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Christian Organizations Addressing Social Issues

This guide showcases organizations addressing some of the most pressing social issues. Their endeavors range from supporting vulnerable children and families to promoting environmental stewardship.

Photo credit: Matt Vasquez via Lightstock

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

Boston is home to an array of initiatives dedicated to tackling social issues. Many churches and Christian organizations are at the forefront of addressing these needs. Some have been serving for decades. Others are new.

This guide showcases Christian organizations addressing some of the most pressing social issues. Their endeavors range from supporting vulnerable children and families to promoting environmental stewardship.

Organized into over a dozen categories, this guide lists many organizations engaged in this work. Whether you want to collaborate, network, volunteer, or learn more about what God is doing in our city, we hope this guide serves as a valuable resource.

This is not meant to be a comprehensive list. Don’t see a Christian organization you think should be included? Feel free to contact us to suggest any additions.

  • The Boston Project

    “The mission is to engage and equip neighbors, volunteers, and congregations to build strong communities characterized by God’s shalom. 

    “Shalom means wholeness, peace, well-being, righteousness, and justice.”

    The ministry applies “community-building strategies that include strengthening youth and families, developing leaders, multiplying collaborations, and investing in corner-by-corner transformation resulting in a more green, healthy, safe, connected, and economically-empowered neighborhood.”

    For more on their youth programs, see "Youth" below.

    Cory Johnson Program for Post Traumatic Healing

    “The Cory Johnson Program for Post Traumatic Healing is a Christ-inspired, community-based, clinically-supported 501c3 program of the Roxbury Presbyterian Church Social Impact Center that offers a peer-centered approach to addressing post-traumatic stress in urban neighborhoods.” The program fosters connections and empowers individuals to take active roles in helping themselves and others heal. The main outreach of the Cory Johnson Program is  the Can We Talk Network, which has several sites in Boston.

    • Can We Talk Roxbury: “This program component offers a safe, sacred space for people to share their stories of trauma, loss, grief, and hope in words, poetry, or song. Artists in residence offer their creative expressions, and Community Companions offer support. It is a place for listening, and people experience individual and community healing.” Other support groups are also available.

      • Contact: Danielle McFarlane, dmcfarlane@rpcsic.org

      • Location: Roxbury Presbyterian Church, 328 Warren St., Boston, MA 02119

    • Codman Square Can We Talk? A partnership with the Boston Project Ministries, Life Church Boston, Second Church of Dorchester, and Neighborhood Church of Dorchester. “Codman Square Can We Talk? is a safe place to share your story and have your voice heard and welcomed. It is a community-based, clinically-supported program that increases awareness and understanding of trauma, offers mental health resources, and a safe environment for what can at times be painful conversations to occur.”

    • Peace by Piece: Fourth Presbyterian Church

    • Emmanuel Episcopal Church of Boston (Common Cathedral)

    Boston Trauma Healing Collaborative

    “The vision of Boston Trauma Healing Collaborative is to develop an integrated strategy that draws from the strengths of current trauma healing programs (both locally and nationally), to train and equip churches and communities to become more trauma-informed as they respond to wounded people and unacceptable realities that are often rooted in trauma. . . . 

    “This integrated strategy includes a collaborative effort between BTHC, as a local partner with the American Bible Society and the Trauma Healing Institute, and the Cory Johnson Program for Post-Traumatic Healing and their Can We Talk… Network, which will help encourage churches and non-profit organizations to work together to bring healing to those wounded by trauma.”

    Others

  • Hagar’s Sisters

    “For an individual who has experienced the life-shattering effect of domestic abuse, Hagar’s Sisters is a non-profit organization that offers holistic services that empower them to find healing and a new healthy way of life that is free from abuse.” 

  • Boston Education Collaborative

    The Boston Education Collaborative (BEC) is an initiative of the Emmanuel Gospel Center which recruits, trains, and connects church volunteers with underserved schools to address disparities in educational opportunities.

    The BEC “empowers churches, schools and non-profits to support underserved urban students. BEC helps students thrive in all areas of life by nurturing and supporting church-school partnerships; facilitating and encouraging neighborhood-focused involvement; engaging in systems level work; and participating in broader networking, coaching, and learning opportunities.”

    Boston Higher Education Resource Center (at Congregación León de Judá)

    Mission: “The Boston Higher Education Resource Center (HERC) functions to equip first-generation youth of color to access and thrive in higher education, to break the cycle of poverty, and to become agents of change in our communities.”

    The Passport Curriculum is designed to equip 11th and 12th-grade students to navigate the college admissions process and the college world successfully while gaining and developing their academic and leadership skills. The center offers both in-school programs and a community-based program at 62 Northampton St. These programs are far more extensive than typical after-school tutoring programs.

    American Chinese Christian Educational & Social Services, Inc. (ACCESS)

    Mission: “ACCESS seeks to empower, encourage, & motivate immigrants to build confidence, gain skills, and the ability to make positive changes within their own lives.”

    Vision: “We want to see our Chinatown neighbors thriving and building bridges across languages, cultures, and generations in God's love.”

    Their programs include K-5th grade enrichment afterschool and summer programs, adult fitness as well as arts and crafts programs in Tai Tung Village.

    • Leadership: Pasang Drolma, executive director; Annie Tran, director of children and families

    • Website: chinatownaccess.org

    • Email: info@chinatownaccess.org

    • Phone: (617)-426-1070

    • Location: 244 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02111

    Victory Generation 

    Victory Generation Programs of the Black Ministerial Alliance/Ten Point, a network of faith-based, out-of-school educational enrichment programs.

    Mission: “Our mission is to empower and strengthen out-of-school program leaders and their staff who serve as role models and the front-line to the children and families we wish to serve. In addition to building impactful and qualifiable programs for students, we also provide workshops and training to empower parents in advocating for their children and fostering positive school relationships.”

    • Leadership: Rochelle Jones, director of education

    “Victory Generation directly aids out-of-school programs dedicated to nurturing, strengthening, and enhancing the social, emotional, and cognitive development of Boston's youth aged 5 – 12. As an intermediary, we support our affiliated programs by enhancing their organizational and programmatic capabilities. Our assistance includes networking, financial aid, professional development workshops, and technical guidance.”

    • Sites

      • Twelfth Baptist Church After-School

        • Leadership: Darryl Simpson, program director

        • Website: tbcboston.org

        • Email: dsimpson@tbcboston.org

        • Phone: (617) 427-5158; main line: (617) 442-7855, ext. 121

        • Location: 160 Warren St., Roxbury, MA 02119

        • Hours: Monday - Friday, 2-6 p.m.

      • Greenwood Shalom After School Program (a Victory Generation site)

        Greenwood Shalom offers a range of enriching activities designed to engage and inspire students. These include tutoring, homework assistance, interactive online learning using Lexia, art, music, STEM projects, physical fitness, social emotional support, field trips, play, and test prep.

    • Programs

      • After-school enrichment program for children ages 5 to 13.

      • Summer enrichment program

      • English Language Arts Bootcamp: A full day program in February vacation week.

      • Math Bootcamp: A full day program during April vacation week.

      • Saturday Online Academy (10 a.m. - noon): Designed to uplift and empower students who may face barriers to traditional academic and emotional support.

      • Healing Hearts Club Camp: A transformative five-day program designed to provide healing and support for children ages 8 to 13 who have experienced trauma.

    • Contact information

    St. Stephen’s Youth Programs

    Mission: “To promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in education, employment and opportunity through long-term relationships with youth and their families and communities.”

    • Programs

      • B Ready

      • B Safe

        • “Summer enrichment program - provides a safe, fun, academically enriching environment for 650 students each year. We run B-SAFE at our year-round sites in the South End and Lower Roxbury and at four additional sites in Dorchester, Mattapan, and Chelsea.

      • Intergenerational Organizing

        • This program “equips young people to become agents of change and helps them to organize their neighbors, parents, and peers to address the issues of that disproportionately impact their communities” (such as gun violence).

    • Contact information

    • Sites

      • South End: St. Stephen’s Church at 419 Shawmut Ave., Boston, MA  02118

      • Lower Roxbury: The Church of St. Augustine and St. Martin at 31 Lenox St., Boston 02118

  • Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light

    “Mission:      

    • To educate people on why climate change is a matter of morality and justice.

    • To foster public understanding of policies that will lead to a sustainable future.

    • To work with faith communities and their members to be better environmental stewards of their buildings by providing technical expertise and assessing ways they can lower their carbon emissions and save money.”

    Better Future Project

    Better Future Project builds grassroots power to advance a rapid transition beyond fossil fuels. Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW), a program of Better Future Project, is Better Future Project's network of local leaders building grassroots climate resilience. In 2023, CREW sponsored the Interfaith Summit, How to Respond to Climate Change.

    • Rev. Vernon Walker, former director

    • Location: 30 Bow St., Cambridge, MA 02138

    Boston Faith & Justice Network

    Boston Faith & Justice Network, as part of one of its online book club discussion series, has focused on how we as Christians are called to climate justice. See the BFJN website for recommended resources and readings.

  • Fostering Hope

    “Fostering Hope empowers churches and individuals to care for children and families impacted by foster care. 

