Mayor Ed Murray of Seattle picked up a paintbrush at St. Stephen's Church in Boston on Saturday, March 21 and got to work, in fulfillment of a Super Bowl agreement made between mayors to do a service project in the winning team's locale.
Murray and his host for the day, Mayor Martin J. Walsh of Boston, were on hand for the "Service Bowl 2015" at St. Stephen's Church, chosen through its AmeriCorps affiliation as the mayors' project site.
The two mayors worked together to build a basketball hoop, painted a classroom and visited with more than 100 other people working on projects at St. Stephen's and at the church's partner elementary school, the Blackstone, according to the Rev. Tim Crellin, Vicar of St. Stephen's Church.
Other participants included Bishop Alan M. Gates and his spouse, Tricia Harvey, along with Bill Basl, the national director or AmeriCorps, Felix Arroyo and Rahn Dorsey from Mayor Walsh's office, and the acting Boston Public Schools superintendent, John McDonagh.
"We were honored to host a fun and productive day of action, and especially to have both mayors and our bishop with us," Crellin said by e-mail. "Our partnership with AmeriCorps is part of what makes our programs possible, so it was great to work with local AmeriCorps programs on Saturday.
"And of course, we're especially grateful to [New England Patriots cornerback] Malcolm Butler, without whom Mayor Walsh would have been in Seattle for the weekend. Let's hope for a repeat next year!"
Courtesy Photo: St. Stephen's Church, Boston
Bishop Gates (standing left), with Mayor Walsh (center left) and Mayor Murray (center right) and Service Bowl 2015 volunteers.