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Nurturing Relational Connections Across Boston's Christian Community

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Aug 26 2018

What’s Next After the Worship Night And Photo Contest Winners!

Group photo of UB volunteers! Photo Credit: Koo Chung

By Kelly Fassett, UniteBoston Team Leader

When I agreed to Chloe Gaydos’ idea last summer to organize a worship night in the Boston Common, we had no idea what God would do. As she began recruiting for the worship team, we were amazed to see the interest and involvement of Christians from a variety of communities. The attendance at this year’s worship night was over 1,000, which was double or triple the amount from last year, including Christians of all denominations and ethnic backgrounds and many people passing by who were in the park that evening.

 

The worship team did an incredible job leading us in a variety of types of music, including gospel, Christian rap, Messianic Jewish, charismatic, and traditional hymns. I helped to coordinate the sponsored tables of thirteen local churches and organizations that surrounded the perimeter of the premises. There was also great fellowship – a family reunion of sorts – and even a woman who painted canvases throughout the evening and a spontaneous dance party! A sense of joy filled my heart as I saw all these groups come together in worship as we sought to witness to the love found in Christ.  Check out the photo gallery here!

A great crowd at the event, and thirteen sponsored tables! Photo Credit: Elijah Mickelson

 

Worship. Photo Credit: Koo Chung

 

Lori Dupre painting “One City.” Photo Credit: Koo Chung

 

The 2018 UB Worship Team in front of Lori Dupre’s paintings. Photo Credit: Elijah Mickelson

 

One of the greatest joys for me as the Team Leader of UniteBoston is seeing more and more people running with the vision of Christian unity. Unlike other UB events where I’ve been the main person to make everything happen, at the very heart of this event was unity: an amazing team of volunteers, sound technicians, and musicians to plan and implement all of the logistics.  Thanks to the UB community, the event on Facebook was shared 228 times, and over 50,100 people viewed the event (yes, that’s 50 thousand people! Not a typo!)

Below are some stories of people who were impacted; click here to give your feedback and input from the worship night – We would love to hear your input on how this movement can continue to build and grow!

Personal Stories

“You’d be hard pressed to find as diverse a crowd of believers worshiping together in Spirit and Truth as were gathered that night. Some have moved to Boston because they believe the Holy Spirit is not at work. Strange how those people never attend events where the fullness of the Church is being expressed in the diversity of God’s people!”
-Rev. David Wright, Black Ministerial Alliance

“As we gathered on the Boston Common, our ‘common neighborhood backyard,’ the vibrancy, joy, diversity of our common faith came alive. It was truly incarnational, if one had to use a theological term. Although much of the style of the event was different from my Catholic style, I felt welcomed and engaged. Christ is our Center, our Life. Thank you so much.”
-Fr. Michael McGarry, The Paulist Center

“The August 19 evening worship on Boston Common was as filled with God’s Spirit perhaps as the Common has been on a number of historic moments over many years, such as the First Great Awakening there in 1740 or the Billy Graham meetings there in 1950.  We pray God is increasingly filling Boston with His Spirit now in 2018.”

-Ralph Kee, Emmanuel Gospel Center Church Planting Collaborative

Continue the Momentum Towards Unity 

Ephesians 4:16 says that the body of Christ is joined and held together by every supporting ligament. This is Christian unity: Every person has a part to play to build up the body. The participation of every community matters. You have a unique, valuable contribution, by which others can learn and receive from.

Here are some things you can do to continue the momentum towards Christian unity after the worship night:

1. Build relationships with other Christians 

While large events are great, the power of Christian unity comes from relationships. It is relationships across our varied church traditions and backgrounds which empower inter-church collaboration. Thus, one of the greatest things you can do is to set up a time to meet with someone from a different background than you – perhaps ethnically, denominationally, or socioeconomically. To do this, you can visit a worship service from another church in your neighborhood, asking, “What can this form of Christian worship teach me about God?” It’s often as we step outside our comfort zone that our false understandings are revealed and we discover the manifold wisdom of God present within the church (Eph 3:10).

