The Celestial Infernos steel drum band plays as Resource Day attendees arrive for check-in at Roxbury Community College. The musicians are youth from St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church in Roxbury. Ellen Stuart
Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE opened the morning with a prayer and welcomed Resource Day participants, reminding everyone of the purpose of the day. “What we know is that there are no easy solutions to any of the work that Christ calls us to. And that if we're to be the real bearers of peace in the world that Christ was, it's going to mean hard work. It's going to mean sacrifice. It's going to mean challenges to us over and over and over again,” Shaw said. Government legis... Ellen Stuart
The Rev. Kathleen Adams-Shepherd, Rector of Trinity Church in Newtown, Conn., gave the opening plenary. She told of what it was like to minister to her congregation and her community in the aftermath of the Dec. 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and how the experience has been a call to be a “witness, presence and hope” with others in the year since. Ellen Stuart
Massachusetts state representatives Byron Rushing of St. John St. James in Roxbury (L) and Thomas Conroy (R) of St. Anne's-in-the-Fields in Lincoln led a workshop titled "Getting Engaged with Government." Conroy challenged participants to ask themselves: “How do you as citizens, and as Christian citizens, affect public policy in a positive way?” Ellen Stuart
The B-PEACE Youth Jobs Team led a workshop about the impact youth employment has on communities, and how businesses can get started hiring teenagers. Ellen Stuart
Workshop participants discuss how violence impacts communities, and how clergy, lay leaders and youth ministers can address violence, particularly its effects on children and families. Ellen Stuart
The B-PEACE Youth and Family Supports Subcommittee engaged with clergy and lay people to discuss how communities can respond to and prevent violence. Ellen Stuart
Workshop participants talked about strategies for intentionally addressing the impact of violence, and gained new tools to bring back to their congregations and communities. Ellen Stuart
Middle and high schoolers listening to a presentation about how violence affects youth. Ellen Stuart
Diocesan Director of Youth Ministry Sam Gould shares statistics about how violence often disproportionately hurts young people. Ellen Stuart
Actors from Urban Improv portrayed scenarios that inspired lively discussion and participation from the youth audience. Ellen Stuart
Urban Improv pauses to get reactions from the audience. Their skits led to conversations about how to effectively manage anger and how to deal with conflict without resorting to violence. Ellen Stuart
Bishop Tom Shaw stops by the youth workshop featuring Urban Improv. Ellen Stuart
Youth participants watch Urban Improv perform. Ellen Stuart
Students in a youth workshop worked together to create large works of art with chalk. Ellen Stuart
Students present their projects to the group, talking about the meaning behind the words they incorporated into their artwork. Ellen Stuart
The black and white chalk artworks created by the youth were transformed into colorful panels that made up a tree, representing that one of the best ways to prevent future violence is to grow from one's experiences, and use them to help, protect and educate others.
