UniteBoston

🎉 30 years of Common Cathedral!

What a beautiful celebration of 30 years of Common Cathedral, led by UB cohort alum Rev. Tina Rathbone!

We had such a great time connecting with friends old and new—and getting a glimpse of the kind of community Jesus calls us toward.

Housed and unhoused, young and old, newcomers and longtime community members, artists, musicians, clergy, students, cooks, and lay leaders came together as one. Barriers of class and generation gave way to friendship, worship, food, music, and belonging.

This felt like a glimpse of the Kingdom of God—where everyone has a place at the table. 💛

Grateful for Tina and the whole Common Cathedral community, and for 30 years of creating space where people experiencing homelessness are not simply served, but are the church—leading, creating, worshiping, and belonging together.

Want to experience Common Cathedral for yourself? Join a CityReach weekend or come to Sunday Worship on the Common and share lunch, worship, and community together.

Here’s to 30 more years of common cathedral—and to the day when a church like this is no longer needed because everyone has a home. 🙏🏽

🌊 Convergence: Many Streams, One Body

It was a joy to gather at the Body United Summit in Boston earlier this month—a convergence of ministries and networks from across our region under the leadership of Pastor Josiah Armstrong.

We worshiped together, heard stories of what God is doing, and listened for where the Holy Spirit might be leading us next.

At UniteBoston, we believe Christian unity is not about becoming the same—it’s about building relationships across our differences for the glory of God and the good of the city. Convergence gives us a glimpse of what becomes possible when we move beyond our individual streams and recognize that we need one another.

Grateful for the relationships, collaboration, and Kingdom imagination growing across our region. 🙏🏽

Many streams, one river. Many expressions, one body.

This past Sunday, our featured article explored reparations and how Christians across Greater Boston are responding to the call for repair.

Here is another way we highlighted:

Rev. Dr. Kevin C. Peterson of the Boston People’s Reparations Commission / The New Democracy Coalition and Rev. John E. Gibbons recently released an Open Letter to Boston’s White Churches, building on their earlier 10 Demandments to Boston’s White Churches.

Their message is clear: acknowledgment without restitution is not repair.
The letter calls on white churches and faith institutions to examine their historical connections to slavery and the slave economy, reconsider who holds decision-making power in reparative efforts, and commit meaningful financial resources toward Black-led institutions working in areas such as homeownership, healthcare, and economic development.

It’s another example of how conversations about reparations are taking shape within Greater Boston’s Christian community—not only asking us to reckon honestly with history, but to consider what tangible repair might look like.

Read our full featured article, “No Unity Without Justice: Boston-Area Christians Responding to the Call for Reparations,” to learn more about the conversations and efforts unfolding across our city.

Read more at the link in our bio!

This past Sunday, our featured article explored reparations and how Christians across Greater Boston are responding to the call for repair.

Here is one of the ways we highlighted:

After examining its own history and acknowledging how it benefited from wealth connected to the transatlantic slave trade, exploitative industries, and Indigenous displacement, Episcopal City Mission recently distributed $2.75 million in reparations funding to 25 Black- and Indigenous-led organizations across Massachusetts.

What stands out isn’t only the amount. ECM also sought to shift who holds the power, intentionally placing decision-making in the hands of grassroots BIPOC leaders rather than determining from the top down where resources should go.
It’s one local example of what it can look like for confession to move toward concrete repair.

Read our full featured article, “No Unity Without Justice: Boston-Area Christians Responding to the Call for Reparations,” to learn more about what churches and Christian leaders across Greater Boston are doing.

Read more here: https://uniteboston.com/no-unity-without-justice-boston-area-christians-responding-to-the-call-for-reparations/?blm_aid=0

Behind the scenes with the UniteBoston Board and Staff! 🙌

This month, the UB Board of Directors and Staff gathered for a day-long retreat—making space to pray, reflect, dream, and prepare for the season ahead.

As we look toward strategic planning and fundraising, we’re asking important questions: Where is God leading UniteBoston? What does our city need from us? And how can we strengthen our capacity to nurture Christian unity, collaborative mission, reconciliation, and justice?

We’re grateful for a Board that brings diverse perspectives, wisdom, relationships, and a shared commitment to bridging divides across Christians for the flourishing of our city. ❤️

The work of unity takes all of us—and we’re excited for what God has ahead!

Today we honor and celebrate two faithful leaders whose service has deeply shaped UniteBoston: Rev. Melinda Priest and Rev. Dr. Varnel Antoine.

Melinda has served on the UniteBoston board for 6 years, including serving as Board President twice. Her wisdom, leadership, and vision have made a lasting impact on our organization, and she has been instrumental in the development of BIRD. Melinda is the pastor of Awaken City Church.

Varnel has faithfully served UniteBoston both as a board member and as Accountant for 5 years. His steady leadership and practical support have been a gift to UniteBoston’s mission and growth. Varnel is the pastor of Berea Evangelical Church of New England.

We are deeply grateful for the ways both of these pastors have poured into UniteBoston through their leadership, service, and commitment to Christian unity in Greater Boston. Please join us in thanking Rev. Melinda Priest and Rev. Varnel Antoine for their faithful service! 💙

What a joy to see a story from our Boston Christian community reaching a global audience. 🌎🙌🏾

We previously had the privilege of sharing Raúl Hernández’s story through the UniteBoston newsletter, and now Christianity Today is telling the remarkable story of how, during his detention at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, Raúl found himself ministering to others—praying, preaching, reading Scripture, and reminding fellow detainees that their stories were not over.

We also celebrate the tireless love and advocacy of Resurrection Church in East Boston which surrounded Raúl and his family with prayer, practical care, legal support, and a community that refused to let them walk through this experience alone. The story is a beautiful witness to what can happen when the Church truly becomes family.

And we’re especially grateful for Pastor Kaitlin Ho Givens, one of our UniteBoston cohort alumni, and her faithful leadership alongside the Resurrection Church community.

Boston stories matter. Local faithfulness matters. And sometimes, what God is doing quietly in one congregation becomes a witness to the Church around the world.

We’re grateful to Christianity Today for helping share Raúl’s powerful story more widely.

👉 Read “The Pastor of Plymouth Jail” in Christianity Today.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/2026/09/pastor-plymouth-jail-east-boston-ice-detention/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUOMWxwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMWJxR080TUN6b3h5RU1icThzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeska3jdMX4w3chN4BZ6Om4Npdzb4MSRr34JVj_NoWGyA2gz9BvRB2F9lEE-o_aem_5-DbR3jylo_N7fAQRfwCDg&blm_aid=0

🙏 There’s something about meeting Jesus in the place of prayer.

There are moments in God’s presence—when we slow down, worship, listen, and seek Him—that can mark us forever. They deepen our intimacy with God and reshape how we live.

This week, Christians around the world are joining 10 Days of Prayer (Sept. 11–21)—a global invitation to seek God together through prayer, worship, repentance, and fasting.

Here in Boston, Congregation Lion of Judah is hosting citywide gatherings, with the church open daily for prayer and special gatherings throughout the 10 days.

And tonight through Thursday, join SEEK: School of Prophetic Prayer & Worship for three evenings of pursuing God together.

Come hungry. Come expectant. Come ready to pursue God, together as one Church. ❤️‍🔥

🔗 Learn more about 10 Days of Prayer⁠ at 10days.net
🔗 See the 10 Days schedule⁠ and SEEK: School of Prophetic Prayer & Worship⁠ at UniteBoston.com