2. Join a UniteBoston Neighborhood Dinner

UniteBoston has a team of nine dinner coordinators that are coordinating regular gatherings for prayer and fellowship within neighborhood communities.  The goal for the dinners is to build relationships and to let our relationships inform our shared mission of revealing Jesus’ love within our communities. We gather to hear our personal stories of faith in Christ and to answer two questions: “What is God already doing in our community?” and “What can we together to better demonstrate the love of Christ?”

You can sign up for a dinner in your neighborhood by clicking here. Our neighborhood dinner coordinators are also happy to sit down with you and grab a cup of coffee to learn how we can be supporting you and what God is doing in your midst. Please contact us – We’d love to hear from you!

Neighborhood Dinner at Adam’s house in East Boston

3. Share about UniteBoston on Facebook or Instagram

This year, we increased our marketing strategy and have discovered the power of social media. We encourage you to take one of our photos and share it on Facebook (@uniteboston10) or Instagram (Uniteboston) – or simply email your friends and encourage them to get involved with UB/sign up for our weekly newsletter!

“Organizations have programs. People have friends. Friends trump programs every time…The world has been shouting over the noise of our programs that it doesn’t need more presidents or organizations, what it needs is more friends.” – Bob Goff in Love Does

Photo Credit: Koo Chung

4. Submit an event from your church/ministry to UniteBoston’s weekly newsletter

UniteBoston has a large infrastructure for promotion and advertising. Our website is viewed by 2,000+ people monthly and our weekly newsletter goes out to over 3,000 Christians in the Greater Boston area, so it’s a great way to get the word out about your event and increase visibility. Many people attest that posting on UB helped them to connect with new people and increased their event size!

There are two options for posting:
-Free: Posted on the UniteBoston.com website

-$30/week: Featured on our weekly e-newsletter

Click on the link here to submit your event to UniteBoston!

5. Join our team!

The current UniteBoston team is a tight-knit group of people that is committed to one another and to joining God in His work in this city. If you believe in Christian unity and want to be a part of a community that is working to make the unity we share in Christ visible, please prayerfully consider joining our team!

Right now, we have volunteer opportunities available in finance, journalism, and neighborhood dinner coordination.

Photo Contest Winners!

And here are our photo winners from our photo contest! Each of the three people below will receive a gift card to Neighborhoods Cafe, which is a cafe run by David and Betsy Hill from CityChurch. Neighborhoods is a local coffee shop in the Fenway/Kenmore neighborhood that has organic fair trade direct trade coffee and crepes. Thank you Betsy Hill for donating the gift cards to UniteBoston!

Harim @Hrl88 from Highrock Cambridge wrote “One day, we will remember that this was the start of everything.” We loved this photo that highlighted her creativity and graphic design with the worship night theme!

 

Kristine Guo @kristine.guo with her friends Faith, Godwinna, and Elizabeth! Kristine told us that Faith was a close friend that she met at UMass Boston last year and they unexpectedly found out that we were both Christian after following each other on Instagram and seeing that they both had Bible verses in our bios! Kristine attends CBCGB, the Chinese Bible Church of Greater Boston.

 

Camille Gaydos @anursewhocares posted this photo. We loved how she caught this moment of worship amidst the hustle and bustle of city life, which captured the worship night’s theme of “One City, One Love.”

Written by uniteboston · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: contest, ecumenism, next, photo, uniteboston, unity

Jul 27 2018

Meet the 2018 UB Worship Team

It’s been incredible to momentum growing for the upcoming UniteBoston worship night – over 950 people have already indicated that they are interested/attending the event on Facebook! One of the most beautiful aspects is the diversity of people represented on our worship team.

A few members of the band include:

  • A Catholic singer/songwriter
  • A Protestant drum teacher from Berklee
  • A Nondenominational Gospel Singer
  • A Boston-based Rap Artist
  • An Indie/Jazz Worship Leader
  • A Messianic Jewish Musician
  • A Latino Worship Leader
  • A young man from one of the first Pentecostal churches in Indonesia

With our diversity, we seek to be a witness of the power of a reconciling, loving, redeeming God…See below to meet the members of the worship team!


