Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Boston, Massachusetts, gathered for a Latter-day Saint Night at Fenway Park on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
Along with enjoying the game — the Red Sox defeated the Cleveland Guardians 1-0 — local members of the Church were honored for their community and interfaith efforts.
Before the match, Matthew Christensen, former president of the Cambridge Massachusetts Stake; the Rev. Mark Scott, associate pastor of the Azusa Christian Community; Pastor Reba Danastorg of Imani Temple Church of God in Christ; and Dr. Gordon Williams, a professor of medicine at Harvard University and a Latter-day Saint, were honored on the field.
Christensen threw the first pitch.
This group of religious and community leaders has built relationships in recent years, through interfaith service efforts, Light the World Giving Machine collaborations, interfaith conferences and food drives.
Recently, the Church donated 35,000 pounds of shelf-stable food to the Mary Ann Brett Food Pantry in Boston in April as part of a larger food donation campaign to 250 food banks across the country for the 250th anniversary of the United States. That donation was also the result of interfaith and community collaboration that began four years ago between local members of the Church and the food pantry.
The Church also made a large food donation to food pantries in Massachusetts in 2020 with Interfaith Social Services, a nonreligious multiservice organization.
Jared Chrislip, from the Arlington Ward of the Cambridge Massachusetts Stake, said when they were asked to help plan the pregame honors, they seized the opportunity to “shine a very public light on the good works and community-building efforts of our beloved interfaith friends.”
“A big group of Church members getting together for a game at Fenway Park is more than just good fun,” he said. “It’s become a pattern of celebrating our faith community and honoring our interfaith and charitable organization collaborators out in the open, in the very heart of Boston.”
Deb Ramsay, communication director of the Church’s Boston Coordinating Council, said the Red Sox game was “a fantastic night of fellowship celebrating our community charity partners.”
Ramsay said the night was also a great one for members of the Church, who bought 1,600 tickets.
