Tag Archives: interfaith

Faith Communities in the Historic West End

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June 10, 2025

On our June 8th Chapel Camp tour of the Vilna Shul, we learned that the synagogue purchased the building occupied by the Twelfth Street Baptist Church in 1906. The Twelfth Street pews were kept at the site, 43-47 Phillips Street, and were used by the synagogue until 1919 when they moved to 18 Phillips Street. Services are still held once monthly and on the High Holydays and the building is now a center for Jewish Culture.

Twelfth Street Baptist Church was known as “The Fugitive Slave Church” — many of its congregants were abolitionists and self-emancipated slaves, Lewis and Harriet Hayden and Anthony Burns among them. The Reverend Edward Grimes, pastor from 1848 to 1874, led the congregation with vibrant advocacy and energetic activism. The church grew steadily, mobilized by Grimes to raise funds for those who sought freedom. A notable celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation was held January 1863. Frederick Douglasss attended and wrote glowingly about the event.

For more about the history of these communities of faith, see the West End Museum site: The Vilna Shul and Twelfth Street Baptist Church.

–Mary Beth Clack, Mary Blocher, Cindy Coldren, Pat Krol, Liz Levin

 

“Open Circle: Jewish and Christian Thought and Practice”

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May 27, 2024

A wonderful series of talks,“Jewish and Christian Thought and Practice: Face to Face and Side by Side,” was offered last fall and winter. Sponsored by Hebrew College Open Circle Learning and hosted by Rabbi Michael Shire of Central Reform Temple, the series explored several topics with Christian faith leaders in the Boston area. Session 6 was devoted to reparations. Rabbi Michael Shire introduced the session and moderated the question-and-answer segment. Our Reverend Pam Werntz was also a speaker.

Rabbi Michael explained the difference between two temple offerings in Jewish teaching and practice. The “hatat,” a sin offering, is made by individuals for damage to other individuals. The “asham,” a specific offering, is given when wrong has been done to others and the harm is done to a people. Asham is “more of a national shame that comes upon us by what we have done or not done.” Rabbi Michael’s remarks included salient examples from the Hebrew Bible about the need for both kinds of repair.

Reverend Pam spoke first about personal reparations (her 2023 sabbatical was devoted to discovering the story of her ancestors and their connection to enslavement in Maryland). Pam then focused on Christian notions of reparations, and specific Episcopalian notions and practices of reparations. She gave examples of Church rituals, prayers, and teachings (the “Great Commandment” and scriptural writings in the Second Testament). We seek and serve the spirit of redemption in all persons and we also pray for restoration and social justice, which is a moral obligation for Episcopalians. Pam’s remarks highlighted the importance of learning that repairing and restoring relationships is work related to justice. Lastly, she spoke about the need to engage in material reparations as part of Emmanuel Church’s commitment to the work in all its forms. Continue reading →

If You Want to Hear the Truth

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Advent 1B, 3 December 2023. The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Isaiah 64:1-9. O that you would tear open the heavens and come down….We are your people.
  • 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. So that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Mark 13:24-37. Keep awake.

O God of repentance, repair, and reconciliation, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.

Hello! Happy Advent! Happy Churchy New Year! I’m so glad to be back with you after four months of time away.  I’m eager to hear about how you’ve changed and grown while we’ve been apart.  I hope you’ll find a time to talk with me so we can catch up; or if you’re new to Emmanuel, so that we can get to know one another. I have stories to tell you about my adventures learning about my Maryland ancestors and my Civil Rights pilgrimage with my wife Joy across the deep South – from Louisiana to Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. I’ve been learning about and reflecting more deeply on my family’s relationship with racial oppression, my Church’s (big C) relationship with racial oppression, and my government’s relationship with racial oppression. Along the way, I’ve been building new relationships with folks who are engaging in racial reckoning by learning and practicing restorative and reparative justice in meaningful and sustainable ways. My heart is full of gratitude for Emmanuel Church’s gift to me of time away for rest and restoration, and for education and inspiration. Continue reading →

Martin Luther King and Prophecy

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“As a young man, with most of my life ahead of me, I decided early to give myself to something eternal and absolute. Not to those little gods that are here today and gone tomorrow. But to God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
–Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., chapter 4

As commemorations for Martin Luther King, Jr. take place in various venues this month, we reflect on his prophetic voice, prompted by Pam’s sermon on the Second Sunday after the Epiphany. Pam spoke about the work of “connecting the dots” in scripture and sacred stories. By listening closely to the messengers of God who link the human and the divine, we deepen our understanding of these narratives–these “pieces of the fabric of community.” Continue reading →

Meditation on Gaudete Sunday

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In this week’s sermon on the meaning of Gaudete (rejoice) Sunday, Pam encouraged us to eschew despair in times when our hearts are understandably heavy. As we enter into the week before Christmas, she suggested that we look for small instances of joy, in which we find evidence love’s power to redeem.