Name: Korleen Sheridan

Instrument: Guitar & Vocals

Home Church: St Cecilia Parish (Roman Catholic Church)

“The worship night allows people to experience God’s love through song. To be able to bring Boston together to showcase this unconditional love is powerful, humbling and transformative.”


Name: Caleb McCoy  (http://www.welcometotheoak.com/)

Instrument: Vocals

Home Church: Neighborhood Church of Boston

“I am excited to worship with a diverse group of people from  different backgrounds. I think the fact that the worship team is represented by different races, denominations, and styles of worship will make this night extra special.”


Name: Jireh Calo

Instrument: Piano & Voice

Jireh is a graduate of Berklee in Contemporary Writing & Production, and an incoming master’s student for the Berklee Global Jazz graduate program

Home Church: Revive Community Church

“The more I grew as a believer, the more I felt the desire and need for more unity within the Church. We may attend different churches and come from diverse backgrounds, but as believers of the risen Christ, we are all essentially part of one Church — God’s church. Together we embody Christ. I am so excited to be part of UniteBoston’s worship night because I get to worship together with my fellow brothers and sisters!”


Name: Ola Olukorede

Instrument: Vocals

Home Church: Dayspring Chapel (Non-Denominational)

“I’m excited to worship with an amazing group of people who are determined to make a difference. We want to show the world that a new generation of Christians are rising. God is equipping His people – We are God’s instruments of praise to shake up the city of Boston, for His glory.”


Name: Ope Olukorede

Instrument: Vocals

Home Church: Dayspring Chapel (Non-Denominational)

“I love the idea of bringing people of different ages, backgrounds and even denominations together to worship the one true God. I am excited to sing and worship God with my friends, family and city! I cannot wait to see where God brings us next as we pour our hearts out to him on this special night! ”


Name: Joseph Miterko

Instrument:  I am a pianist, percussionist, and vocalist. I have been playing piano since the age of 5. After attending Berklee College of music, gigging in quite a few venues, and doing some teaching, I finally settled down and am now teaching at the Yamaha Music School of Boston.

Home Church: Ruach Israel (Messianic Jewish)

“It’s always amazing to worship with other Believers from an array of backgrounds! You never know what is going to happen next….I’m excited to see God do something new and exciting in our midst.”


Name: Christian Schmutz

Instrument: Drums (Berklee graduate ’15 in Drum Set Performance)

Home Church: Antioch Community Church (Non-Denominational)

“I really believe that when believers come together as one body to worship, we get an idea of what the Heavenly throne room will be like. It was such a beautiful thing to see God move during the worship gathering last year. I’m excited again this year because I believe this gathering really ministers to the heart of God, blesses his church, and is a powerful step in the advancement of the kingdom here in Boston!”


Name: Chae Rin Park

Instrument: Voice

Chae Rin grew up listening to church music and started going to music school since when she was 17, and she is currently attending Berklee College of Music.

Home Church: City Life Church (Presbyterian)

“I have been on tours around the US for Korean Churches on a team called “True Worshippers 12.” Since I’ve been in school, I haven’t had a chance to participate on a praise team. I am excited to be a part of this worship night with people to praise and worship God.”


Name: Ben Hills

Instrument: Sound Team

Home Church: First Presbyterian Church Northshore

“I’m excited to see people from all different denominational backgrounds worship Our Creator as one body. It’ll be a distant echo of when we are united in the new heavens and new earth.”


Name: Calvin Limuel

Instrument: Keyboard, graduate of Berklee College of Music (Jazz Piano/Drums Performance, Contemporary Writing and Production)

Home Church: Anchor Church Boston (Assemblies of God/Pentecostal), Forest Hills Covenant Church (ECC), Heart Change Fellowship (EFCA), Gereja Pantekosta di Indonesia (Pentecostal Church of Indonesia/International Church of Foursquare Gospel Network).

“One of the aspects that I enjoy in my ministries and musical occupations is diversity. I’ve played different kinds of music, both inside and outside the church setting. I’ve been engaging in conversations with Christians of different denominations and theological understandings, but also I’ve been exposed to different cultures and languages. I see myself personally as a mesh of all these things, and it’ll be beautiful to see those things manifested in a night of worship.”