    Our vision is the dream of a day when ZERO children in foster care are waiting for a safe and supported family to care for them. This initiative is called Project ZERO. “

  • Initiative on Health, Religion, and Spirituality

    Although this organization is not independent, it addresses the important relationship between spiritual care and spirituality to medical care and physical health. The initiative is centered at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. 

    It aims “to study and implement ways to better integrate religion and spirituality into the practice of medicine and public health. It seeks to discover individual and social connections of spirit, mind, and body within the healthcare context.  Advancement of spirituality research is energized by the practical concern that new discoveries from spiritual and religious resources will yield significant new gains in alleviating illness and promoting human flourishing.”

    Some of the studies are relevant to end-of-life spiritual care.

    Faculty leaders include Dr. Tracy Balboni, Dr. Michael Balboni, Ms. Laura Tuach, and Dr. Tyler VanderWeele.

    Boston Health Care Fellowship and Longwood Christian Community

    “Our vision is to reunite faith and healthcare in line with God's intention of bringing healing to the world.  To that end, we exist to make disciples of Jesus among those in the biomedical science and healthcare community in Boston for the glory of God.”

    Christian Medical and Dental Society

    The Christian Medical and Dental Society “has over 340 healthcare campus ministries as well as over 80 community ministries. Along with encouraging students to live out the character of Christ on their campuses, they help Christian healthcare professionals connect with each other through local ministries.”

  • Housing Justice

    Boston Rescue Mission

    “The Boston Rescue Mission transforms lives by empowering individuals experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of becoming homeless to achieve and sustain life skills necessary to become more self-sufficient.

    “We operate an emergency overnight shelter every year. We offer healthy and hearty meals, basic necessities, and bathroom and shower facilities. We provide sober living and life growth shelter communities for men in recovery transitioning from homelessness to independent living.

    “Our mission is to

    • Offer resources that prevent and end homelessness

    • Support the recovery, health, faith, and independence of those with a history of substance use, incarceration, and homelessness

    • Raise awareness about the root causes of homelessness, addiction, and incarceration

    • Serve our guests and residents and each other with respect, integrity, and grace

    • Continue to learn, grow, and excel in our services

    • Be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us by our supporters”

    • Contact information

    • Website: brm.org

    • Email: info@brm.org

    • Phone: (617) 338-9000

    • Location: 39 Kingston St., Boston, MA 02111

    • Veterans’ House: 173 Humboldt Ave., Dorchester, MA 02121

    Faith Leaders for Housing Justice

    “A coalition of Boston area faith leaders collecting and sharing information and stories about issues facing people with housing insecurity.”

    The group is involved in several practical ministries. Leaders include Art Davies, Rev. June Cooper, Sara Mitchell, Jennifer McCracken, Amanda Grant Rose, and Phil Jones. They are working in partnership with the Boston Faith & Justice Network.

    Send Relief: Boston Ministry Center's Friendship Initiative

    “The Friendship Initiative of the Boston Ministry Center seeks to build friendships with neighbors experiencing homelessness. It begins with sharing a meal, engaging in constructive conversations and transforming lives through fulfilling relationships.”

    MANNA (Many Angels Needed Now and Always)

    MANNA is a “ministry of and with the unhoused community in downtown Boston. Through MANNA, we seek not only to welcome folks across differences of class, wealth, culture, race and mental ability, but also to empower all people to claim their place as essential members of our community. We all have gifts to give and to receive. We need each other. And this is why we gather each week to serve, to pray, and to create together.”

    Mission statement: “To provide a space for spiritual refuge and flourishing; To build a community of genuine belonging with the unhoused and unstably housed of Boston.”

    • Leadership: Rev. Jennifer McCracken, contact and lead pastor

    • Website: mannaboston.org

    • Email: mannaboston.org/contact

    • Location: St. Paul’s Cathedral, 138 Tremont St., Boston, MA 02111

    • Hours of ministries:

      • Gathering of friends over coffee and worship service (Sundays, 8:30 - 11 a.m.)

      • Lunch and worship service (Mondays, 9:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.)

      • Black Seed Writers Group (Tuesdays, 9:30 - 10:45 a.m.)

      • Quiet Meditation (Tuesdays, 11 a.m. - noon)

    Miracle Mile Ministries

    "Miracle Mile Ministries is a Boston, MA based Christian ministry devoted to a sustained, deliberate, and strategic response to the area we call ‘Miracle Mile’ (a roughly 2-square-mile area in the South End of Boston often referred to as ‘Mass & Cass’ or ‘Methadone Mile’).

    “It is led by a core group of four Boston area Lead Churches (Congregación León de Judá, Antioch Community Church Brighton, Cornerstone Church, and Symphony Church) but involves a universe of a dozen or so churches and parachurch ministries from throughout Boston's neighboring communities who faithfully support this effort week after week.”

    Saturday ministries include breakfast, prayer, clothing distribution, counseling and referral, and street outreach.

    Winter Walk

    Winter Walk is a non-profit organization raising awareness and funds to end homelessness in our communities. It centers on an annual walk, 2 miles around the streets of the city in February, one of the coldest months of the year. The Winter Walk raises awareness and funds for 25 non-profit organizations working to alleviate suffering and address the root causes that give rise to homelessness. It helps fund St. Francis House, Common Cathedral, and the Manna Community. Also, various church groups have participated in Winter Walk.

    Women’s Lunch Place

    Although not specifically a Christian organization, Women’s Lunch Place operates at the Church of the Covenant at 67 Newbury St. in Boston.

    Affordable Housing

    Greater Boston Interfaith Organization

    “The Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), founded in 1998, is a broad-based organization that works for the public good by coalescing, training, and organizing people across religious, racial, ethnic, class, and neighborhood lines.” “Our mission is to build power by developing local leaders so we can act together on issues that matter to our communities.” 

    Housing Justice Campaign

    “This comprehensive, multi-pronged, statewide Housing Justice campaign addresses challenges to safe and dignified public housing, affordable rental and homeownership, and access to supportive housing for citizens returning housing justice and other issues.”

    • Leadership: Allie Gardner, chief of staff, (608) 630-3041; Kathleen Patron, executive director

    • Website: gbio.org

    • Email: office@gbio.org

    • Mailing address: GBIO, P.O. Box 190892, Roxbury, MA 02119

    • Location: GBIO, 1803 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester, MA 02124

    Habitat for Humanity

    “Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston’s homeownership program provides homeownership opportunities to families without the financial means to purchase a home through traditional methods. By utilizing volunteer labor, sweat equity, and donated supplies and funds, Habitat Greater Boston can build and sell homes at an affordable price to first-time homebuyers.” Since its founding, the organization has used its model to build more than 120 homes in Dorchester, Roxbury, and other neighborhoods.

    • Website: habitatboston.org

    • Phone: 617-423-2223

    • Location: 434 Massachusetts Ave., Suite 201, Boston, MA 02118

  • Amirah

    Mission: “Amirah exists to provide a refuge for those seeking to break free from exploitation and heal in community on their journey toward lasting hope. “ “Amirah exists to provide exit and aftercare opportunities to women exiting the commercial sex trade.”

    Amirah’s “supportive services include comprehensive case management, economic stability planning, housing navigation, support groups, individual coaching, and peer care navigation. We provide supportive services to clients living in our residential program, those housed in other local housing programs, and clients housed independently or seeking housing placement.” 

    Amirah also has a rapid rehousing program, a community resource center, and education programs.

    • Leadership: Mary Speta, executive director

    • Website: amirahinc.org

    • Email: info@amirahinc.org

    • Phone: (781)-462-1758

    • Location: 100 Cummings Ctr, Suite 204-J, Beverly, MA 01915 (office)

    Route One Ministry

    “The mission of Route One Ministry is to serve sexually exploited and trafficked women by entering strip clubs and building relationships with the women who work in the clubs. We also strive to equip the local church, and community leaders with the tools they need to understand trafficking, identify vulnerable people, and respond in the most healthy ways to those who have experienced sexual abuse.”

    Send Relief: Boston Ministry Center’s Beloved Initiative

    “The Beloved Initiative is an effort to serve human trafficking and sexual abuse survivors as they are brought into safe community with opportunities to be mentored and empowered to embrace new identities in Christ.” This ministry is a part of the Boston Ministry Center.

  • Harbor Christian Counseling

    “Harbor Christian Counseling provides clinically skilled, biblically informed, gospel driven counseling services for individuals, couples, children and families in the Greater Boston area. Our team also seeks to partner with local churches to provide training and resources that promote a more effective and compassionate ministry to mental health issues within the church.”

    • Leadership: Matt Warren, executive director

    • Website: harborchristiancounseling.com

    • Phone: (617) 299-6516

    • Location: 874 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02215

  • Boston Faith & Justice Network

    "The Boston Faith & Justice Network brings Christians from many traditions together to move from personal religious commitment to transformative action against poverty and oppression. We foster a dialogue about money and responsibility while presenting opportunities for practical lifestyle shifts and justice-oriented engagement. Economic discipleship—following Jesus with our money—is one of the foundations of our vision for Christ-centered just living."

