The Southern New England Conference's Edwards House Meeting and Retreat Center will be bustling this summer with folks young and old eager to experience a week of mission work in Boston thanks to a new partnership between Edwards House and Incredible Days. For 4 weeks in July, youth and intergenerational groups can sign up for one of the Sunday-Friday programs entitled Incredible Faith Mission: Boston, where participants will stay at Edwards House and do daily service projects focused on addressing urban poverty in Greater Boston.
 
Incredible Days is a Covenanted Partner organization of the SNEUCC which offers team building and experiential learning programs including mission trips and retreats. Working with Edwards House to host Incredible Faith Mission: Boston felt like a natural connection and a great chance to work hand in hand with one of the Conference’s outdoor ministry sites, according to Andrew Wicks, the founder of Incredible Days, who is also a UCC Authorized Minister.

"I’m really excited about this summer’s mission program with Edwards House because we have the chance to offer something meaningful to church groups who want to do a week of summer learning and service, but don’t know where to start,” he said. “Here you’ve got two well known organizations who both articulate a faith call to serve others and work for justice and we’ve built a whole program around that.”
 
Jesse Richardson, also from Incredible Days, was excited about the Boston location. “Boston is full of history, which makes it a neat place to work. Yes, we’ll serve meals and sort donations and help at homeless shelters, but we’ll also dig into that history and discuss how our cities became areas of concentrated poverty, while our suburbs flourished, and how we can work to change that reality,” she said.
 
Edwards House sees this as a natural outgrowth of their hospitality ministry and mission. In hosting Incredible Faith Mission: Boston, Edwards House offers a secure and welcoming home for participants not only to eat and sleep but also to reflect, play and enjoy the center’s amenities. Edwards House Director, Kate Ostertag shared her excitement to be partnering, noting the extraordinary opportunity to support youth in service this summer.

“We are looking forward to the active buzz that the inspired youth and adults will bring with them,” she said. Edwards House is not only the host but is an active part of the mission work as well. As part of the program, participants will build and tend community gardens onsite at Edwards House.
 
According to Wicks, the mission week experience is a valuable offering for people of all ages. “People really see their faith come alive when we get together and create intentional Christian community of love and service. I really think both teens and adults have transformational experiences when they step out of their lives for a time and dedicate themselves to serving others. I’ve seen it again and again - people report that programs like this deepen faith and reshape perspectives. This is where the rubber meets the road when we turn our faith into action.”
 
Incredible Faith Mission: Boston will run four sessions, Sunday-Friday, starting on July 9, July 16, July 23, and July 30. For more information or to register a group, please visit the Incredible Days site here.