Name: Jordan Knott

Instrument: Vocals

Home Church: The Shepherd’s House, Woburn, MA

“Though I’m from Northern Mass, I attended UniteBoston’s Worship Night last year. It was so refreshing to worship with the body of Christ in such an open area. I have been a worship leader at my church and campus ministry for years. I knew I wanted to be apart of this amazing event this year! It’s an honor to meet all the diverse and talented people that help to make it happen!”


Name: Alyssa Fuller

Home Church: Alyssa is a member of Hillsong Boston and is the technical director for Hillsong.

Instrument: vocals, cello, and piano

“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body,whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”


Name: Ben Laine

Home Church: Victory Chapel (Pentecostal)

Instrument: Guitar/Vocals

Influenced by his drummer father, Ben started playing the drums at 6 years old. He picked up the saxophone at 9 and piano at age 10. Since then, he has heavily focused on piano, singing and songwriting. Many of his songs are influenced by life struggles and his faith in God. Ben’s music is a pop/rock sound, with heavy piano and rhythmic parts. Through his music, Ben wants to reach out to the lost and give hope to a world in need.

“I’m super excited to be worshipping with such amazing people and ushering the spirit of God into Boston and All of New England!”

 


Name: Ronald Ayala

Instrument: Electric Bass

Home Church: Hillsong Church

“I’m excited about UniteBoston because I believe that there is power in worship. It allows us to bring people from different backgrounds to create an atmosphere that is entirely devoted to bringing God glory.”

 


Name: Volt Jingjit

Instrument: Violin

Volt is a graduate of Berklee School of Music in Violin Performance, and he was also a part of the Berklee  Global Jazz Institute.

Home Church: Mars Hill Fellowship

“I have been on worship teams since I was young. After I moved to Boston, I was far from my home in Thailand, but God is always the same, and God’s presence has stayed with me. The UniteBoston worship team feels like family to me; I enjoy that together we have a thirsty heart to worship and praise God!”


Name: Erich Clark

Role: Sound/Tech. Erich Clark has over two decades of live and recorded sound engineering experience. He started in bars, meeting halls, and private recording studios. In 2006, he attached himself to Ipswich Presbyterian as media tech, trainer, and renovator.

“The family of God in Boston is so colorful, talented, and skilled. Bringing top notch music that glorifies God to such a beautiful park is a life changing experience.”


Name: Tom Baskett

Role: Tom is this year’s UniteBoston Worship Team Director. Tom is also a singer, percussionist, producer and teacher on the faculty of Berklee College of Music.  He specializes in gospel, R&B and jazz, and has directed music and worship events throughout Boston and the U.S., and in Asia and Africa.

Home Church: Tom currently worships at Highrock Church Cambridge and Highrock Church Arlington.  He comes from a long line of Black American gospel singers, preachers, teachers and church leaders.

“I am moved and thrilled to worship with the universal Body of Christ in Boston!  Stretching over divisions of race, language, nationality and generation makes us more like God, Who transcends all barriers and breaks every chain.”


Name: Chloe Gaydos

UB Role: Worship Team Coordinator

Home Church:
Congregation Lion of Judah

What Chloe enjoys about UB:

“My transition to Boston is vibrant because of my relationships with other Christians who are different than me. When I’m with the UB volunteers, I feel another level of love and support that I want my city to also experience. Through UB, I have not only learned about the power of Christian unity, but I have also experienced the impact firsthand through planning the worship night.”

About Chloe:
Chloe works in the consultant field in Boston. She loves to climb, play the drums, and serve the community in her spare time.


Worship Planning Team Meeting in June – Dreaming big with God about what the 2018 worship night will become!

First UB Worship Team Rehearsal

Our UB worship team got the opportunity to meet the prayer team yesterday at a rehearsal at Berklee! Our musicians are sounding really good, thanks in part to our music director Tom Baskett.