    Massachusetts Poor People's Campaign

    The Poor People's Campaign, a national ecumenical and interfaith anti-poverty campaign, seeks to confront the interlocking injustices of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, the denial of health care, militarism and the expansion of the war economy, and the false narratives of religious extremism and white supremacy. Cynthia Parker is one of the local Massachusetts organizers.  

  • Emmanuel Gospel Center (EGC): The Race & Christian Community Initiative (RCCI)

    RCCI collaborates across racial lines to foster shalom between individuals, communities, and systems damaged by racism. “RCCI works toward this vision by equipping Christians in Greater Boston to engage issues of race in ways that honor the image of God in all people and nurture the righteousness and justice Jesus desires for our communities.”

    RCCI “provide[s] biblically-based discipleship so white evangelical communities can experience — and contribute to — healing from the sin of racism.” RCCI “also work[s] with BIPOC Christians who desire to see transformation in white evangelical communities and the body of Christ at large.”  

    The ministry includes action communities, learning community cohort groups, experiential education, workshops, and coaching. Resource lists, articles, and books are also available.

    Be the Bridge

    “Our vision is that people and organizations are aware and respond to the racial brokenness and systemic injustice in our world. That we are no longer conditioned by a racialized society but are grounded in truth. That all are equipped to flourish.”

    During 2020 and 2021, UniteBoston launched a “Be the Bridge” Zoom group, where 28 people engaged in weekly conversation with Latasha Morrison’s “Be the Bridge” curriculum. Although this is a national organization, a number of Boston area churches have started “Be the Bridge” groups and used the curriculum.

  • Awaken City Church: Immigrant Connection

    "Immigrant Connection is dedicated to building a community of inclusion.

    "By providing low-cost legal services to eligible immigrants to secure permanent residency and citizenship, our hope is that they will experience greater access to employment, education, housing, and health services. Our entire community and economy benefit when individuals experience stability and opportunities.

    "Immigrant Connection (IC) is recognized by the Department of Justice, and our services include legal representation for green cards and citizenship, petitions for survivors of domestic violence or violent crimes, family-based petitions, temporary protected status, consular processing, work authorization applications, and DACA renewal applications."

    Emmanuel Gospel Center (EGC): Intercultural Ministries

    “Intercultural Ministries (IM) supports immigrant leaders' work in grassroots organizations tuned in to community needs. We leverage our volunteer and church networks, offering thought partnership as our partners share their concerns and make strategic connections to support our partners' priorities. We network, train, and consult to promote effective intercultural ministry and international mission networks in and out of Greater Boston.”

    Mygration Christian Conference

    “We exist to explore God's heart through stories of migration.” 

    “We believe that the Bible's stories are our stories, and that through the exploration of these stories we can come to a greater understanding of how Christians can positively and proactively respond to the migration crisis in our world today.”

    Mygration Christian Conference sponsors an in-person and online conference each summer and provides educational webinars and resources throughout the year.

    UniteBoston: “A Sanctuary for Strangers”

    “We want to help every church, big and small, to feel equipped to address the migrant crisis and mobilize their church to ACT. We have put together a full preaching package complete with designs, multimedia content, sermon examples, and more, to help churches recognize Migrant Sunday across Boston effectively.”

    Agencia Alpha

    “Our mission is to improve the quality of life of immigrants in Massachusetts by empowering our community members to become leaders, overcome social challenges, and fight against xenophobia. As an immigrant-led, grassroots organization, we work in three areas: community organizing, legalization, & citizenship services.”

    Some of Agencia Alpha’s many services include:

    • Immigration advice and consulting

    • Family petitions and adjustment of status

    • Temporary Protection Status (TPS)

    • Work permit renewals

    • Free citizenship application assistance

    • Citizenship classes (Boston/East Boston)

    • Interpretation and translation services

    Agencia Alpha has also worked with the Massachusetts Immigrant Collaborative. 

    • Leadership: Patricia Sobalvarro, executive director;  Damaris Velasquez, program director; Vilma Galvez, legalization program director

    • Website: agenciaalpha.org

    • Email: info@agenciaalpha.org

    • Phone: (617) 522-6382

    • Location: Congregación León de Judá, 62 Northampton St., Boston, MA 02118

    True Alliance Center

    True Alliance Center is a faith-based charitable organization that seeks to promote advocacy in the Haitian community related to education, housing, immigration, health, and economic development. The Center advocates for positive change, educates its constituents about their rights and opportunities, provides assistance, and develops partnerships.

    Send Relief: Boston Ministry Center’s Geneva Initiative

    “The Geneva Initiative of the Boston Ministry Center mobilizes churches to receive refugees and international families in healthy and loving ways, inviting them into a supportive community and connecting them with opportunities in their new home country.”

  • The Boston Project

    “The mission is to engage and equip neighbors, volunteers, and congregations to build strong communities characterized by God’s shalom. 

    “Shalom means wholeness, peace, well-being, righteousness, and justice.”

    The ministry applies “community-building strategies that include strengthening youth and families, developing leaders, multiplying collaborations, and investing in corner-by-corner transformation resulting in a more green, healthy, safe, connected, and economically-empowered neighborhood.”

    • Youth ministry: The Boston Project partners with Young Life Boston. Along with others, Christian and Mary Grant serve as staff for both organizations.

    • Day program: “The Elmhurst Park Program aims to keep neighborhood children engaged by fostering a safe environment where they can grow as a person and develop friendships.” This is a free, summer day program from 12:30 – 4 p.m.

    • Mental health: “The Mental Health Ambassadors program brings together teenagers who are passionate about supporting teen mental health. Together, the MHA team works to decrease the stigma, educate their peers and community about mental health, and create innovative spaces for self-care and healing.”

    • Life coaching: LevelUp Life Coaching “provides teens with a personal life coach, a caring mentor trained to help them create, achieve, and celebrate their goals.”

    • Summer employment

      • Artists in Action: “In collaboration with professional artists, young people bring shalom (peace, justice, healing, wholeness) through visual art pieces benches, murals, sculptures) and performances (music, drama, spoken word, and dance) in our community.”

      • Healthy Youth Champions: In this summer program, “youth work at urban farms and gardens, learn how to cook nutritious snacks and meals, assess community health resources, and educate their peers and children in healthy lifestyle habits such as exercise, self-care, and healthy eating.” 

    The Boston Project also offers leadership development programs and teen jobs.

  • Black Ministerial Alliance / Ten Point Coalition

    Mission: "to build the capacity of Black churches and ministry leaders to support the empowerment of our youth and families and strengthen the Health and well-being of their surrounding communities."

    The Ten Point Coalition works collaboratively to end patterns of violence in Boston. It seeks to foster cooperation between faith-based organizations and leaders in citywide-crime-reduction efforts and youth intervention.

    • Contact information

      • Leadership: Rev. David Wright, executive director

      • Website: bmatenpoint.org

      • Email: info@bmaboston.org

      • Phone: (617) 445-2737

      • Location: 2010 Columbus Ave. (Lower Level), Roxbury, MA 02119

    • Programs

      • Victory Generation out-of-school programs – see above

      • Vacation Bible School: In partnership with churches

      • Teen Café: Activities and work opportunities to prevent youth violence

      • Community Wellness: Seeks to improve health outcomes and eliminate disparities

    Boston Faith and Justice Network

    Mission: “The Boston Faith & Justice Network brings Christians together to live simply and give generously in pursuit of a just world.”

    • Principles:           

      • Working for justice: “Christians have a Biblical call to be at the front lines of transformative action against injustice.”

      • Practicing economic discipleship: “Economic Discipleship is what BFJN calls the process of following Jesus with our money.”

      • Engaging in Community: “Through our Lazarus at the Gate small group study, BFJN encourages open discussions about wealth, poverty, and Christian responsibility to meet the needs of the suffering and vulnerable.”

    • Programs

      • Service: The “Micah 6:8 programs offer multi-day experiences for those wishing to explore deeply the concepts of justice and generosity in their own lives.”

      • Bible study: Lazarus at the Gate is an eight-week Bible study that challenges participants to understand the Biblical foundation for generosity, simple living and just consumption. BFJN also offers shorter Lazarus at the Gate workshops.

    • Contact information

    Emmanuel Gospel Center (EGC)

    EGC “is a nonprofit Christian organization dedicated to supporting the work of passionate individuals, ministries, and organizations seeking to positively impact critical issues in the city. Our collaborative approach aims to create a more equitable, connected, and thriving community for all Bostonians.”

    • Website: egc.org

    • Phone: (617) 262-4567

    • Location: 44 Moultrie St. Dorchester, MA 02124

    • Mailing address: P.O. Box 240017, Dorchester, MA 02124

    The Salvation Army Boston Kroc Center

    The Kroc Center offers fitness equipment and instruction, an aquatics center with a pool, climbing wall, gym, group exercise, youth programs, culinary arts training, programs for seniors, and many other classes.

    The Youth programs include F.E.A.S.T., which stands for “Food, Enrichment, Arts, Spiritual Development and Teaching.”

    “Kids F.E.A.S.T is a children's out-of-school program that aims to provide a relaxed, safe, Christian environment where children experience God’s unconditional love, learn valuable biblical stories, develop appropriate social behavior, discover new skills, pursue interests, utilize talents, make new friends, and have lots of fun.

