|

"On any night in Boston,
6,000 or more people are homeless, of which some 300 are sleeping on the
street. As we do our work in Boston, we grow more certain that the church
belongs on the street as long as there are people whose principle dwelling
and orientation is the street. Ecclesia Ministries continues to be a beacon
of light to people otherwise not reached by the gifts of the church."
|
Areas
of expertise
- Street ministry to the homeless community
- Theological and civic leadership that
builds the spiritual dimension of urban communities
- Pastoral care
Topics
in the News
- Homelessness crisis
in the United States
- Faith-based urban
service
- Worship outside of traditional institutions
|
|
Biography
Rev. Dr. Deborah Little is a minister to people on
the margins of life. She is the founder of Ecclesia Ministries in Boston,
which provides services to the homeless, and of Common Cathedral, a Sunday
worship service on the Boston Common in which authority is shared among
homeless participants. Debbie has created a new, radically open worship
community on the street, bringing together people of diverse religions,
races, classes, and occupations, and is currently working on a project
to encourage similar street ministries in other cities. She also serves
on the Consumer Advisory Board for Boston Healthcare for the Homeless.
Resources
by this expert
- Home Care for the Dying: A Reassuring, Comprehensive
Guide to Physical and Emotional Care (Doubleday, 1985)
- Journey
To Street Priesthood (undated essay) at
www.ecclesia-ministries.org/rev_little_journey.cgi
- Birth
of a Street Church (undated essay) at
www.ecclesia-ministries.org/rev_little_birth.cgi
- Church Under the Tree (An oral history and reflection on the
foundation and beginnings of Ecclesia ministries) May, 2000
- Sermon
at King's Chapel Boston (January 16, 2000) at
www.ecclesia-ministries.org/sermons/kings_chapel.cgi
- Storytelling in Urban Ministry, M. Div. Honor's thesis, 1994.
Recent
Interviews & Articles
- New York Times, February 6, 2007, "No Altar, No Pews, Not Even a Roof, but Very Much a Church"
- Christian Science Monitor, December 14, 2006, by Jane Lampman, A (Boston) Common Place for Worship

- Associated Press, March 24, 2005 "Churches find ways to modernize Good Friday observances" (This piece was picked up by 179 outlets including outlets in the U.K. and India. The piece also prompted a feature on WBZ Boston radio.)
- Ford Foundation Report,
Winter 2004, "An Uncommon Calling"
- Boston Globe,
October 29, 2000, "Homelessness: Students Take To The Streets to
Hear From Those Who Live There About What It's Like, What Causes
It, And What Can Be Done"
- National Public Radio's Weekend
Edition Sunday,
April 13, 1997, "Common Cathedral"
- Boston Globe Magazine,
February 9, 1997, "Common faith; Rev. Debbie Little's 'church,' a
weekly service on Boston Common, has no stained glass, no gilt, no
pews. What it does have, say its hard-luck congregants, is spirit."
Deborah has also been interviewed by the Washington
Post, New
York Times, and Frontline.
Organizational
links for this expert
back
to top
Douglas
Gould and Company
|