Howard Thurman, author, minister, civil-rights leader, and educator, inspired many civil-rights advocates in his time and ours. It is said that his well-known work Jesus and the Disinherited was deeply influential on Martin Luther King’s thought and preaching, and that MLK carried a well-worn copy of it during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas invokes Thurman when she speaks about going beyond charity to engage in changing the conditions that allow inequality and injustice to prevail. Continue reading →

Resurrection is art and protest.

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Easter 4A, 30 April 2023. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Acts 2:42-47.  Awe came upon everyone.
  • 1 Peter 2:19-25. So that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness.
  • John 10:1-10.  I came that they…

O God of abundant life, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may and cost what it will.

We are nearly halfway through the fifty days of Easter. Have you been looking for the art of resurrection? Have you seen any signs? I think of Ralph Ellison, who wrote, “I recognize no dichotomy between art and protest.” [1] Looking for the art of resurrection seems like a form of protest to me. The art of figuring out how to turn sorrow into joy seems like a form of peaceful protest! That is the work that speaks to Jesus’ primary teaching, which was about answering the question, “Is there life before death?” If the answer to that question is, “Yes,” how do we access its abundance? Abundant life for all is Jesus’ stated mission in the Gospel of John, in the portion we have before us, which reminds us that in the shadow of the cross, a most painful and humiliating death, we are not to forget the promise of God with us: Emmanuel. Continue reading →

Interfaith Honoring of Earth Cycles

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Is it Lent or Pisces season? While it may not seem like it from the sudden dip in temperature, spring is officially around the corner. March 21st marks the spring equinox, which is both the first day of spring and the astrological new year, when old Pisces is reborn into fresh baby Aries. The equinox is also Nowruz, the Persian new year; and this year Ramadan will begin the following day. Just a couple weeks later are Passover (April 5th) and Easter (April 9th). While many religions, cosmologies, and belief systems are left out in this short list, I believe it’s safe to say that this earth-cycle period is celebrated internationally and inter-faithfully.

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How shall we live?

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Epiphany 5A, 5 Feb. 2023. The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

  • Isaiah 58:1-12. You will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
  • 1 Corinthians 2:1-16. Those who are spiritual discern all things.
  • Matthew 5:13-20. Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

O God of mercy, salt and light, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

As tempting as it is to preach about salt and light, I am so struck by Jesus’ teaching that he has not come to abolish the law (that is, Torah) or the prophets (that is Isaiah and the others). Jesus says, “I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away [which, by the way, has not happened yet], not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law.” Just last week a visitor was marveling at the fact that a parish and a synagogue share this sacred space as well as sharing teaching, pastoral care, and outreach. The person said, “But Jews are waiting for the Messiah, right? And Christians believe the Messiah has already come.” I replied that Jews are waiting for the first coming and Christians are waiting for the second coming. We’re all waiting and wondering how (and whether) we will recognize the Messiah. Meanwhile, at 15 Newbury Street, we’re doing what we can to repair the world, which we all agree is in desperate need of healing. [1] Continue reading →

Welcome our new expressive-arts interns!

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Wan-li

I am Wanyi, a second-year graduate student studying Art Therapy at Lesley University. Having grown up in Taiwan, I had the chance to learn fine art for my bachelor’s degree and was fortunate to have lived and taught in three different countries. During those time periods, I found the therapeutic power of art through leading art-making sessions in my communities. To further my knowledge in using art as a therapeutic medium, I came to the US to learn from the best.

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The Splendor of Grace

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Easter Sunday C, 17 April 2022.  The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Isaiah 65:17-25. Be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating.
1 Corinthians 15:19-26. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Luke 24:1-12. Amazed at what had happened.

O God with us, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

Good morning! Good job getting here, whether you are here in the sanctuary or here via livestream. I’m so glad that you’re here whether you love this holiday, or you’re just trying to get through it. Maybe you couldn’t wait to celebrate Easter at Emmanuel for the first time in three years, and maybe you’re joining us for the first time ever. Maybe you are here because it matters to someone you love, or you are here for a sadder reason. I love to say, whether you have come for celebration or solace, whether you are energized or exhausted, excited or grumpy, whether you have skipped or stumbled into this Easter celebration, my hope for all of you is that you will leave here today knowing more deeply that you are loved, that even if (and maybe especially if) you don’t feel like you fit in, still you belong with us today. Emmanuel Church is a place where we actively practice belonging to one another no matter what. It’s not always easy, I assure you, but it is always worth it. This is a parish where we focus our efforts and attention not on whether we (or anyone else) will get into heaven, but on whether any heaven will get into us. This is a parish where we focus not so much on implausible ideas, but on fidelity in relationship. Continue reading →