    “Youth ages 6-12 have the opportunity to receive tutoring and mentoring, spiritual development, social and emotional skill development, fitness fun and enrichment activities.”

    UniteBoston

    UniteBoston sees its role is to “create opportunities for ‘beloved community’ to emerge, one that leans into our diversities, nurtures belonging for all of God’s children, models redemptive power dynamics, and works together to nurture shalom across historic divides. As we nurture kinship relations among diverse siblings in Christ, we believe our self-giving love for each other will be a collective witness to the reconciling power of the gospel.” 

    • Leadership: Kelly Fassett, executive director; Rev. Devlin Scott, managing director

    • Website: uniteboston.com

    • Email: info@uniteboston.com

    • Mailing address: UniteBoston, P.O. Box 961162, Boston, MA 02196

    Boston Collaborative

    “Christians are serving generously in every sector of Boston. The Boston Collaborative is helping them work together to achieve the greatest impact.

    “Our dream is to see communities transformed and Christians known as redemptive change agents in Boston.”

    The Boston Collaborative focuses on the Boston Trauma Healing Collaborative, Pastors Praying Together, Boston Flourish, and Returning Citizens.

    The Boston Project

    See above for details of programs. Other programs of community organizing and promoting community and individual well-being involve adults as well as youth.

    • Leadership: Paul Malkemes, executive director

    • Website: tbpm.org

    • Phone: (617) 929-0925 (general); (617) 318-6937 (ministry and church)

    • Location: 15 Elmhurst St., Dorchester, MA 02124   

    Greater Boston Nazarene Compassionate Center

    The goal of the Center is “to provide relief and opportunity to the most vulnerable, distressed and underprivileged, undeserved, under-represented people of the greater Boston area, with a particular emphasis on the Haitian community, immigrants and youth in Mattapan, Dorchester and vicinity.”

    • Objectives

      • “To enable limited English speaking adults to access skill building programs and basic services to stabilize families, and develop marketable skills that position them for success.” 

      • “To mobilize the community to address critical issues and opportunities that affect Haitians in Greater Boston.”

      • “To provide high quality education and support services that effectively advance youth along the ‘educational pipeline’ from elementary, middle, and high school through college graduation.”

    The Center operates a large food pantry, a workforce readiness initiative, education programs, refugee ministries, and a youth arts and culture program.

    Send Relief: Boston Ministry Center

    “In the heart of Boston, this Send Relief ministry center is dedicated to functioning as a catalytic hub for restorative ministry in and around the city. The center is committed to working alongside local ministries and through the local church to see communities strengthened to the glory of God.”

    “The Boston ministry center is committed to resourcing local churches, renewing ministry workers and families and restoring communities in need across the city. We do this through three initiatives: The Friendship Initiative (relating to homelessness), The Beloved Initiative (relating to human trafficking), and the Geneva Initiative (relating to refugees & international families). See categories above for more detail).

  • This section highlights some organizations that, while not explicitly Christian, are doing meaningful work with churches and faith-based groups to address social issues.

    City of Boston's Faith-Based Monthly Community Meetings and Newsletter

    Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence

    “Our Mission: The Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence brings together impacted communities, advocates, public health experts and policy-makers to prevent gun violence in all its forms. Because we recognize that gun violence is a public health emergency exacerbated by economic disparity and systemic racism, we address those root causes through education, policy analysis, trauma informed advocacy, and by amplifying the voices of impacted individuals and communities.”

    “Our Approach: Directed by survivors and member organizations, we seek to strengthen legislation, gun safety practices, research, and funding for community based solutions to create a Commonwealth that is free from gun violence. The Coalition engages in this work through four main avenues: Education, Advocacy, Community Organizing, and Member Support. Many faith-based partners (including EGC) are a part of the coalition.”

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Race Megan Lietz Race Megan Lietz

Learning How to Pedal

It’s not just about what you do, it’s how you do it.

Learning How to Pedal: Balancing “Doing” and “Being” in the Work of Racial Justice

It’s not just about what you do, it’s how you do it.

by Megan Lietz, Director, Race & Christian Community Initiative (RCCI)

This is the final article of a three-part series on critical lessons RCCI is learning in its first five years of ministry. RCCI focuses on providing biblically based education to white evangelicals to nurture racial healing and justice.

All my life, I have kept a fast pace. I find satisfaction in checking tasks off my list and getting things done. 

While this has helped build the ministry of the Race & Christian Community Initiative at the Emmanuel Gospel Center, it is also one of our most significant liabilities.

When I go too fast or am too focused on “getting the job done,” I am more likely to do things that may look good on the surface but actually hinder racial healing and justice. Not only am I not fully present with people, but I’m also less aware of how I have been shaped by and may be perpetuating racism. 

For example, with less time for reflection and intentionality, I will likely make decisions based on personal biases. I may center myself in cross-racial conversations. Or I may align with a narrative that has been used to perpetuate unjust power dynamics instead of the counter-cultural values of Christ. 

It is for this reason that establishing a healthy rhythm of “doing” and “being” is critical for the work of racial healing and justice.

Rhythms of being and doing

Jesus balanced a busy ministry schedule with prayer, rest, and time away from the crowds. The time he spent away from the demands of ministry allowed him to receive from the Father and align with his will. It helped him model, usher in, and invite others into kingdom ways of being.

In a world where racism is in the air we breathe, spiritual practices help us reflect on what is influencing us and how we may be hindering racial harmony. They empower us to follow Jesus more freely and fully in a multiracial world.

We must balance doing and being to experience Christ’s liberating and healing power in our lives and communities. 

“When I go too fast or am too focused on “getting the job done,” I am more likely to do things that may look good on the surface but actually hinder racial healing and justice. Not only am I not fully present with people, but I’m also less aware of how I have been shaped by and may be perpetuating racism.”
— Megan Lietz

My colleague at the Emmanuel Gospel Center, Liza Cagua-Koo, talks about doing and being like two pedals on a bike. You need to use both to move the bike forward. If you only use one pedal, you will wobble and inevitably fall.

Balance external work with internal work. 

Balance pushing with resting. 

Balance giving generously with setting healthy boundaries. 

Balance action with reflection. 

Balance caring for others with caring for yourself. 

Doing and being. Being and doing. 

It is the rhythm we need to pedal forward.

This doesn’t mean we strike a perfect balance. It doesn’t mean there is a “right” amount. As a matter of fact, it’s not about achieving a rhythm or balance within itself. 

Rather, it’s about responding to a dynamic reality in a way that enables one to be present to God, others and oneself. It’s about cultivating ways of being in consecrated time that helps us see, examine, do and be different as we go about our lives. 

Who is like the LORD via Lightstock

The difference balance can make

During RCCI’s first five years of ministry, I’ve seen both the negative impact of imbalance and the life-giving, forward motion that appropriately prioritizing doing with being can have. 

An over-emphasis on doing led me to take action that looked good on the surface and bore a measure of fruit. But it had elements that were problematic and counterproductive. Here are some examples: 

  • At a regional conference, I co-led a workshop that focused on an intellectual understanding of crossing cultures. It didn’t consider the lived experiences, feelings, or concerns of people of color in the audience, many of whom cross cultures every day.

  • I invited the perspectives and leadership of people of color in the development of multiracial events. But I still maintained control and decision-making power as the initiator, convener, and host.

  • I had been asking a Black colleague to engage in ways that required a high level of trust and relationship. I hadn’t taken the time needed to nurture a meaningful and trusting relationship and was asking for trust I had not earned. 

When we focus on doing over being, we can take one step forward and two steps back. But when we take a more balanced approach, we can contribute to healing and liberation. 

When being and doing are better balanced, ministry bears healthier fruit. Here are some ways we've seen this at RCCI:

  • One project at an advanced stage of development was unintentionally centering white people. I was able to slow down and adjust it so that we could take steps to decenter whiteness and learn from the process.

  • I invited the perspectives of people of color on sensitive topics in a way that wasn’t extractive but created energy for ongoing participation.

  • I could be present in a conversation with a Black colleague in a way that was a mutual blessing and healing to my sister in Christ.  

If you want to leave a legacy of healing and liberation, you need to pedal between doing and being. Pedaling creates the balance needed for the ride. 

Practices that nurture balance between being and doing

I’m developing personal and professional practices that contribute to healthy ways of being. It has taken time to incorporate what I have, and it will take a lifetime to deeply integrate these practices into my life. 

What I’ve been able to put in place has been made possible by my privilege, my role as a ministry director, the incredible people and organizations who have taught and supported me, and the grace of Jesus Christ. 

“In a world where racism is in the air we breathe, spiritual practices help us reflect on what is influencing us and how we may be hindering racial harmony. They empower us to follow Jesus more freely and fully in a multiracial world.”
— Megan Lietz

I recognize that not everyone is in a position to do these things but I encourage you to think about your next step.

Pearl via Lightstock

Monthly day of prayer and reflection for RCCI: I take one day a month to pray and reflect. To sit with God and consider with him how he may be speaking through his Spirit, my experiences, and feedback from others. During this time, I may reflect with Jesus on ministry and engage in prayerful strategic planning. I may practice self-examination or simply take extended time to connect with the Lord. 