Written by uniteboston · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: christianity, christians, diversity, ecumenism, gospel, jesus, movement, night, team, uniteboston, unity, worship, youth

Mar 28 2018

Zach Williams Worship In The Adirondacks 2018

This is a great song from Zach Williams filled with great truth! We are so excited to have Zach joining us at this years Worship In The Adirondacks 2018. For details and tickets go to www.worshipintheadirondacks.com.

Written by Andrew Walker · Tagged: body of christ, boston, boston night of worship, breakthechains, catholic, christian, christianity, christians, christiansinboston, concert, faith, friends, gathering, godisgood, heal, hope, inspiration, jesus, jesus christ, jesus unites, jesusshines, light, lightinthedark, massachusettscouncilofchurches, mennonite, music, orthodox, shine, spirituality, sun, talent, uniteboston, united night of worship, worship

Nov 28 2016

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

2017 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Gathering

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an international initiative where Christians worldwide are reminded of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples that “they may be one so that the world may believe” (John 17:21). Locally, UniteBoston coordinates evening collaborative gatherings of fellowship, prayer and worship from January 18-25 annually. In 2017, we coordinated nightly liturgically-oriented prayer and worship gatherings and a large worship service on January 21st in alignment with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, that had over 8 co-sponsors and was attended by over 800 people.

Click here to download the schedule of events.

In 2021, the theme is “Abide in my love, and you shall bear much fruit” (John 15:5-8) which was chosen by the Grandchamp community in Switzerland. Today the community has fifty sisters, all women from different generations, church traditions, countries and continents. In their diversity the sisters are a living parable of communion.

While shocking violence and division are rocking our nation right now, this is not the end of the story. The Church has an opportunity to stand up for righteousness, justice, and truth that are at the heart of who Jesus is and why He came. Part of abiding in Christ is cutting off things that draw our hearts and actions away from God, that we might bear more fruit individually and collectively. You can read a powerful commentary on this text written by Dr. Andrew DeCort here.

We encourage you not to allow the pandemic to be a barrier to interacting with those of different denominations, races and cultures. Let’s make the most of these virtual opportunities in order to truly be the family of God and serve as the body of Christ in the world: one vine, with many branches.


Join in!

Mark Your Calendars – You are invited to mark your calendars and plan to attend the evening gatherings! Even though the pandemic continues to prevent us from gathering physically for this important annual time of prayer, we can still gather virtually. We encourage you to take part in the evening gatherings to learn from the various expressions of Christian worship and prayer present within the body of Christ in Boston. People who attend from night to night will experience the Church in Boston in her diverse array of ethnicities, traditions, and geography. 

Spread the Word – We also appreciate help spreading the word to people in your congregation, family, friends, and neighbors. A personal invitation goes a long way.

Schedule

Monday January 18 – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Day 

We encourage you to take part in various events happening around the city to celebrate the impact and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We also encourage you to pray this prayer of lament for racial injustice with those in your household and/or church community.


Tuesday January 19 |  7:00 to 8:30 | Peacekeeping and Peacemaking Story Circle

Actively working toward peaceful relationships is called peacemaking. A seemingly similar but ultimately harmful practice–which we will call peacekeeping–seeks only stability for the short term by sweeping conflict under the rug. Participants will be invited to respond to the question, “What is a time when you have worked toward making peace in your life?” It will also be a space to pray and be encouraged by others’ examples to think of how we can work for peace in our relationships in the upcoming year. RSVP by emailing Morgan Crago, mcrago@bu.edu. Invite friends through Facebook. Zoom link here.


Wednesday January 20 | 7:00 to 8:30pm | Abiding in the Church of the Future: Boston-Based Millenials and Gen Z Christians on Taking the Church Forward

The future of the Christian church lies in the next generations taking it forward. On this evening, we will hear from four Millennial / Generation Z Christian leaders about the future of the church. Featured panelists include: Kerrian Johnson, Jacob Urena, Danielle McConnell, and Caleb McCoy, with Saranya Sathananthan as the moderator. We will also spend time in small groups to discuss implications for our own congregations and pray. Invite friends via Facebook. Event Recording Here.


