Stay connected with the movement for justice, unity, and faithful witness across Massachusetts.
Final Update posted 12/22/25
Dear Church,
The holy day is almost here. Here are the final details for Christmas Eve Day Worship, to ensure that you can plan and have a clear picture of our gathering for worship.
Christmas Eve, December 24, 2025
10 am – 11 am
on the lawn outside Burlington ICE Facility
1000 District Ave.
Burlington, MA
This Christmas Eve,
God will unite the Body of Christ in worship.
Walls of detention facilities cannot divide the Body of Christ.
Documentation status cannot divide the Body of Christ.
We are united by a Love that is greater than anything that divides us.
TRANSPORT and PARKING
This is by far the trickiest part of our plans.
Please take public transit, if at all possible.
For those coming from metro Boston: take the Red Line to Alewife and take the 350 Bus to Burlington Mall. Get off at this stop: Burlington Mall Rd @ NE Executive Pk. https://www.mbta.com/stops/18245 Head down District Ave., which should be right in front of you.
If you drive, please carpool. You may plan to drop people off at 1000 District Ave., but please know:
you cannot park at 1000 District Ave.
PLEASE ALLOT AT LEAST 30 MINUTES EXTRA FOR OFF-SITE PARKING.
Your best option:
Park at Simonds Park, or the surrounding roads as marked:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/vgwXZTvPtwEkAvVf7
The 350 bus stops at the corner of Cambridge St. and Bedford St., toward Burlington Mall/Alewife:https://www.mbta.com/stops/8235 It is only a 5-10 minute ride.
Please arrive very early, as the buses reduce in frequency after rush hour.
Thus, another option: after parking near Simonds Park, head to the Burlington Church UCC, across the street. Rev. Andrew Harris and the amazing leaders of the church are offering shuttles to the ICE facility. https://maps.app.goo.gl/5gumoK4jbn7XrfxB6
OTHER PARKING OPTIONS:
There is very limited street parking along District Ave, toward Burlington Mall Rd. You may luck out, but don’t rely on it!
6 District Ave. parking, which is listed as a Free Parking. It may be used by mall shoppers. Not sure how security works there. Park at your own risk.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/gRBejcH73ZY8SRDS7
You can try to park at Burlington Mall, which is very close by. However, it will be quite full because of Christmas Eve shopping. Additionally, when we requested assistance with parking from mall management, they declined to help. If you do park there, please go to the mall, otherwise security may stop you. They have been ticketing people who do not go to the mall. Park at your own risk, sadly.
Additionally, there are other businesses and buildings in the office park on District Ave. We do not know whether they will have security or whether they will tow. It is Christmas Eve, so it could go either way. So, again, park at your own risk.
WORSHIP:
Please understand that this is true, sincere worship. Please do not bring signs or engage with this event as a protest. While those forms of witness are essential at other times, this gathering is a service of prayer, song, and telling the story of Christ’s birth, worshiping as closely as possible with those held inside. So think of this as “going to church,” and not “going to a protest.”
ROLES:
IF YOU WISH TO BE PART OF THE SERVICE, PLEASE ARRIVE NO LATER THAN 9:15 am.
Clergy: you are welcome to vest and process. Please wear whatever vestment is appropriate for worship in your tradition and appropriate to an outdoor, ecumenical liturgy of prayer and worship, without Communion. Copes, preaching robes, Geneva robes, cassocks and surplices, or just street clothes. If you are wearing a stole, please wear white/gold or whatever color you wear for festive events. (We are going for “joy in the face of crisis,” as opposed to lament or uplifting the martyrs in the Spirit).
However your tradition does it, please show up like that. The idea is that we all represent our particular denominations and traditions and trust that it will be beautiful in God’s eyes and a powerful reminder of how strong we are when we stand together in Christ.
Choir: you are welcome to wear your robes (or not, if that’s not your tradition), and to join a pick up choir. Again, we are not aiming for visual uniformity, but diversity. We are aiming to have one purpose, not one “look.”
We will have a music director, the incredible Eric Anderson Jr., who will conduct. We may have a keyboard, but please prepare to sing a cappella.