While reflecting for a day a month may not feel accessible to everyone, opportunities to reflect and connect with God can take many forms. Imagine what might work for you, whether it be a minute or day, and take time to reflect.

Reflection Questions

  • What are ways you connect to God?

  • How might the Lord be speaking to you through his Spirit, through your experiences, and through others?

  • What opportunities may you have for reflection?

  • How could you more consistently incorporate practices of connection and reflection into your life?

Adjust pace: Doing too much or going too fast can negatively impact our balance and being. I can easily find myself in this position. I have had to learn to slow down and discover what boundaries and practices I needed to maintain a healthier pace. 

Making this shift took a lot of time and energy. It was prompted by the ongoing and loving feedback of people such as my husband, pastor, and supervisor. I was also motivated by the examples of mentors, compelling authors, and years of “wanting” to slow down that never quite seemed to manifest. Realities such as having a second child and a pandemic that turned our world upside down facilitated a four-year process, the fruit of which I’m sharing with you today. 

One thing that helped me grow was setting guidelines for and boundaries around my commitments. For example, I set limits to how many evenings I’m out of the house a week and how many events I participate in on any given weekend. I also create a buffer in my day because the work always grows. Sometimes, I cross my own boundaries and, too often, my buffer gets squeezed out, but not without raising my mindfulness around my pace or a desire to do better next time. 

“We must balance doing and being to experience Christ’s liberating and healing power in our lives and communities. ”
— Megan Lietz

While guidelines and boundaries help, they can’t be applied well without real-time check-ins. For example, when I heat my lunch during the work day, I often take the two-and-a-half minutes while my food is in the microwave to check in with myself. I reflect on the day’s pace and how that may impact how I interact (or not) with others. Other factors, such as actively trying to avoid a conversation around the water cooler or desiring to skip out of daily staff prayer, are indicators that I need to adjust my pace.

More than anything, I’ve found it helpful to be willing to slow down based on feedback. This can be in a conversation, over the course of the day, or in the life of a project. Shifting to slow down, examine, and adjust is hard. But it’s a huge step in breaking out of our defaults and moving toward intentional, value-aligned action.

Reflection Questions

  • Where might you need to slow down?

  • What poses barriers to you doing so?

  • What tools, resources, or accountability structures could you utilize to maintain a healthier pace of life?

Chris Mainland via Lightstock

Take a Sabbath rest: Keeping the Sabbath can help us slow down and reflect. It can impart perspective on our lives in ways that can help us divest from the world and realign with Jesus. 

For most of my life, I didn’t take a sabbath. I didn’t think I could afford the time. But as I stepped out in faith, I came to see I couldn’t afford not to. It was the very inclinations and ideologies, which told me I couldn’t possibly stop, that I actually needed to disconnect from. 

Like adjusting my pace, developing a sabbath was a process shaped by the examples and wise words of fellow believers. Once God, by his grace, helped me break away from my idols of busyness and achievement, I started to gain some of the perspective and healthy distance that sabbaths create. God used our sabbath times to nurture my personal growth, spiritual vitality, and holistic wellness. 

Now I'm grateful to be able to carve time out one morning a week to connect with God, care for myself, and read for my personal and professional development. I look forward to it each week. It has strengthened my faith walk and ability to lead in ministry. 

“For most of my life, I didn’t take a sabbath. I didn’t think I could afford the time. But as I stepped out in faith, I came to see I couldn’t afford not to.”
— Megan Lietz

With two young kids at home, aging parents, and a multitude of responsibilities, it can be hard to protect my sabbaths. But even if my mornings are interrupted, or don’t happen at all, they now represent a baseline I keep coming back to. They anchor me to the life-giver, the liberator, and the lover of my soul. I’m also learning how to carry sabbath mindsets and practices throughout my week, so I can take moments of rest wherever life leads me.

Reflection Questions

  • What do you feel you just can’t break away from?

  • How might this thing be functioning as an idol in your life?

  • What sabbath mindsets, practices, or rhythms could help you submit these idols to the Lord and put them back in their proper place?

Phil Lehman via Lightstock

Struggling forward

In this world, the pressure to over-emphasize doing will always be present. We must resist. 

The more we focus on doing to the exclusion of being, the more we will go to our default: social conditioning shaped by racism instead of the heart of Christ. Biases unchecked, blindspots unseen, relationships damaged, power dynamics upheld, and narratives passed on that have functioned to uphold racism for generations. 

Action taken: check. Results: mixed — at best.

Just because we showed up at the temple for prayer time doesn’t mean our ways of being with God or others are right (Luke 18:9-14). Just because we’re in the room with the Great Teacher doesn’t mean we’re sitting at his feet (Luke 10:38-42). It’s not holding a title or being at church every time the door is open that makes us more like Christ. Rather, it’s about positioning ourselves to receive from Jesus, being present to him and letting him work in and through our lives. 

It can be hard to nurture healthy ways of being in a society that showcases accomplishment, has a narrow understanding of productivity and progress, and glorifies life in the fast lane. 

Nurturing one’s way of being and becoming is challenging, time-consuming, and slow. It can be counter to what many of us have been taught to do, focus on, and value.

And yet, it is worth pursuing. Our health depends on it. The health of hearts, minds, bodies, and spirits depend on it. The health of relationships, organizations, social systems, and communities depend on it. 

When we move toward a healthy balance, we move toward being more liberated, healed, and whole.

Take Action

  • Take a moment to just be. 

  • Participate in breath prayer. Breath prayers are short prayers that are said repeatedly with the rhythms of one’s breath. When breathing in, pray, “I am a child of God,” and when breathing out, pray, “I am loved unconditionally.” Reflect on Matt. 11:28-30 in The Message version of the Bible.

  • White evangelicalism, like so much of society, is deeply influenced by a fast-paced culture and narrow view of productivity. Take a moment to learn from the following authors from outside of the evangelical tradition on Sabbath and rest.

  • Sabbath as Resistance by Walter Bruggemann offers a theological argument for sabbath rhythms from an academic perspective.

  • Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey offers a passionate and prophetic manifesto about the need for rest and how it can resist white supremacy. 

  • Learn more about RCCI support and accountability groups that strive to help white evangelicals take action in ways that embody the lessons captured in this blog series. These will be revamped and relaunched in 2023.

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Learning As We Go

A new way of thinking helped launch me into ministry. It also changed me in the process.

Learning As We Go: A Messy Methodology Nurtured Transformation

A new way of thinking helped launch me into ministry. It also changed me in the process.

by Megan Lietz, Director, Race & Christian Community Initiative (RCCI)

This is the first article of a three-part series on key lessons RCCI is learning in its first five years of ministry. RCCI focuses on providing biblically based education to white evangelicals to nurture racial healing and justice.

I'm a planner. Every strength-based test I've taken affirms that I'm good at developing a plan, sticking to it, and getting it done. My approach to launching the Race & Christian Community Initiative reflected this skill set. 

I reviewed the six-page document containing the plans to launch RCCI at the Emmanuel Gospel Center. It involved a year of research, ministry development, fundraising and relationship building that emphasized gaining understanding before taking action and underestimated how dynamic reality is.

I remember my supervisor, Stacie Mickelson, saying in essence: "That's one way you could do it, but I don't recommend it. I encourage you to start taking action now and learn as you go."

When Stacie first said this, I was a bit confused. Had she not seen my well-thought-out plan? 

But more than confusion, I felt unprepared. 

How could I be ready without taking the time for extensive research? Did all the degrees I had earned not testify to the need to learn before taking action in the world? Besides, I'm a white woman. I have a good chance of getting it wrong here. I want to put in the work so I can learn to effectively engage issues related to race. 

“The names of the euro-descended anti-racist warriors we remember – John Brown, Anne Braden, Myles Horton – are not those of people who did it right. They are of people who never gave up. They kept their eyes on the prize – not on their anti-racism grade point average.
”
— Ricardo Levins Morales

Nika Elugardo, the director of EGC’s Applied Research and Consulting department at the time, offered some wisdom I still carry with me. She said: “Megan, you don’t need to know it all. You just need to know enough to be ahead of the people you’re leading. When you are, you’re positioned to reach back and help them take the next step.”

The perspectives of my supervisors opened and invited me to a different way of learning. Instead of waiting until we "feel ready" and following the "perfect plan," RCCI now commits to learn as we go. In the process, we are transformed.

Five years into ministry, I've encountered many white brothers and sisters stuck at the same point I was: not feeling “ready” for action when, in reality, if we all waited until we “felt ready,” action would never come. I now want to reach back, offer some things I've realized about "learning as I go," and encourage them to take the next step.

Learning as you go is uncomfortable and requires risk-taking

Learning as you go — as a real-life practice — is messy and requires risk-taking. Perhaps that's why I, as a calculated planner, took some time to warm up to the idea. Or why I, as someone who wants to "get things right," avoided an approach that increased the chance of failure. 

