2020–2021 Site Placements

350 Massachusetts for a Better Future (350 Mass)

350 Massachusetts for a Better Future (350 Mass) is a network of local, powerbuilding nodes who work together around coordinated grassroots campaigns to achieve climate victories at the state, national, and international levels. 350 Mass is member-led and member-driven and sees a grassroots climate movement as critical for achieving climate justice and maintaining a liveable world. Founded in 2012, 350 Mass draws its inspiration from 350.org and receives coordination, skill-building, communication, financial, fundraising and operational support by the staff and board of Better Future Project (BFP). 350 Mass is currently composed of 18 nodes and five local affiliate groups throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 350 Mass participates and leads in multiple coalitions including—Mass Power Forward—which organizes local environmental groups to fight for clean energy, Raise Up Mass—which fights for economic justice, A Campaign for a Clean Energy Future—campaigns to put a price on carbon, and the newly formed “MA Green New Deal Coalition,” which seeks to convene organizations from labor, environmental justice, housing, youth and climate and environmental organizations to fight for bold and just climate policy. 350 Mass members, supported by staff, carry out campaigns on the municipal level pursuing 100% renewable energy, they collaborate with one another and with our partners to campaign for state policy, and we take direct action to prevent new fossil fuel infrastructure and pressure financial supporters of the fossil fuel industry. 

The Life Together fellow works to support a variety of 350 Mass roles including the Digital Organizer, the Legislative Manager and the Climate Justice Partnerships Organizer. Specific duties include supporting actions and events by making press calls, writing press releases, posting on social media, documenting actions; organizing lobby days with material and coordination support; supporting trainings with recruitment, logistics and leading aspects of the training; coordinating with members over the phone and video calls, and attending node meetings. The fellow also takes leadership on a particular project such as supporting a node to organize a house party/fundraiser, organizing a youth lobby day, or organizing a summit or training.

Cathedral Church of St. Paul

The Cathedral Church of St. Paul serves as the spiritual center of the Episcopal Diocese of  Massachusetts. Since 1912, we have been “a house of prayer for all people” (Isaiah 56:7) where  Christ’s love has been offered in worship, service, and work for justice in creative and diverse ways. We are home to five worshiping congregations: A Sunday morning congregation comprised of a wide range of people, committed to living  into a community covenant based on the spirituality of Jean Vanier; The Crossing, an “emergent” congregation with a particular commitment to radical  welcome, celebrating LBGTQA+ persons and those who have been hurt in churches; MANNA, a community of, by, and for unhoused persons, offering a weekly meal, as well  as a wide range of programs of fellowship, spiritual growth, pastoral care and  self-expression; a Chinese (Cantonese) congregation; and A Muslim prayer gathering, Fridays at noon, not pastorally led by the cathedral but closely in partnership with it. Our three “core communities” (Sunday morning, MANNA, and the Crossing) all, in their own ways, aim to incarnate the justice and love we believe God wants for all people everywhere.

Being the Cathedral fellow requires significant reflection on experience, communicating of expectations, values, and vision, and openness to revising practice. This is a cathedral, and part of the vocation of a cathedral is to help the wider church respond to threats to justice, unanticipated crisis in governance or civic life through direct service and advocacy. The cathedral fellow works with the Sunday congregation on climate justice, religious prejudice, and systemic dehumanization (both in political and religious life), and build a more just community through nonviolent communication. We seek not only to train new leaders, but to be new leaders in the church and the world. 

Charles River Episcopal Co-Housing Endeavor (CRECHE)

Founded in 2016 by four Episcopal congregations, Creche (the Charles River Episcopal Co-Housing Endeavor) is creating a network of mixed-income, intergenerational, intentional communities in cooperation with Episcopal parishes. Our mission is to create a grassroots alternative to the for-profit housing market: relational co-housing communities in which people live like families, sharing meals, common spaces, spiritual practices, self-governance, and the rhythms of home care. Today’s Boston housing market is stunting the development of long-lasting relationships that are vital for emotional and spiritual wellbeing. We are fighting these trends by creating one intentional community per year. 

Our Life Together fellow engages with community organizing, administration, and documentation. They plan and implement a relational 1:1 campaign, beginning with the housemates of Creche and then extending to the board, volunteers, and other core partners. This position emphasizes connecting with the key stakeholders in the four neighborhoods in which we operate. In collaboration with Creche leadership, this work takes on the structure of a classic Ganzian organizing campaign, engaging core and neighborhood constituents in one-to-one relational meetings, discerning a common call to action, building a collaborative plan, and then implementing it. The Life Together fellow assists in grant-writing and provides regular updates of campaign work for Creche’s website and social media accounts.

Community Change Inc.