Thursday January 21 | 7:00 to 7:40pm | Christian Unity Prayer Service 

Join for a liturgical prayer service using the prayer template that is being used worldwide. The service will include a diverse representation of local clergy, including Rev. Amy McCreath from the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, Father Tom Ryan from the Paulist Center, Father Demitrios Tonias from the Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Rev. Kelly Fassett, UniteBoston’s Executive Director and clergy from the American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts will be preaching about the call to abide in Christ from John 15. This prayer service incorporates a time of remembering our intimate relationship with God, as well as seeking unity and reconciliation with others. Live on Youtube at the Paulist Center. Invite friends through Facebook.  Recording Available Here.


Friday January 22 | 7:00 to 8:30pm | Prayer & Discussion on Supporting Christian Singles

Hear from Boston Christian singles from different churches on ways the church has served this part of the Christian community well, and new effective ways the church can serve Christian singles in these changing times. Coordinated by Rebekah Kerstetter, member of Highrock Church and founder of the Christian ministry Social Singles. RSVP by emailing Rebekah at singlesocialsboston@gmail.com. Invite friends through Facebook! Zoom link here.


Saturday January 23 | 8:00 to 9:30pm | An evening of Song, Prayer, Scripture and Witness.

 Join other Christians from around North America on Zoom for this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service, streamed from St. Dorothy’s Church, an historic African-American parish in Chicago. Coordinated with partners from The Initiative, Focalare, University Bible Fellowship and the Archdiocese of Chicago. Facebook Event Here.  Zoom link here. 


Sunday January 24 | 7:30pm to 8:30pm | Christian Unity Taize Prayer 

Song & Stillness, Taizé at MIT, is a contemplative practice of simple, quiet, evening prayer, with an international message of Christian reconciliation and unity. Using the music of the Taizé community in France, our service includes readings from Christian scripture, candlelight, meditative singing, and time for silence. Service leaflet & Zoom Link available here. Join via Facebook Live.


Monday January 25 | 7:30pm  to 8:45pm | Christian Unity Prayer Gathering

In these divided and turbulent times, the need to pray for Christian unity is more apparent than ever.  Join believers from around Boston for a time of prayer on Monday, January 25th, 7:30pm-8:45pm.  This zoom prayer service will be led by local Boston area pastors. Invite friends through Facebook. Zoom Link here. 


Lord, you are the vinedresser who cares for us with love. You call on us to see the beauty of each branch united to the vine, the beauty of each person. And yet, too often the differences in others make us afraid. We withdraw into ourselves. Our trust in you is forsaken. Enmity develops between us. Come and direct our hearts toward you once again. Grant us to live from your forgiveness, so that we may be together and praise your name. “Pray and work that God may reign.Throughout your day, let the Word of God breathe life into work and rest.Maintain inner silence in all things so as to dwell in Christ.Be filled with the spirit of the Beatitudes: joy, simplicity, mercy.”

-Mantra for the 2021 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This is recited daily by the Sisters of the Grandchamp Community.


Photos from Previous Years

Here are many of the leaders hosting gatherings for the 2019 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
UB City-Wide Dinner Launch – November 2017
UniteBoston dinner at Sally’s house in West Roxbury
Prayer Gathering at the Greek Metropolis of Boston
Neighborhood Dinner at Adam’s house in East Boston
Co-presiders from various Christian traditions at the 2017 Week of Prayer Anchor Gathering

Written by uniteboston · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: boston, christian, dinner, ecumenical, ecumenism, fellowship, Institute for Christian Unity, john 17, movement, prayer, uniteboston, unity, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, worship

Sep 11 2016

Preparing for the Reformation Commemoration: Conversation Groups

image credit: http://www.empowermissions.org/
image credit: http://www.empowermissions.org/

Last fall, Bishop Jim Hazelwood and Cardinal Sean O’Malley announced preparations for a mutual observance of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. This participates in the worldwide observance, to be initiated October 31, 2016 by Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Younan, President of the Lutheran World Federation. Locally, along with worship and service projects, Cardinal Sean and Bishop Jim encouraged us to participate in ecumenical discussion groups, saying:

…We seek to witness together to the world. One aspect of this witness is in caring for God’s good creation. Pope Francis’ encyclical On Care for Our Common Home provides a timely opportunity for Lutherans, Roman Catholics, and all our ecumenical partners to gather in small groups to read and discuss it together in an atmosphere of prayer and common faith. We encourage all to do so. Such a time of study, prayer, and ecumenical fellowship will serve as a worthy preparation for our mutual observance of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.