It's also not comfortable. And at first, it doesn't increase your confidence to navigate the world effectively. On the contrary, as I’ve waded into the messiness of multi-racial ministry, I’ve often felt out of control or like I don’t have a clear path ahead. I’ve felt vulnerable, frustrated, anxious, unsure, and insecure. Furthermore, this can make me want to “fix,” micromanage, or distance myself from the problem. But these reactions can be counterproductive. Learning to wrestle with the mess, sit with discomfort, take risks, and figure it out as you go are not only healthier responses, but also formative. They can help us develop the postures, perseverance, and skill sets needed to navigate the realities of race. 

That said, I want to be clear that diving in as a white person is both necessary and problematic. The hard truth is that we will inevitably make mistakes and hurt people of color. In my 15 years of living across racial lines and five years leading a ministry seeking to contribute to the dismantling of racism, I’ve upset, offended, annoyed, and dishonored people of color. And it hasn’t come through things that felt like “obvious” mistakes. It has happened through moments of carelessness, oversights, blindspots, defaults. Moments when I never intended to hurt anybody. Moments when, sometimes, I didn’t even know I did. 

I’ve messed up. And others – usually brave and generous people of color – were kind enough to let me know. I’ve perpetuated the very practices, narratives and ways of being I profess to stand against. I did that. And you will, too. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take action. On the contrary, we need to learn from our mistakes, learn to repair and address the pain we have caused, and keep working toward the dismantling of racism.

Ricardo Levins Morales, a Puerto Rican artist and activist, shared:

“Anti-racist whites invest too much energy worrying about getting it right; about not slipping up and revealing their racial socialization; about saying the right things and knowing when to say nothing. It’s not about that. It’s about putting your shoulder to the wheel of history; about undermining the structural supports of a system of control that grinds us under, that keeps us divided even against ourselves and that extracts wealth, power and life from our communities like an oil company sucks it from the earth. … The names of the euro-descended anti-racist warriors we remember – John Brown, Anne Braden, Myles Horton – are not those of people who did it right. They are of people who never gave up. They kept their eyes on the prize – not on their anti-racism grade point average. … This will also be the measure of your work. … There are things in life we don’t get to do right. But we do get to do them.”¹ 


I encourage you to dive in. But be thoughtful about where and how you dive in. Be mindful of the potential consequences and be ready to slow down, confess, repent, and make things right. 

Creative Clicks Photography via Lightstock.

Learning as you go contributes to quicker learning

When Stacie and Nika encouraged me to take a risk and learn as I go, they weren’t only helping me learn to do differently, they were actually helping me learn more efficiently. Trying and learning through experience helped me refine my ideas with my feet. It was more efficient to come up with a plan and test it along the way than to polish one before trying it. 

As someone who had been conditioned to go for the "A" right out the gate, it took some time to get used to this new approach. But I found it invaluable. Not only did I learn a lot on the way, but I got a lot farther piloting my ideas than I would have if I had "perfected" them on paper. What I once saw as glorious plans now feel like a taxidermied butterfly. They look pretty but they don't fly. 

One example of how this methodology bore fruit was with RCCI's cohort community. When I started the first cohort, I wasn't planning to launch a program. I just wrote a blog post and invited white people to talk about race. Little did I know God had been preparing people long before they responded to my blog post. He had placed within them a longing to wrestle with issues related to race in Christian community. Seeing this longing and how it aligned with my own, I jumped in. I didn't feel prepared and I certainly didn't know how to start a program. But we had the Holy Spirit's guidance and my supervisors' support. We also had the resources found within our inaugural community. And so this fledgling group grew into our first cohort.

What started with a handful of people has since evolved into our core program. It’s contributed to action taking and inspired testimonies of transformation. (To learn more, you can read RCCI's Cohort Origin Story here.) 

While piloting the cohorts, I learned much about leadership, picked up different tools and practices, and developed meaningful relationships. Ultimately, I was launched into ministry. Though we didn’t have the big team or resources that are often associated with growth, our willingness to "try fast, fail fast, and learn fast" helped us go far.

This experience can be captured well in a quote by sociologist, historian, and author, James Loewen: "If we wait until we are ready … we may wind up old and feeble before we ever do anything. Conversely, getting out there and trying to change society can teach us some things and wind up changing ourselves."² 


Learning as you go creates opportunity for collaboration

Learning as I go helped me lean into community. To be honest, I'm a bit of a lone ranger. I need a loving nudge to overcome my natural tendencies that are in tension with my Christian ideals. While "not knowing the answers" and not feeling ready could be seen as a setback, these same feelings developed a healthy fear and open posture in me. This approach nurtured collaboration and propelled me ahead.

When I first launched the cohort, I felt I was operating out of a place of weakness. I was a mother of a demanding 1-year-old, who had me up early in the morning and wanting to go to bed by 8 p.m. Leading cohorts from seven to nine left me in a situation where it was hard to give my best. During cohort conversations some nights, my tired mind would struggle to be attentive. As the facilitator, sometimes I wouldn't know what to do next. It was in those moments of feeling my own limitations — and perhaps because of them — that space was created for others to jump in. They could take the lead. They could share experiences or offer resources that may have gone unshared. They could voice questions that may have gone unasked. 

What started as collaboration out of necessity became an intentional approach for RCCI. I valued collaboration in principle, of course. I spent significant time listening to and learning from leaders of color before piloting anything. But feeling my own limitations — and remembering that God didn’t design us to do this alone — helped me cement collaboration into RCCI's practice. 

For example, after the first cohort, we worked with alumni to envision and try out a "next step" that would eventually become our support and accountability groups. When we piloted our multiracial workshops and community forums, we invited people of color to speak into the process and co-lead early on. While we were still learning how to collaborate well, we were committed to collaboration — and continue to learn how to do so today.

The "learn as you go approach" encouraged a practice of learning with others. Both of these are now part of RCCI’s DNA today.

Mari Yamagiwa via Lightstock.

Learning as go you nurtures liberation

One of the hardest aspects of embracing agile methodology was that it challenged — no, more than challenged — it required the sacrifice of my perfectionist tendencies. 

Perfectionism is something people of all races struggle with for several reasons. But it's also something that can — and has — been used to uphold racial hierarchy. 

Taking an approach that required me to address my perfectionism served another purpose: it was a means through which the Lord could continue to liberate me from one of the ways the sin of racism can operate in my life.

Taking a learn-as-you-go approach to ministry helps me not only let go of some of my perfectionism. I'm also learning to let go of control.White folks, especially, are accustomed to having more agency because of our white privilege. We can have unhealthy expectations around power because of how our racial group is dominant and centered in society. We expect power, feel entitled to it, think it is something we need.

But white people are not the Creator. God did not intend for us to have control over and above other human beings. We are all created in God's image and commanded to have dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:27-28) — a dominion of stewardship, caring, and mutual thriving so that God's shalom may reign on earth.

I know this in my head, but the desire to be perfect and the desire to control are very human tendencies. 

Taking a "learn as you go" approach is working this out of me. It's been a tool of Christ’s sanctification, liberation, and healing.

The practices and postures of "learning as you go" help nurture liberation. It gets us to re-examine and release the ways we've been conditioned and open ourselves to the Lord. It helps align us with his will so that we can more fully and freely follow Jesus in a multiracial world. 

“If we wait until we are ready … we may wind up old and feeble before we ever do anything. Conversely, getting out there and trying to change society can teach us some things and wind up changing ourselves.”
— James Loewen

When Nika and Stacie encouraged me to jump in, I didn't expect to be holding on to their advice five years later. Their invitation felt like a risk — and it was — but it was one I've found well worth the reward. It's a reward not of security or ease but of Christ-like transformation.

And today, I'm still on that journey of transformation. Each step of the way, God has shown me grace. 

Shelton, a member of RCCI's inaugural cohort, recently shared with me about our early years. She said: "Megan, I didn't follow you because I thought you had all the answers. I followed you because you knew you didn't. Because you were willing to journey in community and learn as you go."

Especially with Boston being a hub for education, we are often valued for what we know. But the deeper I get into Christ’s work of healing and justice, the more I realize I don’t know. 

This not knowing doesn’t need to be a barrier. On the contrary, it can be a catalyst for transformation, collaboration, and liberation. If we come with a teachable spirit and humble posture, we can find a gift in uncertainty and be changed by a commitment to learning as we go. 

Reflection Questions

  • How might these principles for learning relate or not relate with your own experience? 

  • When might you have received challenging feedback? How have other people’s perspectives helped you to grow?

  • Where might you be leaning too heavily on your ability to plan, prepare, or control?

  • What is one area the Lord may be inviting you to “dive into” even if you don’t feel ready?

  • In that area, what could the dangers and benefits be of you taking a “learn as you go” approach?

¹Ricardo Levins Morales, "Whites fighting racism: what it’s about," Ricardo Levins Morales Art Studio, January 7, 2015, https://rlmartstudio.wordpress.com/2015/01/07/whites-fighting-racism-what-its-about/. 

²James W. Loewen, "The Joy of Antiracism," in Everyday White People Confront Racism & Social Injustice: 15 Stories, ed. Eddie Moore Jr., Marguerite W. Penick-Parks, and Ali Michael (Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing LLC, 2015), 31.

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by Megan Lietz, Director, Race & Christian Community Initiative

As the Race & Christian Community Initiative at the Emmanuel Gospel Center celebrates five years of ministry, we’ve been intentional about reflecting on our journey. We’ve considered the lessons we’re learning, the ways we’re growing, and what we want to carry with us into the future. 

