Getting Proximate to Our Neighbors in Boston

Andrew Jones

Food prep for Miracle Mile ministry

The Justice & Mercy Team (JMT) at Church of the Cross exists to cultivate love for the aspects of God’s character that display justice and mercy. We seek to build a communal commitment to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). I was drawn to serve on the JMT because life has taught me that my faith is flat when I’m not giving sacrificially to people around me, and especially brothers and sisters who are suffering and on the margins of society. 

On average, I’m selfish with my time and energy, far more concerned about my own comfort and pleasure than anyone else’s. Moreover, getting close to neighbors experiencing loneliness, pain, and hardship is not easy. Being face to face with people I otherwise tend to avoid stretches me. Yet when I give up a Saturday morning to serve at Miracle Mile’s community breakfast, I’m always amazed by how God breaks into my life in human form. Welcoming our hungry, sick, unhoused, and financially vulnerable neighbors in for a hot meal, fellowship, and a time of worship as a loving community of Jesus followers is such a beautiful experience. I think we all find Jesus there in a much more tangible, three dimensional way. In fact, scripture teaches us that Jesus is not only standing with the marginalized, but actively identifies as them (Matthew 25:35-40). 

Brian Stevenson, author of Just Mercy and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, refers to this as getting proximate. To quote Stevenson:

“[I]n poor communities all across the world, in places where there is suffering, and places where people have been marginalized in jails and prisons, and places where people have been oppressed and pushed down, there are still songs being sung. When you get proximate, you hear the songs. And those melodies in those songs will empower you, they will inspire you, and they will teach you what doing justice and loving mercy is all about. That is why I’m urging you — all of you — to find ways to get closer to the poor and the excluded, the marginalized and the neglected, and to go with an open heart and listen for the songs.” (excerpt from a 2024 lecture at the University of Notre Dame)

While the experience is different every time, I always leave Miracle Mile community breakfasts inspired, having learned something new about our city and about our neighbors, and having deepened my faith. If you’re interested in serving our city through one of our Justice & Mercy prison or homelessness ministries, you can find out more on the CotC website. Get proximate - you won’t regret it!

Andrew Jones is the lay leader for the JMT and lives in Back Bay with his wife, Christine. They've been attending Church of the Cross since the fall of 2022.

An Invitation to Commune with the Lord at His Table: The Journey of An Artist

Liz Larson

Imagine with me for a moment – you take the T to work and need to walk a few blocks to and from your stop. Everyday on your walk home you pass by a world-renowned restaurant with an award winning, famous chef – reservations are impossible to get, booked out years in advance. And even if you, by some miracle, could get a reservation, you’d never be able to afford a meal there. But even still, you walk by every day and you stop to glance at the menu for that evening, just to catch a glimpse of the exceptional food that they are serving each day. This particular day, you linger for a moment because the menu happens to be some of your favorite foods; you take in the moment as wafts of some of the delicious smells emerge from the building, while you imagine how these dishes are prepared. 

Just then you’re interrupted by a friendly shout catching your attention, and notice – is it true? It’s the chef! The chef approaches you and says, “I’ve seen you walk by here and look at the menu every day. Today, no one showed up for their reservations. I want you to come in and dine here, no cost – it’s on me.”

The arts ministry invited its fellow makers to create and share something inspired by the parables of Jesus. Having participated in the Sermon on the Mount Art Share, I knew I wanted to contribute another song with my husband Kris (a great pianist and song-writer). However, I already had a song beginning to take shape as a result of our Lenten sermon series and the Vigil, inspired by the Table. I had been meditating on Isaiah 55:1-2 (“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.”). During Lent when we gave up additional noise, melodies started coming to me and I awkwardly recorded them as voice memos. As I stitched the bits of melody together, I continued to pull the thread of the Table and the Feast. The Word was coming alive to me, with images of a feast jumping out to me:

• Psalm 23:5 – You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

• Song of Solomon 2:4 – He brought me to the banqueting house, And his banner over me was love. 

• Revelation 22:17 – The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let everyone who hears say, “Come.” And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. 