Over the next year and a half, the commemoration planning team would like to encourage and support congregations in forming such groups not only in the Boston Archdiocese but all across New England. Some congregations, such as St. John Lutheran in Sudbury, MA, have already studied the Pope’s encyclical. Others are beginning to plan for next year’s programs and may choose a different document to study. Whatever approach is chosen, these discussion groups can be a starting point for joint activities including shared acts of service and, in the fall of 2017, a culminating worship experience.

If you would like to join the conversation, here are some ways to get started:

  • Contact leaders of nearby congregations, share the bishops’ letter, and invite them to co-lead a study group with you.
  • Choose the location. Will one congregation host? Or is there a public setting available, such as a coffee shop, library or pub? Perhaps a non-church setting will make the group feel more balanced and welcoming even to people not from our congregations.
  • Set dates. Joint study such as this could make for a wonderful Lenten activity for 2017!
  • Select a text to read together. Suggested options include:

On Care for our Common Home. Pope Francis’ encyclical will certainly be an engaging option with which Christians of all kinds will find common ground.

The Joint Declaration of the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ). This document from 1999 presents a shared consensus between Lutherans and Roman Catholics on the central issue of the reformation.

From Conflict to Communion. This book explores the themes and history of the reformation and explores the work of recent decades in reconciling our two churches.

(All three resources are available for free online and for purchase at Amazon.com and other retailers. Additional resources are listed below.)

  • Invite and advertise! Depending on your setting and the text you choose, don’t forget to include other ecumenical partners and the non-church neighbors in your community!
  • Share what you are doing! Besides using social media, please also share your plans and stories with our planning team so that we can celebrate this as a region-wide, mutual observance. (You can share your plans by sending them to Pastor Andrew Heisen at pastor_mtolivet@townisp.com. He will be compiling a list of all congregations taking part.)

Hopefully, this cross-congregational opportunity will enrich all of our churches, help us discover common ground, and lead us into other aspects of our mutual observance including joint service projects and liturgical observances – so as to demonstrate our unity through baptism in Christ.

For example, please save the date for New England CityServe, which will take place on May 6, 2017. This initiative will be hosted by UniteBoston, where churches all across the region will be coming together to identify shared missional goals to serve their neighborhoods. The committee is also planning a joint liturgical gathering in Boston for Fall 2017 along with materials for use in local gathering with your local neighbors.

For more information:

More information regarding this and other reformation observances in New England can be found at the website of the Institute for Christian Unity at http://www.instituteforchristianunity.org.

The Commemoration Planning Team would love to hear from you to listen to your ideas and answer questions. We can be reached through Pastor Andrew Heisen of the ELCA at pastor_mtolivet@townisp.com and Dr. Vito Nicastro, Associate Director, Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Archdiocese of Boston, at vito_nicastro@rcab.org.

 

Additional Resources for Discussion:

ELCA social statement on environment: http://www.elca.org/Faith/Faith-and-Society/Social-Statements/Caring-for-Creation?_ga=1.195392044.149268272.1454101160

ELCA Bishop’s response to encyclical: http://www.elca.org/Resources/Presiding-Bishop-Messages?_ga=1.259436810.149268272.1454101160

Declaration on the Way, From Conflict to Communion Study Guide, JDDJ and other resources: http://www.elca500.org/articles-and-publications/

“Lutherans Restoring Creation Study Guide” http://www.lutheransrestoringcreation.org/Home/highlights/laudato-si—lutheran-study-guide

Study Guide from Archdiocese of Washington: http://adw.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Laudato-Si-Study-Guide.pdf

 

Written by uniteboston · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: reformation, uniteboston

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