RCCI’s founding director, Megan Lietz, shares three key lessons that are forming the ministry and that could serve your own pursuits of building shalom across racial lines.

We invite you to learn from our mistakes. Gain from our experiences. Or simply be affirmed in the wisdom you already know. Take a look and consider three lessons that have been transformative for our ministry and that we believe are foundational to continuing God’s redemptive work across racial lines.

Part I — Learning As We Go: A Messy Methodology Nurtured Transformation

A new way of thinking helped launch me into ministry. It also changed me in the process.

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A Theology of Racial Healing

Today, issues related to race are sometimes seen as “liberal” or “political” issues. As a result, some Christians have disengaged from this important conversation, and this breaks the heart of God. Racial healing is first and foremost a biblical value. This article from the Race & Christian Community team explores a Biblical theology of racial healing.

Though the word “racism” is not used in the Bible, the work of racial healing has always been a biblical value. Scripture tells the story of God reconciling all people to himself and one another. 

In this resource, we suggest a Biblically-grounded theology on Christ's redemptive work in the area of race relations. We explore how the Bible addresses issues related to race, the impact of racism, Jesus’ heart for the oppressed, and Biblical principles of reconciliation.

May you be inspired to pursue racial healing as an outworking of your faith.

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Healing Racial Trauma: Fresh Resources

Racial trauma awareness—by both people of color and white people—is critical to healing our racial wounds and racial divides. Sheila Wise Rowe’s newest book Healing Racial Trauma fills this crucial gap with an exploration of the reality and scope of racial trauma, along with interviews that honor real people’s paths toward resilience.

Healing Racial Trauma: Fresh Resources

We at the Race & Christian Community Initiative (RCCI) at EGC would like to draw your attention to an essential upcoming book, Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience, by Boston area Christian counselor, speaker, and author Sheila Wise Rowe.

Racial trauma awareness—by both people of color and white people—is critical to healing our racial wounds and racial divides. Sheila’s newest book fills this crucial gap with an exploration of the reality and scope of racial trauma, along with interviews that honor real people’s paths toward resilience.

Sheila is the executive director of The Rehoboth House, an international healing and reconciliation ministry that provides counseling, spiritual direction, art therapy, retreats, and life coaching in Greater Boston and Johannesburg, South Africa. Spanning these two racism-charged settings in her work has yielded vital insights into racial trauma. In her 2018 article “Healing from Race-Based Trauma,” she shared poignantly about her journey from South Africa back to the US, when she observed more deeply the extent and impacts of race-based traumatic stress in the US.

In June of this year, RCCI was honored to welcome Sheila to give a keynote address on racial trauma at the RCCI Community Gathering & Fundraiser. There she explained the cycle of racism-based traumatic stress that people of color accumulate and carry with them daily. She challenged white people seeking racial reconciliation to understand and acknowledge racial trauma.

Watch brief clips from the 2019 RCCI keynote address:

 

SPECIAL OFFER

Pre-order Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience HERE and get 30% off with promotion code: OFFER20W. Offer good only until Monday, January 6, 2020!

 
 

You’re also invited to join Sheila at the Book Launch Party on Saturday, January 11! RSVPs are appreciated!

 

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Churches Engaging Race Issues: Not Perfect but Taking Strides

White evangelicals are going deeper in racial justice, but still have much work to do. Three churches in the Boston area tell their stories.

Churches Engaging Race Issues: Not Perfect but Taking Strides

by Casey Lauren Johnson, Summer 2017 BETA Associate with Race & Christian Community

In March, 2017, Megan Lietz, Director of the new Race & Christian Community Initiative at EGC, released a call to action for White evangelicals to engage in issues of race. As we challenge White evangelicals to engage, we also want to celebrate those who are already doing so, and hold them up as an example for others. In this post we highlight the stories of three local congregations engaging in issues of race. We hope they will inspire you—and encourage you to action.

A Church Awakening to RACE ISSUES

River of Life Church, Boston, MA

There was a long, slow build of momentum as River of Life Church—a predominantly White congregation in Jamaica Plain—began to address the issue of not just racial diversity but racial equality. 

It started with the voice of one individual, Ellen Bass, who had been involved with racial reconciliation for some time and wanted to see her congregation join in. Not everyone was on board, but there was enough support within the senior leadership to get some momentum going.  

Their efforts began in earnest about two years ago with the formation of a Racial Equity Team. The team strategized about how best to address the issue of race within their congregation. They began with a four-week seminar series on issues of race for the entire congregation in place of worship services.  

A few months later, River of Life followed up with a training for their leadership. This culminated more recently with a church retreat, where race was one of the topics addressed.

One of the biggest challenges they faced was that people were at different places on their racial awareness journeys. Some people had no idea that racial inequality was still an issue, while others were actively involved in racial justice efforts.  

Emily and Rob Surratt, the leaders of the racial equity team, humbly admit they still have a lot to learn about racial reconciliation. While Rob had a deeper understanding of racial dynamics before taking leadership, Emily felt she didn’t know much, even as she volunteered to lead. In choosing to do so, she wasn’t confident in her own ability to engage issues of race, but was committed to learning more with the support of the community.

“[Emily] wasn’t confident in her own ability to engage issues of race, but was committed to learning more with the support of the community.”

River of Life knows that starting this conversation does not mean they have “arrived.” They want to encourage people by acknowledging that we all have work to do. We can all start where we are and make progress one step at a time.

Though the church views itself at the beginning of a sometimes frustrating and difficult process, they have high hopes for the future. They are eager to see what the Lord will do by his grace.

A Church Responding to Increasing Diversity

Grace Chapel, Multisite in Greater Boston

Grace Chapel—a multi-ethnic, multi-campus church—began addressing its increasingly diverse congregation in 1995. They started with efforts which simply celebrated the diverse expressions of culture within the congregation through luncheons they called the Grace International Fellowship. 

Over the course of years, their efforts grew to include ESOL classes, an International Student Ministry Team, and a Cultural and Urban Awareness Weekend. These ministries not only serve the diverse population within their midst, but also help the rest of the congregation learn from diverse perspectives among them.  

From these efforts, a Multicultural Initiative was created. Goals include recruiting diverse leadership, facilitating healthy multicultural relationships, creating a visible multicultural environment, and a commitment to ongoing education in these areas.  

Grace Chapel recognizes this process as a “marathon and not a sprint.” Creating and committing to these goals has been at times frustratingly slow, but ultimately rewarding.  

Grace Chapel's progress on multicultural issues has continued through a consulting engagement with the Interaction Institute for Social Change. They helped the church not only diversify its leadership, but create systems where people of color and people of non-majority cultures have a space at the table where they can share their voice.  

“Grace Chapel recognizes this process as a “marathon and not a sprint.””

Dana Baker, the Pastor of Social Justice and Multicultural Ministry, celebrates the fact that Grace Chapel has now successfully planted a campus with no majority culture—a distinct accomplishment for churches who wish to reflect the diversity present in the Body of Christ within their congregations. 

Joelinda Johnson, who grew up in the congregation and has served on staff at Grace Chapel, says the church became a completely different place during the years she was away at college from 2007-2012. She saw her church go from having a “pocket of diversity” to having people of color in several areas of leadership. She comments, however, while there are a larger number of people of color serving in lay leadership, there is still a ways to go in hiring staff staff of color. 

Grace Chapel is glad for the work God has done and excited for what he will continue to do as they seek to serve the racially diverse communities of Greater Boston. 

Churches Forming Friendships Across Racial Lines

North River Community Church, Pembroke, MA & People’s Baptist Church, Boston, MA

For pastors Rev. Dr. Wesley Roberts of People’s Baptist Church (a historically Black congregation) and Paul Atwater of North River Community Church (a predominantly White congregation), racial difference was a reality, but not a motivating factor for their relationship. 

An informal connection between the two leaders, while serving on the Congress Committee for Vision New England in 2005, grew into a fruitful “Urban-Suburban Partnership.” They didn’t begin with racial reconciliation in mind—and yet they’ve developed the type of healthy, cross-racial partnership for which many people strive.  

Rather than focusing on their differences, the pastors built their relationship on common ground. They connected over shared theology and values. They united in their shared goal to bring the gospel first to the city then to the ends of the earth. 

In 2010, that goal began to be realized through their congregations teaming up to serve schools in Roxbury. This partnership allowed their congregants unique opportunities to serve the city of Boston while developing friendships across racial lines. 

Both congregations have been able to develop a deep appreciation not only for the strengths, but also for the differences between their congregations. In fact, recognizing and addressing their different approaches to congregational leadership was an integral step in developing their partnership. 

The pastors admit they didn’t know just what they were getting into when their partnership began. But they and their congregations have been mutually blessed. Rev. Dr. Roberts and Pastor Atwater hope to see more partnerships between urban and suburban churches, which they believe can happen when pastors simply get to know and appreciate one another.

LEADER TIP

For church leaders looking to develop relationships with leaders from other churches, Kelly Steinhaus of UniteBoston recommends choosing a leader from another church in the same geographical area as yours. You’ll have common ground (literally) as you reach across a dividing line or two and share your common love for Jesus and your city.

