Boston Urban Outreach
“To do justice: Sort out what belongs to whom, and return it to them.”
Walter Brueggemann
The mission of the Boston Urban Outreach program is to foster relationships to develop a larger sense of community and an increased understanding of social action issues among youth and adults by means of service, education, and reflection.
Boston Urban Outreach offers customized immersion experiences for groups of all ages. Day long, overnight and extended stay programming is available at reasonable costs. Overnight groups live in community at a local inner city church. They learn how they can become agents of change to impact social issues. Participants are assigned to a service project at a church or non-profit agency. The purpose of these projects is not simply to perform tasks, but to provide a unique opportunity to visit unfamiliar neighborhoods and experience what it means to serve others.
In the past five years, Boston Urban Outreach has conducted hundreds of mission experiences with over 5,000 participants. Through these service opportunities, almost 100,000 individual lives have been impacted. Learn how your group can get involved. Call 617-742-6830, ext. 210 to talk with Carl McDonald, Director of Boston Urban Outreach.
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Select a Link Below to Learn More About BUO:
- Weekend Urban Immersion Experiences
- Mission Trips
- Confirmation Programs
- UCC Heritage Tours
- Family/Intergenerational Experiences
- Mission and Service Awareness at Your Location
Weekend Urban Immersion Experiences
Through Boston Urban Outreach, we are able to offer weekend and day long service experiences within the Greater Boston area. Lodging is provided by one of three of our partner churches. Groups generally arrive on Friday evening prior to dinner. They are greeted by a BUO staff person who welcomes the group and offers a brief orientation. During dinner, speakers from our Public Voice Project share their personal experience of homelessness. This program helps to set the context for the weekend and also to dispel stereotypes.
On Saturday morning, the group members are disbursed to a service site to begin their mission work. Service opportunities can include:
- Preparing and serving meals for individuals experiencing homelessness
- Planting or harvesting a community garden
- Painting and general maintenance at a shelter, church or other non profit location
- Sorting food in a pantry
- Working with children on an art project
- Assisting with games at an elder care facility
- Sorting clothing for distribution
- Packing books to mail to people who are incarcerated
At the conclusion of the service project participants gather for guided reflection. This reflection helps the participants process their experience.
Some groups choose to stay two nights and have the opportunity to join a local church group for worship. A one day option is also available for groups who choose not to have an overnight experience.
Mission Trips
Boston Urban Outreach provides week-long mission trip experiences for middle school and high school students and adults. This can be an ideal college alternative Spring Break. Groups attending week-long trips have the opportunity to experience a variety of mission sites as well as different work experiences. We emphasize face-to-face contact with the people being served and strive to help participants serve outside of their normal comfort zone.
Trip costs vary according to the options selected. However you will find that our rates are very reasonable.
Confirmation Programs
Many of the Boston Urban Outreach programs are ideal for Confirmation programs. The service experiences will help youth realize how they can put their faith into action. Check our Web site for announcements of retreats designed specifically for confirmands, or we can create an experience just for your group.
UCC Heritage Tours
These tours can be conducted as part of a week-long mission trip or they can be scheduled for a one day event. Tours generally last two-three hours. Groups on the UCC Heritage Tour will discover the rich Congregational history of the UCC while touring downtown Boston. Stops include Old South Meetinghouse, King’s Chapel, Old South Church, Arlington Street Unitarian Universalist Church, Park Street Church and others. For non-UCC groups, the tour can be adapted to highlight the history of denominational separations.
Family/Intergenerational Experiences
Boston Urban Outreach can offer a service experience for any age group. In the past, we have worked with adult members of Mission Committees, corporate volunteers, Girl Scouts, private schools and many faith-based youth groups. Contact Carl McDonald, Director of Boston Urban Outreach to begin designing your group experience. Options can include, preparing a meal for a shelter, making fleece scarves for people who are homeless, preparing snack bags for outreach programs, sorting clothing or other experiences. Educational programming can also be added to the experience. Generally these experiences are day long programs, however an overnight option is available.
Mission and Service Awareness at Your Location
Do you have a group that you would like to learn more about mission opportunities but they are not willing or ready to travel to Boston? Contact Carl McDonald to learn how you can create a mission opportunity at your church, school or other location. Through Boston Urban Outreach, we can customize an experience that will encourage your group to want to get more involved in mission and service.
For more information, contact Carl McDonald.
Boston Urban Outreach Group Information Packet (PDF)