Then I read this parable to Faye (our daughter) from her children’s Bible – Luke 14:15-24 – the parable of the feast where those invited didn’t show up so the host says “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” and the slave says there’s more room, so the host replies, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and COMPEL people to come in, so that my house may be filled.” – which inspired my preamble as a way to enter into imagining this feast as an invitation to delight in the richness of the Kingdom of God. This image has brought me great comfort and is shaping me in how I relate to Jesus. 

Here are the lyrics of the song (melody and lyrics by me, chords and accompaniment by Kris):

Verse 1
Come, everyone who thirsts to the table of the Lord
And come, you who have no money to the table of the Lord

Pre-chorus
Why spend all your earnings on what does not satisfy?
Jesus has a feast inviting us to freely dine

Chorus
At the table of the Lord there’s communion, there is peace
Bread and wine, living water, you will never thirst again
At the table of the Lord Jesus begs you to partake
And delight in the abundance of an everlasting feast
At the table of the Lord

Verse 2
Come, you who are alone to the table of the Lord
Come, here’s where you belong – at the table of the Lord

Pre-chorus
Boldly take a seat your empty hands are just enough
Jesus hangs a banner claiming you are his beloved

Chorus

Bridge (2x)
The spirit and the Bride say “come”
Let everyone who hears say, “come”
Let everyone who’s thirsty come
And freely drink the water of life

Chorus

The invitation to co-create with God has been a rich source of discipleship and a pathway into deeper communion with God. This particular piece felt truly inspired, as God guided and directed me through practices of silence, discomfort, risk, and His Word. I am grateful for how the Arts Ministry at Church of the Cross continues to model and invite artists to use creativity to be formed into the likeness of Jesus and reflect the ultimate Creator.

Liz Larson is a Special Education Teacher for Somerville Public Schools who also happens to be a classically trained operatic soprano and musical theater enthusiast. She lives in Stoneham with husband Kris and daughter Faye, where they make music and host dinner parties as much as possible.

A Small Token of a Big Truth

Daniel Bondeson

I love the work that I do. As a scientist, I peer into the unseen world of how our bodies and their trillions of cells wondrously function. This delightful adventure sometimes culminates in new discoveries that my team gets to share with the world. At its best, the lab is a place of worship, but I often find myself falling into one of two traps.

The first is the Babel trap, which is me looking to my work for an identity and security that it was never meant to provide. I’m tempted to use my work for my own fame. It’s a convention of modern science that my team is called "The Bondeson Lab", which is an honor, but one that can quickly swell my pride.

And the second is the Hevel trap, when I fall into despair that my work is irredeemably futile and that any attempt at progress is truly ''herding the wind.'' I have been called into the careful observation of God’s world, but progress on this path is often arduous and full of dead ends. 

So how do I avoid these two traps and return to a place of worship? 

On Sunday mornings, we have the opportunity to pick up a small wooden token on our way into the sanctuary and drop it into the offering basket. The token is a tangible representation of all that we bring to the altar: the joys, successes, hurts, sins, and failures of our lives.

I've gotten into the habit of carrying a token in my pocket throughout the week. And I've found that when I'm vacillating between Babel and Hevel, the simple message on the token can dramatically change my heart:

"Of your own have we given you."

The lab, the budget, and the discoveries are all His, given to me to steward and invest for His kingdom. They were never mine to begin with. 

But what about the rejected grants, failed experiments, and hard interactions with colleagues? The token reminds me that He is at work in the midst of these disappointments too. He can use even failure and frustration to form me, and He empowers me to walk as an ambassador for Christ. 

Then, on Sunday morning, I bring the week’s token and drop it into the offering basket. There, it joins all of yours in the collective offering of the people of God. The basket is full of the hopes, joys, and disappointments of the past week, even our Babel-building. As we watch the basket carried to the front, prayed over, and placed on the altar, we know that our good Father has seen every effort we’ve made and receives it all. He forgives what needs to be forgiven and delights in what He Himself has given. These small tokens are covered in grace and somehow caught up into Christ's own offering.

No matter what we bring, there is a feast waiting for us.

Daniel Bondeson is an Assistant Professor at UMass Chan Medical School. He and his wife Gentley have attended CotC since 2023.

