting the United Gospel Experience Tour – 100+ college students from six campuses across the region have united this year for a United Gospel Experience Tour with four different concerts. There is something about being led in worship by 70+ young adults from diverse backgrounds, all part of a mass gospel choir that has strengthened each individual campus as well. Save the date for the next concert at February 21 in Lowell and April 18 at Morningstar Baptist in Boston!
#2 – Launching the Boston Immigrant Resource Dashboard – This year, UniteBoston catalyzed congregations and leaders to care for and accompany our new immigrant and refugee neighbors through continuing our “Sanctuary for Strangers” resource page and convening a breakout session at Boston Flourish. Additionally, Rev. Kelly and Rev. Melinda led a team from a variety of organizations to build and launch the Boston Immigrant Resource Dashboard, which provides real-time, accessible information on essential resources for immigrants, refugees, and service providers—ensuring timely and effective support. Please check it out and spread the word about this new resource!
#1: Christmas Eve Worship Service. More than 200 people gathered outside the ICE detention facility in Burlington to proclaim the Good News of Jesus’ birth at a Christmas Eve service co-hosted by the Massachusetts Council of Churches and UniteBoston—lifting up separated families and bearing witness to the light of Christ that shines even in places of deep pain, injustice, and darkness. Prayers, Scripture, and songs rose in Spanish, English, Haitian Creole, Cape Verdean Creole, and Portuguese. One especially powerful moment came as we lifted our hands toward the building and prayed for those held inside who are separated from their families this Christmas.
We were grateful to see so many people join us in worship and to see the media pick up this story: MSNow, GBH, and the Boston Globe. Follow us on Facebook/ Instagram for more highlights from this service. Detention walls and documentation status cannot divide the Body of Christ. As the diverse Church comes together, we can bear witness to the good news of Emmanuel—God with us.
It’s been incredible to see UniteBoston’s programs and impact grow in significant ways these past few years, glory to God! Thanks for joining with us – your prayers, participation, and finances have made this ministry happen! We look forward to seeing what God has in store for us in 2026!
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