Maria Plati Bishop Tom Shaw celebrates the Eucharist on Boston Common with the assitance of the Rev. Stephanie Spellers (left of Shaw) and the Rev. Kathy McAdams (in Santa hat).

Bishop Tom Shaw, SSJE visited the Pine Street Inn shelter on Christmas Eve and celebrated the Eucharist on Christmas Day at a service for the unhoused on Boston Common.

For the second year, common cathedral and St. Paul's Cathedral hosted the festive Christmas Day worship service featuring music, hot chocolate, Christmas carols and Eucharist.

common cathedral, started by the Rev. Debbie Little, provides a regular community of housed and unhoused congregants with a simple worship service followed by a meal, Gospel reflection, and assistance from volunteer nurses and lawyers. The service includes street youth, members from traditional parishes and those without church affiliations, as well as tourists, volunteers from urban and suburban parishes, and local residents - many of whom volunteer time, clothing and food.

common cathedral is part of Ecclesia Ministries, a non-profit with programs to support the spiritual and physical needs of the homeless. Ecclesia works full-time throughout the week, serving more than 1,000 homeless men and women a year on the streets, in institutions and in the shelter programs of Boston.

Maria Plati Bishop Shaw visits with Pine Street Shelter volunteers The Cathedral Church of St. Paul also has a long tradition of supporting and nurturing ministries with the homeless. Every Monday for the last 25 years, the cathedral has hosted the Monday Lunch Program, which offers lunch and community to more than 125 homeless and hungry people in downtown Boston. The Sunday morning worship community at St. Paul's is a model of radical welcome, a lively, diverse mix of people of various races, ages, economic status, housed and homeless people.