Learning to Pause: College Ministry in Boston

Charlotte McNamee

I really wasn’t sure what to expect as I hauled a bucket of acrylic paint, mini canvases, and a few bottles of water across Boston College’s campus. I weaved through the masses of students bustling to their next class as a few stared at the huffing and puffing woman with rattling paintbrushes. It was a beautiful day which made the walkways particularly impenetrable with people.

Today was our very first “Sabbath Hour,” an initiative that Garrett and I introduced to our college students at BC this semester. The idea is simple. Create a space, just one hour a week, to give students the opportunity to take a break in the middle of their overcrowded weeks.

While Garrett has been serving faithfully on BC’s campus for the past three years, I am brand new to college ministry as of this summer. I prayed in anticipation of this school year for insight from the Lord regarding how He would like to speak into the lives of our students. Thinking back to my own time as a college student, I remember drowning in homework, social obligations, and club commitments with little to no margin. What would it have looked like to have cultivated a biblical imagination for rest during such an important yet busy season of life?

Our hope and our prayer with Sabbath Hour is, rather than being one more meeting to squeeze into students schedules, to simply be an open and consistent space to pause. Unsure of how many students would be interested in taking a pause, I planned for a simple Lectio Divina prayer and a creative response, prepared for the possibility of the afternoon turning into a personal solitude practice.

Arriving at an opening on the quad, I put down the paint, laid out a blanket, and waited. One of our student leaders arrived and, upon seeing the paint supplies, quickly informed me, “I just want you to know that I can’t paint.” I told him, “No worries, it doesn’t matter what it looks like, it’s about the practice of responding to God.”

I led a Lectio Divina prayer with our little four-person group on Matthew 6:24–36; “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25 NIV). After our meditation on God’s Word, we transitioned our creative response. As we squeezed out paint, wet our brushes, and swiped across our canvases, we each reflected on what we heard from God. Images start to take shape amidst our conversation. The sense of stress melting off our bodies and our breath steadying was palpable. I glanced up at our confessed non-painter to find a stunning landscape of a campfire in his hands. He smiled, “I guess I can paint.”

To learn more about how you can support college ministry at Church of the Cross, contact Garrett Rice at garrett@cotcboston.org

Charlotte McNamee has been attending Church of the Cross for two years and lives in Brighton right next to Boston College. She serves college students in the Boston area as part-time campus ministry staff with CCO.

Bearing One Another's Burdens with the Benevolence Fund

Linda Jackson

Galatians 6:2 by Jen Norton

Imagine unexpectedly being laid off, searching for work, living off your savings, and being uncertain how you will pay next month’s rent. Or put yourself in the place of Rita (name changed), who had health insurance through her grad school,but after a medical incident she was sent for a test with a surprise deductible of $2000, which she was unable to pay.  The stress of worrying about this was taking its toll on her work.

In situations like this the Benevolence Fund Committee of CotC prayerfully administers funds generously given by the congregation. We are grateful for this opportunity and guided by Scripture, as well as by insights you share with us.  We find joy in providing immediate practical help in some areas, while feeling the burden of many problems we cannot fix. Our focus is on church members and attenders, as well as individuals referred by them and by the Justice & Mercy team.

These are all cases we have grappled with:

(Stories shared with permission from those in our community. Names and some details have been changed.)

• Mark came to faith while serving time; now released and walking with Jesus, he needed help with a T pass and with professional attire to continue applying for jobs.

• Amanda, a grad student, has been attending a Christian fellowship with a CotC member.  A sudden business shutdown put her mother temporarily out of work and unable to assist her with her next rent payment. 

• A mental health professional at a Boston medical facility requested funds for supplies for patients who are going through grief, adjusting to a new illness, suffering abuse, and lacking social support. Items such as journals, crayons, colored pencils, markers, journals, teddy bears, fidget toys were purchased through the fund.. She shared with our team, “…these items have been a gift to my colleagues and patients, they are a connection point to conversation or one of the few bright spots to their day.”

• A believer moved to Boston to be with a sibling so she can obtain specialized medical care.  She needed a little stopgap assistance for daily expenses while she adjusted.