Community Change Inc. (CCI)’s mission since 1968 has been to promote racial justice and equity by challenging systemic racism and acting as a catalyst for anti-racist learning and action. We accomplish this by working with a multiracial coalition as well as by supporting new and emerging anti-racist projects in Boston such as Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), White People Challenging Racism (WPCR) and Boston Knapsack Anti-Racism Group. In recent years, we have expanded our work to Boston area suburbs with the Anti-Racism Organizing in the Suburbs (AROS) project and in 2019-20, this project will be expanding to Northern New England. CCI is believed to be one of the oldest continuously running anti-racism organizations in the United States. Understanding that power and privilege are largely held by white people in our society, our work is primarily with white people. We focus on involving white people in understanding and confronting systemic racism and white privilege in their spaces. However CCI’s leadership is POC led.

The program assistant supports the work of our program partners (SURJ/WPCR/Knapsack). This work entails getting involved in local actions if called upon and serving as an administrative liaison between the programs and CCI. The Life Together fellow also maintains CCI’s social media accounts and website by posting relevant articles about anti-racism work both locally and nationally as well as keeping our constituents informed of upcoming events. Overall, this position has direct work with our various programs and partners, thus the opportunity to deepen their own anti-racism praxis as well as the opportunity to support CCI as we continue our work in the suburbs and beyond.

Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, Office of Youth Ministry

Today’s church needs the unique brand of enthusiasm, honesty, and energy of our young people. And, young people in our churches and communities are in desperate need of the healing and transformative power of the Gospel. The Office of Youth Ministries of the Diocese of Massachusetts is charged with encouraging, applauding, and challenging the Church to embrace creative and robust ministry, both for and with young people— in our congregations and in the life of the diocese as a whole. In order to do this, the Office of Youth Ministries manages two diocesan-wide youth groups of high school students--the Diocesan Youth Council and a yearly mission-focused pilgrimage group; hosts weekend retreats, overnights, and half- day events for youth around the diocese; and provides technical assistance to and networking opportunities for youth leaders, youth ministers, and other youth workers around the diocese. Beginning in 2019, the Office is also assisting a new diocesan task force studying models to better engage young people in their 20s and 30s in the church. Across all these programs, we strive to partner across all the regions of the diocese and beyond. 

The Youth Ministry Assistant for Programs, Outreach, and Communication provides support in administering the office’s events for members of the diocese, assists with communications both within the diocesan offices and with young people and our parishes, and works with the missioner to create new ways to integrate young people and youth ministry into all areas of parish and diocesan life. In addition, working directly with members of the Youth Council, this fellow creates and launches new tools and campaigns to better promote our offerings and to better connect our constituents. Essential duties and responsibilities include planning and coordinating Youth Ministry events, such as retreats, overnights, and various gatherings and trainings, as well as evaluating the effectiveness of these activities and exploring new possibilities. They also develop publicity and communications strategies with the Diocesan Youth Missioner, distribute a monthly e-news, and seek to promote resources that youth workers in our parishes can use. The Youth Ministry Assistant creates and cultivates social media venues to highlight, celebrate, and amplify the voices of young people across the diocese, with particular emphasis on using social media to connect young people with each other across the diocese.

Family Van

The Family Van is a mobile health clinic that works to improve health equity using their “Knowledgeable Neighbor” model of care. The “Knowledgeable Neighbor” model of care is a community-based approach that increases access to quality, affordable healthcare; promotes healthy behaviors; expands screening and early detection efforts; and facilitates strategies for appropriate management of existing chronic diseases. The neighborhoods served by the Family Van, including Dorchester, East Boston, and Roxbury, continue to have the highest rates of preventable diseases and chronic health conditions in Boston. The Family Van operates in a non-hierarchical environment and focuses on leveraging and building their team members’ strengths to achieve their shared goals. Trained staff members on the Family Van live in the communities that they serve and always strive to cultivate a friendly, nonjudgmental, and comfortable atmosphere that invites local residents to seek care.

The Outreach & Communications Coordinator works to raise awareness about our programs and services with external partners and in target communities. They work with our team and volunteers to do community outreach, both in the community and via social media; deliver workshops with staff; and collaborate with other organizations. The fellow executes communications strategies and projects, including creating content for programs for social media presence and overseeing our Twitter feed. They are trained to provide culturally appropriate health education, information, and outreach in community-based settings, assist community members with access to community resources, engage target populations in wellness activities as well as chronic disease self-management and provide outreach to potential and existing clients in the community and at events. Reporting to the Executive Director, the Outreach & Communications Coordinator will collaborate with a wide range of partners and manage volunteers to support the development of programmatic strategies.