Our hymn list:
Acolytes/Vergers/Subdeacons/Altar Servers: You are welcome to vest and process as well, if you wish. The more the merrier. But please do NOT bring your crosses/candles/thuribles, etc. To avoid confusion, we cannot have multiple people in those roles. We will indeed have a censor, worry not!
Greeters:
We need greeters to help welcome people in, distribute bulletins (mostly electronically), distribute candles, and provide a warm welcome. Come as you are. But come early.
Weather: We plan to hold this event in any weather, if at all possible. Please dress and plan accordingly. Wear many layers, if you are not accustomed to being outdoors for long. Especially consider wearing extra socks and thick shoes. If you are vesting, please wear thick layers under your robes. We will be standing outside for over an hour in whatever weather there is.
About the site: There is NO seating provided. This is an outdoor lawn in an office park, and we do not have a way to bring in chairs. If you require a seat, you are welcome to bring one with you, and anyone with mobility concerns or concerns about standing for an hour may sit right up front. But we cannot provide chairs for everyone.
INFORMED DECISIONS:
We invite you to take time to make informed decisions about whether this is the place for you to be. We are gathering in a place that has been designated for First Amendment expressions. We are gathering to worship, which is our First Amendment right. It is protected by local law enforcement and longstanding agreements with DHS/ICE staff over many months. We do not anticipate any issues with ICE staff or local law enforcement.
But while the Good News of Christ’s birth is full of hope, we proclaim it at a place that launches much violence into our communities. This facility is an active enforcement and detention center. Please know ICE agents may be coming and going on their business. If being in such a place might be unsafe for you or your loved ones in any way, please consider those risks carefully. This may be due to your experiences at the facility or others like it, or your own documentation status, or your own previous experiences with law enforcement, or any other history or concerns. We want you to take the risks you can bear. Your presence does not need to be physical: if it is not the right decision for you to be physically present with us at the facility, please join us in prayer from home or your home congregation. God is everywhere and will unite us as the Body of Christ, no matter where we are. Video of the event will be made available shortly afterward.
Thanks also to our friends and colleagues at UniteBoston who are co-sponsoring this event, and the clergy leaders of Bearing Witness at Burlington.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT:
The funds we currently have to support immigrant ministries through the Massachusetts Council of Churches run out on January 28, 2026.
We had grant funding for one year- from January 28, 2025- January 28, 2026. If you believe support for the immigrant ministry should continue, please give.
If you believe in public prayer like Christmas Eve Worship at Burlington and celebrations like Las Posadas are necessary for the whole Church, we invite you to give thanks and give. If you believe we in Massachusetts cannot be whole if we cannot all gather together, please give. If you are proud that weekly vigils in East Boston and New Bedford mean that there is a statewide, faith-filled witness, even when you personally cannot be there, please give.
If you are grateful that the Massachusetts Council of Churches worked with the Attorney General’s office to hold webinars about the change in federal policies when the “sensitive locations” policy was rescinded, please give. And if you are grateful that the Massachusetts Council of Churches is part of the lawsuit defending our right to freely gather in worship, without intrusion into our sanctuaries during morning prayers, vespers, Eucharist, Holy Communion, Badarak, Divine Liturgy, or any of our worship services because we ask you to please give.
The Massachusetts Council of Churches exists to make the Vibrant Church Visible. And if we cannot gather for worship of Almighty God, our light is hidden. We need your support to remain vibrant and visible in these days when the shadows are long. Thank you. Every contribution honors God.
https://www.masscouncilofchurches.org/donate/
Las Posadas
para Los Inmigrantes de Massachusetts
Friday December 19, 2025 6-9pm
Boston
Join churches across Massachusetts for Las Posadas para Los Inmigrantes de Massachusetts on Friday December 19, 2025, beginning at 6pm on Copley Plaza, Boston. Las Posadas is a traditional Mexican prayer processional commemorating the Holy Family going from house to house, searching for room at the inn. Many other Caribbean, Central, and South American Christian traditions also practice some other processional tradition, and all are invited to attend this bilingual service. We will process from Copley Plaza to the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, with a festival celebration at 7:30pm of food, music, and piñata to follow. Wear your halos, angel wings, and Holy Family costumes. All are invited to attend this fundraiser for the Massachusetts Council of Churches ministry to support immigrant churches. Questions? Email: council@masscouncilofchurches.org.