• Juan had to cut down hours at work so he could care for his sick wife and their two children.  After praying together for his family with the CotC Benevolence Team, a member of the prayer team offered to assist Juan in applying for family medical leave, which could provide weeks of assistance to the family. 

We are thankful to be able to follow these scriptures which guide our committee:  

Galatians 6:10 – “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

1 John 3:18 – “Let us not love with words or speech, but with actions and in truth” 

Galatians 6:2 – “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

Learn more about the benevolence fund, including how to request assistance, and how to give into the fund, here.

Connecting to God and one another at the Parish Retreat

Natalie Reed

Almost a year later and I still remember details about my first Parish Retreat that I attended in the fall of 2025. Many points of connection come back to my thoughts.

Each person was prayerfully placed into small groups to reflect on the content of the day, on the Scripture, and to share our stories, more precisely: to touch each other’s lives. After some time all together in worship and listening to the Word, I was able to listen and process alone with God in the sunshine at the park. We had a couple sessions of small groups where we were able to listen deeply to each other, reflect back to each other, ask questions, and hold each other’s stories for a few minutes. I find that the more time you spend with someone (slowing down and hearing stories), the more you appreciate and care for the person. 

Another point of connection was around food. I enjoy round tables - the ones that gather a handful of people comfortably but can always squish in more people. Those are the ones that when you squish in, you feel wanted and loved. We squished in and heard more parts of different people’s stories at lunch. 

Hearing from a panel of congregational members was a highlight. I really appreciated the vulnerability of someone speaking of the recognition of the sin of pride in their life. (Oh God, help me to see it in myself!) God has used that word and called it out in me this year. I’m thankful for people being real with each other so that we can see that we are not alone. We all struggle. Shining a light on our sin makes the enemy run and brings God’s people together in prayer and support.

What a time of connection to the Lord and to each other. It was an opportunity that, as I reflect, energizes me to go back again. God speaks when we listen. Lord, let me always be listening for you.

Natalie Reed, wife to Joe, mother to Ezra (20), Keziah (18), and Malachi (16) recently finished her homeschooling career and is currently pouring into those that she sees need it the most including people experiencing incarceration and homelessness.

Why Confirmation? A Confirmand's Perspective

Luke Litz

This Sunday, Church of the Cross will have our annual episcopal visit (visit by the bishop). As part of the liturgy for that Sunday, several members of our community will be confirmed and have the bishop’s hands laid upon them. For those of us who come from high-church traditions (think Catholic or Lutheran, for example), confirmation is a rite with which we may be familiar. Others of us may have a background more similar to my own: I grew up in low-church traditions that did not practice confirmation. As a matter of fact, I never even heard of confirmation while I was in these churches.

After coming to CotC and getting introduced to the Anglican Way, I began to ask questions about what it means to be a member of the church. I took the Foundations class here at the church and I became quite interested in catechesis as an entryway into the Church. It was also during this time that I began to learn more about confirmation for the first time.

Confirmation arose from the ancient apostolic practice of the laying on of hands. Scripture provides several examples: Paul references laying his hands on Timothy (2 Timothy 1:6), Peter and John lay their hands on recently baptized converts so that they would be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15-17). Following these examples, the Church adopted the practice of receiving the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. 

As I considered the history of confirmation, I came to a realization about my own story: although I had been raised in the Church and baptized in high school, I had never experienced a moment where an elder in the church laid hands on me and prayed for me to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, I desire to be confirmed because I want to experience more of the Holy Spirit in my life. I want to participate in this apostolic practice and publicly declare my faith in Christ as a member of this community. 

Please be praying for all of our confirmands, including myself, as we prepare to participate in this important step in the life of the church!

Luke Litz is a member of Church of the Cross who is getting confirmed this year. He lives with his wife, Ally, and daughter, Lena, in West Roxbury.

Food Ministry with Hope Fellowship

Jessie Anderson

Scoop into a take-out container, press the lid tight, stack inside the insulated bag to keep warm until people arrive. The earlier 1:30-3:30 cooking team heads out. Chat with other volunteers about which church they are from, their story of a recent return to faith, share jokes. Prep extra coffee for the guests (it’s everyone’s favorite). Set cutlery, salad dressing, baggies at the kitchen window. At 4:00pm the doors will open at Hope Fellowship’s weekly Sunday afternoon Drop-in Ministry, aimed to love our neighbors experiencing food insecurity and homelessness by meeting some physical, relational, and spiritual needs.

