Day 4 – Sunday
Emmanuel Church, service
Quick lunch on Newbury Street
Common Cathedral, Outdoor Service at Brewer Fountain in Boston Common
House of Sufism
Dinner, Prudential District
The Outsiders at the Citizens Opera House
I have really been enjoying the independent time. It feels really cool to be able to walk around the city with our own money, buying food and having conversations with people on the street…one guy was saying how cool I have this opportunity to do this [trip], and that really opened up my eyes about how lucky I am to be able to have this experience to learn about religion and gain important life skills. – Kai
The Common Cathedral I was flat out unprepared for. The community is so much more different than I thought. I learned this through the [impromptu] football we played, which was a peak experience. I have done that before, but not with that many people, or having that much fun, all in a circle, with a ex-rugby player, and all my friends. – Shaw
One person’s story [at the Common Cathedral] about how their husband saved their life from a meth dealer almost brought me to tears. The amount of courage to go up in front of a crowd not knowing if they would judge you or not, and share (most likely) one of your most vulnerable stories was absolutely outstanding. – Finn
[At Emmanuel Church] I might have distracted myself with the shadows my hands made on the bench in front of me, but I still took in the message [the choral music] shared through echoes on stained glass windows. That message was soon cut short by the beeping beat of fire alarms, and before I got to eat and drink Jesus. I still can’t get over that metaphor: it just freaks me out. Like, I don’t want to eat a dead guy. – TessThe Outsiders. It was amazing. Best play I have ever seen. I do have to mention what was most impressive to me: the fighting scene. The choreography was insane! – Cooper
The Outsiders was an experience that cannot be explained by words, nor can I say the series of emotions I went through. I laughed, cried, and all the in between. I felt joy, and inspiration, but I also felt compassion. – Aurora
My experience at the Common Cathedral made me feel truly grateful about my life, and how good I have it. It completely changed my perspective on homelessness, and hearing some of the stories that people told of their struggles, and how Jesus showed up in their life and saved them truly stuck with me. It went straight to my heart. – Oliver
One thing that really stuck out to me that Reverend Tamar [at the Common Cathedral] said, was that one of the benefits of holding service outside was that some people have trauma that make it hard to go into a church. It’s not the first place that has talked about trauma. We also talked about it at The Crossing, so I was thinking that it’s like, Common Cathedral is a first step where you start being able to connect with God again, and The Crossing is a second step, where you can connect inside while still healing. – Annie
I thought the service at Emmanuel Church was really beautiful. I really liked when Reverend Pam was talking about how, even if you have wounds, God will make them beautiful. Though I still don’t really believe in God, I found this to be very comforting. – Reine
It was really scary to ask a question at The Common Cathedral, because it was so loud, and I was really scared Reverend Tamar wouldn’t be able to hear me. But after, I felt like I had so much power, and like I could do anything. – Kennedy
At the Common Cathedral I got really emotional, which I hadn’t felt in a long time. Hearing the woman talk about her experience with addiction really made me sad. She gave me a new way of seeing God. I think I sort of used to think of God as a way out of hard things, and that it was dumb to have faith in something that is not able to be proved. I think now that it is a really amazing thing to have faith…I think know that God isn’t just a coping concept, but a sort of extended family member that is there for people who need a thing to rely on. – Keya
We gave out socks to homeless people at Common Cathedral, and it made me feel really good, like I was making people really happy. It was a very unique experience that I had never had before. – Asha
I always used to take the bread at Communion oblivious to what it meant. But today, I interpreted it as a symbol of unity. When you take the Communion, you consume a signifier that we are all one. Once I took Communion, I found that I really liked the feeling of knowing/remembering that everyone is human, and is experiencing a life with just as much thought, and just as much emotion. – Phoebe
I was, and kinda still am, thinking about adopting Sufi practice. I loved how we went immediately into meditation. What Mo Noorae said, about how the foundation of everything is love and kindness, and all that he said and repeated again and again really resonated with me, even though it was so simple. – Tahgel
SPECIAL FOOTBALL COMMUNION SECTION
An amazing moment happen during Communion at the Common Cathedral: member of the congregation and our students suddenly found that a football became the object of profound connection or communion.