“The pastors built their relationship on common ground.”

One of the most rewarding parts of their relationship has been the realization that friendships created between the two congregations will far outlast any formal partnership. These congregations serve as examples of God meeting people where they are and performing the work of reconciliation in hearts and minds. 

 

TAKE ACTION

 
Casey Lauren Johnson.jpg

Casey Johnson is pursuing a Master of Arts in Religion at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, and served as a summer 2017 EGC Intern with the Race and Christian Community Initiative.  She first became interested in racial reconciliation efforts as a result of missions in Tijuana, Mexico, and service at an urban youth organization through the AmeriCorps.  As a White evangelical, she wants to use the unique cross-racial opportunities and relationships she has experienced to help others engage issues of race in meaningful ways.  

 

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Reflections on Charlottesville

As a community of Christians who are grieved by the violence in Charlottesville, VA, and what it represents, the Emmanuel Gospel Center humbly offers some reflections in service to the Church and communities of Boston.

Reflections on Charlottesville

Lead Editor Liza Cagua-Koo, Assistant Director of EGC, with contributions from the EGC Team

As a community of Christians who are grieved by the violence in Charlottesville, VA, and what it represents, the Emmanuel Gospel Center humbly offers some reflections in service to the Church and communities of Boston—the city we love, where God has called us to minister.

We urge our brothers and sisters in Christ to denounce the evil of White supremacy (in all its forms) and affirm that all people are created in the image of God. Indeed, it is our hope that all Bostonians regardless of faith will affirm the dignity and value of every person.

Our Lament

We lament the violence and loss of life in Charlottesville, as well as the larger social situation that allowed such a tragedy to arise.

We lament the fear, personal trials, social conditioning, and isolation that leads some to participate in these public expressions of hatred.

We lament the ways these destructive behaviors hurt most Americans—of every background—as they can encourage more private and public expressions of bigotry, ethnocentrism, and the tendency to hoard resources and opportunities out of fear for the well-being of oneself or one's group.

We lament our country’s long and painful history of prioritizing the welfare of one group over another. We long for this legacy to be increasingly less evident so that we might each stand as equals, not just before God, but before police officers, mortgage brokers, and others in positions that can promote or stifle justice for entire communities.

Our Prayers

We pray for each family—in Charlottesville and beyond—that has experienced the pain of racism, whether acutely through a white supremacy rally or in their daily barriers to opportunity. We ask God for healing, resilience, and courage to continue forward in hope, love, and action.

We pray for those who have been deluded by the lie of White supremacy, and especially those who would say they are followers of Jesus. We pray that Jesus would speak to them by his Spirit and through his Body, the Church. May they in Christ experience freedom from lies they believe about themselves and others, the country, and the world. May they by the Holy Spirit see the choices they can yet make to love others as they love themselves.

We have all these same prayers for ourselves. We ask for God's guidance in the choices we will all make in the future to make another Charlottesville less likely.

Our Calling

Indeed what remains now, what has always remained—even if Charlottesville had never occurred—is our daily calling as Christians, individually and corporately, to relate across lines. We have the privilege and calling to offer a redemptive response to pain, fear, violence, and injustice.

The Church has incomparable resources—in God’s Word, the richness of our faith traditions, and the fullness of God’s Spirit—to bear His love and healing presence. If any community has the shared resources to respond to fear with hope, to injustice with change, to hatred with love, it's the Body of Christ.

Let's commit to go beyond our isolated silos of self-protection or short-sighted action. Let's seek God’s wisdom together, and contribute to Christ's restorative work, all by his grace, in step with his Spirit, and in his name. 

ABOUT THE LEad Editor

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Jesus captured Liza's heart while at Harvard, and after several years in the private sector leading technology initiatives, she joined urban ministry startup TechMission in 2002. There she launched tech programs and co-directed a youthworker program, all in partnership with local churches. In 2006, Liza joined EGC as senior program director, and has served as assistant director since 2010. A member of Neighborhood Church of Dorchester, Liza learns about growing up in Jesus from being mamá to Jacob & Camila, spouse to Daniel, and daughter to one of the world’s best abuelitas.

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Reconciliation in Troubled Times

Our country is deeply divided. What part can we play in healing the nation's racial wounds? And where do we start? 

By Rev. Dr. Dean Borgman and Megan Lietz, STM

 Includes excerpts from “Reconciliation in Troubled Times”, the inaugural Dean Borgman Lectureship in Practical Theology, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, March 20, 2017. 

Megan Lietz is Director of Race & Christian Community at EGC. Her ministry focus is to help white evangelicals engage respectfully and responsibly in issues of race and racism.

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Our society is deeply divided. These divisions can be found in our national, communal, and church life. From polarization between political parties to disagreements in our response to immigrants and refugees, these divisions are rooted in a fear and distrust of people different from ourselves.

These divisions are not recent phenomena. Rather, they are shaped by our history. How we see ourselves and others, and how we choose to interact with the world around us is colored by what has come before. Unfortunately, much of the division and inequality that has tainted our history was reinforced by faulty anthropologies, psychologies, and theologies that are still with us today in various forms.

We all have a part to play, and the Church should be responding.

Christians today, black or white, wealthy or poor, new or old to this country, must be concerned—be distressed—over our divisions and the inability of our system of economics and government to provide adequate remediation and relief to the suffering.

The God who freed the Hebrews and the American slaves, and who brought relief to the segregated and oppressed under Jim Crow—that God will hear the united cries of American Christians, should we humbly pray for justice. 

In the News: Boston Faith Leaders Responding to Charlottesville Violence

Begin with Lament

Lament is a biblical practice, where we acknowledge that things are not right—in the world, nation, community or church—and where we embrace our role and responsibility in it. Lament comes not out of a spirit of complaint. Rather, it invites God into the situation so healing and justice can occur.

For example, laments and confessions came from Moses, Daniel, Nehemiah and other prophets, and Christ on the Cross—for sins they didn’t individually commit. They were earnest, prayers of systemic confession.

Furthermore, of the 150 Psalms, the majority are Psalms of Lament. They provide us examples  and guides for the expression of our desire for social, political and church reconciliation.

Biblically, lament is often coupled with confession of how we have contributed to the problem at hand. When Nehemiah is lamenting over the broken walls and associated disgrace that had come upon Jerusalem, he first makes a confession:

LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments… I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you... (Nehemiah 1: 5-7a, NIV)

Nehemiah was not born in the land where such injustice was taking place. He had never participated in the sins he was confessing. But he still confessed the sins of his people and lamented over them, even though he wasn't personally responsible.

We must reflect, lament, and confess today, whether or not we feel personally responsible. We all have a part to play, and we can all go before God to change ourselves and affect healing in our land.

Choose to be Reconcilers

After we lament the division around us, churches must make a choice to engage the division in our midst. Such work is not something that people enter into casually. Rather, it requires intentionality and effort.

Any church or group must first decide that they are committed to biblical social reconciliation. They should be committed to giving this important challenge some time and thought.

Study the Realities and Positive Examples

It's important that we learn more about the division around us and how to be agents of reconciliation. We could begin with understanding the biblical notion of reconciliation, centered on God's reconciling work in Jesus Christ. But we must also gain understanding of sociological, psychological, historical, and theological realities.

Consider the examples of Black churches under slavery, during Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement and continued discrimination. Their spirituals, their persistent prayers, and their courageous demonstrations invited collaboration, and slowly produced some measure of social justice. They provide countless examples of how to be agents of reconciliation in a broken and divided world.

We must also seek to understand the perspective of those today who are different from us—this is especially true for white evangelicals. It is very important that we invite the 'others' into conversation, and give them a chance to voice their own stories and hurts.

We can also learn from local organizations. Some of EGC's partners doing reconciliation work include:

Unite Boston

Unite Boston

Collaborate Across Lines

As we listen, we must also work together with people across dividing lines. We must reach across the chasm of differences and choose some shared Kingdom priorities in which we can invest. As we collaborate with "the other," healing takes place. As we engage with the other, we get glimpses of the coming Kingdom of God.

“It is very important that we invite the ‘others’ who are different from us into conversation, and give them a chance to voice their own stories and hurts.”

Imagine how you might be able to come together with others around shared kingdom values:

  • spending time with those outside our fortunate situations

  • hearing the stories of those who have been freed from oppression or rejuvenated, experiencing the hope of the seemingly hopeless

  • hearing the deep cries and music of the oppressed

  • seeing victims become survivors and then confident leaders

These are the “now-but-not-yet” experiences of God’s coming Kingdom. When we share mutual love, respect, and inspiration with those who because of our privilege have so much less, we experience something of God’s beloved community—a community of hope.

TAKE ACTION

STOP. REFLECT. PRAY.

  • What does our city need from its churches?

  • How might churches collaborate in bringing peace and welfare to the city?

  • How can seminary educators collaborate with other serving and training organizations working for shalom—the peace and welfare of our city?

 

JOIN With A REFLECTION/ACTION GROUP

Are you a white evangelical who wants to join with others in a journey of respectful and responsible conversation and engagement of race and racism issues? 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

 

WHAT DID YOU THINK?

 
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