“What do you have today?” “Barbeque chicken, broccoli, and mashed potatoes!” “I’ll take two… yup, two waters, but just one salad and one cookie.” “You got it! We’re glad you came here - and go Celtics!” (They glance at their jersey, and reciprocate my high five with a smile.) A quick interaction; there’ll be about 50 guests. Volunteers promptly find their role accommodating both kitchen efficiency and relational guest engagement. The packaged food supply runs low: one of the window volunteers deftly swings back to join the prep team. A guest asks for toothpaste or clothing: the lead person steps out to supply and document it. And as folks wait in line they are individually invited to share prayer requests. Later, after guests have all left, the volunteers will pray over each written name and request. 

The line is trickling to a halt and I take a deep breath. Well, dishes are already being cleaned so I’ll wander out and join the guests. Ah, there’s the two older gentlemen who I’ve chatted with before! They allow me to join, and once again I learn from their knowledge and experiences. I can’t quite keep up with all that they know, but they invite me in regardless to hear their stories. There’s shared joy upon discovering that we grew up in similar parts of the country, and then in a moment of awe I learn they have been friends (or frenemies when stealing each other’s dates) since childhood! It strikes me now that, in this space designed to serve as Jesus did in a tangible way, I get to witness how Jesus has served these two men in the deep intangible gift of lifelong friendship - a gift that has stood the test of time, across split geography and changing circumstances. Isn’t this kind of steady companionship truly what we all desire?

I am grateful to be welcomed to serve in this ministry; to be a part of the shattering of invisible barriers, where we get to share the same space and time and conversation. Those simple movements of the ministry - organizational, relational, preparatory - become Kingdom moments. 

If you’d like more info about the Drop-In ministry, which CotC partners with as a Justice and Mercy initiative, you can email foodjustice@cotcboston.org.

Jessie Anderson lives in Cambridge with three other women of faith. She just finished her PhD and will start working at iMotions shortly.

A New Space for Seeking: Camp Booyah 2026

Anna Burden

The first Northeast Camp Booyah created momentum for youth groups across our region! The thirty youth who attended this year, including five from CotC, did so not knowing what to expect. Two of these students were brand new to our group, one of whom is a friend who doesn’t attend CotC.

On the final night of Booyah, during a Eucharist service, Deacon Heather processed the Gospel to the middle of the room and started reading Matthew 6:25-34. Unlike other services, at this one, youth and leaders started reciting the passage with her. Some were stumbling over the words; others had the entire passage memorized. The whole week focused on this passage–it was preached on every day, turned into a picture puzzle for a game, and reflected on during solo time.

Many parts of this service felt familiar for the youth, but this time there was an overwhelming sense that it was for them. Not only this moment, but all of camp showed that the Church is for them. From this place of belonging, youth considered what it would mean to trust God with their anxieties and their longings for more and to seek His Kingdom first.

“Let us go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit!” came the dismissal, and rejoice we did! Youth and leaders sang, danced, and performed skits in a talent show. Liddie and her friend recreated theme skits from the week about characters named Baby Babet and Betty Babet. “Babet” had become an unofficial greeting throughout camp, including at the passing of the peace during the final service.

So far, Booyah has definitely been my favorite part of my summer. I love being with other churches and of course being with my own. Spending time with Addi was so much fun and we grew so close to each other and in Christ. My favorite part of camp has to have been playing the games or playing 9 square. BABET ~ Liddie

Applause from the talent show died down, and music for a dance party started up! The floor was nearly shaking as every middle- and high-school student joined the party. The energy in the room around new friendships and inside jokes was a tangible reminder of God’s presence. This week wasn’t about games and skits; it was about belonging with God’s people.

At the very end of the night, as everyone was getting ready for bed, we named what was already clear from the week: the girl who was brought as a friend, knowing no one else, has been adopted into Church of the Cross.

Anna Burden is the Director of Youth Ministry at Church of the Cross and lives in Quincy with her family.