From launching the United Gospel Experience Tour and convening the Boston Flourish conference, to hosting two cohorts with emerging leaders, and hiring our first full time staff person, this was an incredible year for UniteBoston! Check out our year in review for 2024 – Glory to God!
#12: UniteBoston Fundraising Party at PKL – In January, the UniteBoston community raised $12,010 to support the mission of UniteBoston and also had some fun playing shuffleball and cornhole!
#11: Boston Unity Walk – 80 faith leaders, community members, the Boston Police Department, and city officials came together for a prayer walk in Dorchester hosted by the Mayor’s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. The goal was to foster meaningful relationships between faith communities, law enforcement, and city leadership and UniteBoston served as a key convener for the gathering.
#10: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – During this week, UB hosted seven opportunities to pray for the unity of all Christians and put “love thy neighbor” into practice in a variety of ways. The above photo is from a prayer gathering at the Paulist Center with clergy representing Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, and Episcopal traditions where we enjoyed beautiful music, heard the call to care for creation by Dean Amy McCreath, and prayed for the needs of one another.
#9: UniteBoston Board and Staff Retreat – In August, the UB Board of Directors and staff met for our annual retreat! We gained insights into the unique role that UB is playing in the city and talked through some of our initiatives for the coming program year.
#8: UB’s Sankofa Cohort – This cohort is experiencing history firsthand by seeing the sights in Boston pointing towards the legacy of slavery, the black freedom movement, and where racial healing and repair is taking place with a special focus on Christian churches and congregations. We recognize that we must understand and confess the mistakes of our past – of the sin of racism and its impacts – in order to pave the way forward towards racial healing and shalom. Here we are visiting the Embrace Memorial, remembering the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, and many other leaders who contributed to the Civil Rights Movement in Boston.
#7 – Collaborative Migrant Care Efforts – This year, UniteBoston catalyzed congregations and leaders to care for and accompany our new immigrant and refugee neighbors through launching a “Sanctuary for Strangers” campaign with Migrant Sunday resources in four languages. We also hosted a breakout session at Boston Flourish where 32 people committed to taking a variety of tangible action steps to support and accompany our new immigrant and refugee neighbors. UB Board Member and local pastor Melinda Priest (on right) is now leading a team to create a Boston Immigrant Dashboard to better connect the needs of our new neighbors and service providers.
#6: Legacy of Slavery at Harvard University Tour. In November, 35 church leaders and community members engaged in a walking tour on the Landscape of Slavery at Harvard University. While Boston is known for its world-class colleges and universities, not many are aware how these institutions have deep historical ties to the exploitation of enslaved people. This photo shows the burial ground that holds the oldest known gravestone of a Black person in the Americas, serving as a tangible reminder that slavery was not just an abstract concept at Harvard—it was a reality woven into daily life. Louis Agassiz also founded the theory of polygenesis at Harvard, seeking to prove genetically that Black people were inferior to White people. Christianity was grievously often used to justify the enslavement and exploitation of African people, many whose legacies are still unknown.
#5: UniteBoston Island Retreat – In July, we hosted our third annual “Circle of Restoration” Island Retreat for BIPOC leaders to get away for self-care and connection in community. Individuals enjoyed a boat ride out to the island, beach games, music, massages, and a catered lunch.
#5: Christian Unity Cohorts: Above – our original Christian unity cohort who is “building bridges and breaking walls” (pictured with hammers) has transitioned to a curriculum development cohort that we launched in May. This new cohort of leaders is meeting monthly to learn about nurturing “Christian unity” in their own contexts by being ambassadors of reconciliation and repair (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). We are building the components of our curriculum of the knowledge, skills, habits, motivation/attitude, and environment for walking in the way of Jesus towards Christian unity. We look forward to piloting this curriculum in 2025!
#4: Hiring Our First Full-Time Employee – This year, UniteBoston was able to hire our first full time employee, Rev. Devlin Scott, who is doing an incredible job as UniteBoston’s managing director. He is leading UniteBoston’s communications, social media, strategic planning, and various programs, and has really taken UniteBoston’s mission and ministry to a new level!
#3: Launch of the United Gospel Experience Tour – Dozens of college students from six campuses across the region have united this year for a United Gospel Experience Tour, beginning with Morning Star Baptist Church and Providence College. 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 March 1 at UMass Lowell or April 12 in Wenham!
#2: 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: housing justice, migrant care and solidarity, youth and family trauma, and innovative church building use. By uniting our efforts and sharing ideas, we’re creating pathways for real change, so all who call Boston home can truly flourish 
#1: Church & Civic Engagement gathering – UniteBoston and ten other organizations convened 75 diverse Christian leaders to share their hopes and concerns as Christian leaders in this election year. While conversations on politics can often lead to an entrenchment of positions, the structured dialogue enabled many to grow in understanding in the stories and values behind our differing perspectives, allowing God to spiritually form us through actively practicing the fruit of the Spirit. We celebrate the relationships among pastoral leaders that were inspired or birthed, as we seek to be a public witness to our churches and our city that the way of Jesus is to love all our neighbors through intentional, curious, respectful conversation. This gathering was even featured on Religion News Service! 
It’s been a great year! 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 2025!
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