Grace Episcopal Church

Grace Episcopal Church is a multigenerational, diverse and welcoming Christian community that values shared leadership, service to those in need, and nurturing all in the love of God. Our mission statement is to love God, love your neighbor, and change the world. In the recent past, the parish has begun to explore advocacy, especially in the areas of environmental justice, gun violence, elder care and sexual injustice, with an interest in expanding our advocacy and involvement in mental health and wellness. Grace has become committed to understanding not only how to respond to needs directly, particularly through its involvement in clothing and food pantries, but also in educating the congregation and the community about the systemic circumstances behind issues such as hunger. We are highly innovative, interested in trying new things and in finding new ways to reach out to the wider community. We have a culture of encouraging and enabling growing community leaders, making Grace a wonderful space in which to explore vocation. 

The Grace Life Together Fellow initiates and leads a social-justice related project that evaluates the demonstrated need in our service area, as well as the gifts and abilities which Grace members may bring to the need at hand. While creating this community outreach project, the Grace Life Together fellow engages and motivates Grace members to move out into the community and bring Medford community members into Grace. This encourages the fellow to practice community organizing skills through one-to-ones with community leaders and folks outside of the church. This fellow takes part in lay leadership development by providing administrative and communications support to projects initiated by parish leaders. Other duties and responsibilities include regularly assisting in worship services and special liturgical events and offerings with the opportunity to preach as well, teaching weekly for our Wednesdays at Grace program, generating content for our social media, and supporting our 20s/30s ministry.

Massachusetts Voter Table

The Massachusetts Voter Table advances civic access, engagement, and representation to increase resources and power for people of color and working-class people toward achieving a multiracial democracy. MVT convenes a statewide coalition of community organizations to integrate voter engagement with grassroots organizing in service of a shared agenda for economic and racial justice. We provide coaching, training, and guidance on data-driven field strategies to over 25 base-building organizations in communities of color in Boston and in gateway cities in Massachusetts. Our long-term goal is to build a multiracial voting bloc that can demonstrate power for progressive change.

The Life Together fellow is responsible for coordinating virtual phone banks, training partner organizations on outreach tactics, carrying out one-on-one conversations with our partner organizations to understand the top issues and needs, and compiling information from our partner organizations about what matters most to their communities for creating equitable political districts. The fellow is involved in writing communications to our partner organizations, newsletters to our supporters, and social media content to a broader progressive audience. 

Safe Havens Interfaith Partnership Against Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse

Safe Havens is a multi-religious nonprofit that provides training, resources, and technical assistance to diverse faith leaders and faith communities to strengthen safe and effective responses to survivors of domestic and sexual violence and elder abuse. Safe Havens also provides services to domestic and sexual violence and elder abuse service providers who are responding to the needs of clients who are faithful and/or reaching out to local faith communities to strengthen a community-wide response to survivors and to promote prevention. Safe Havens has United Methodist roots and is currently interfaith and multireligious. Most of the faith communities we work with are Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, and we serve all faiths and denominations. Safe Havens works locally in the Greater Boston and New England areas as well as nationally.

The Life Together Fellow builds capacity and strengthens effectiveness at Safe Havens through five specific project areas. These areas are 1) Communications 2) Event planning 3) Fundraising and development 4) Programming and volunteer engagement and 5) Miscellaneous, including office management and Safe Haven’s trainings. The fellow helps to maintain social media and run campaigns, assists with the planning and execution of Safe Havens’ annual IMPACT Award ceremony, supports fundraising, and helps with outreach and volunteer training.

St. Mary's Church and the Epiphany School, Dorchester

At St. Mary’s we celebrate God’s rhythm, delight in God’s flavor and unite with God’s power. Our mission is one that centers us in joyful worship, a commitment to fellowship and diversity and drives us to engage the critical work of justice. St. Mary’s is a faithful Episcopal Worship community in Dorchester, MA. Throughout its more than 170 years of existence St. Mary’s has been a neighborhood church of which most of its members come from the surrounding areas. St. Mary’s is a community centered very much around food, and we operate a food pantry out of our parish hall, with the guests sitting in our pews as they wait. As many of our members put it, St. Mary’s is a place where you’ll never leave hungry. As our current membership is heavily comprised of those with Caribbean Anglican roots our worship is deeply steeped in the Anglican tradition. Our mass in Spanish and other work in the Hispanic community have diversified our expression of those roots in many ways. 

The Epiphany School is an independent school for children of economically disadvantaged families in Boston, with scholarships for all. We admit children of diverse faiths, races, cultures, and cognitive profiles, believing in the Episcopal tradition that we find God in and through each other. In close partnership with families and community partners, we are an innovative learning community. 

The St. Mary’s Epiphany Fellow brings their unique gifts, talents and interests to the work and mission of both St. Mary’s and the church’s partner in Dorchester, the Epiphany School, while collaborating with teams and meeting critical needs in each. Their areas of focus include worship, community building and support, education, service and justice, and capacity building at both the church and the school.