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Mission to Other Cities

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Are you interested in participating in street ministry with homeless people? Looking for a different way to "do church"? Do you want to belong to a spiritual community not defined by buildings or other economic, racial, class, or cultural barriers? Are you already engaged with homeless people but want to go deeper or broader in your outreach?

Our experience is that not everyone can come inside for what churches uniquely offer - compassion, prayer, worship, celebration, accompaniment, continuity. Mental and physical disabilities as well as life experiences with indoor churches limit their willingness and ability to come inside for church or other resources.

In 2001 Ecclesia began to seek and respond to people in other cities and countries who are interested in outreach ministry. Mission to Other Cities provides guidance, companionship and support for those interested in creating outdoor ministries modeled on the experience of Boston's common cathedral. A ministry which began in 1994 with one priest meeting folks on the park benches, grew to include an "all weather" Sunday worship for any one who comes, on Boston Common. Over a dozen years, the Boston ministry has grown to include pastoral care, Bible studies, addiction recovery groups, studio art and cinema programs, as well as emergency referral assistance. We are deeply engaged too in outreach to traditional churches, schools, seminaries and others wanting to visit, volunteer or do supervised learning programs in our homeless community.

Thanks to support first from Trinity Church in New York City and for the last three years from the Ford Foundation, Ecclesia's founder The Rev. Dr. Debbie Little Wyman is available to assist in dreaming and planning new street ministries. As Missioner of common cathedral, she offers consulting, site visits, training in street ministry, organizational development, and small start-up grants for new affiliates. She offers an annual conference (Come and See Weekend) in Boston for new ministries to gather, learn, and support each other. Anyone interested in street ministry is welcome at any time to visit our Boston ministry or others around the country.

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