All about commons.
At Commons we are completely fascinated with this complex and beautiful collection of texts we call the Bible–but we worship Jesus.
The scriptures lead us to the realization that Jesus is the only exact representation of the divine and that God has always looked like Jesus even when we didn’t see that clearly.
Because of that we have abandoned the idea of an angry, violent God in order to fully embrace the good news brought forward by Jesus.
We believe that Jesus came not to change God’s mind about us but to repair our imagination of God.
Realizing this and coming to understand that God is love we affirm surprising acceptance and scandalous grace as the way God chooses to heal all things.
We desire to participate in that renewal by following the way of Jesus, empowered by the Spirit, trusting that this good news is even better than we can imagine.
Welcome.
Our Approach
We are a centred set (vs bounded set) community, where what we hold together at the centre is more important to us than the distinctive elements that separate us from each other or other Christian expressions.
At Commons, we like to say there is no litmus test beyond a commitment to the way of Jesus. That’s all. That is enough.
On another level, of course, the answer is a good deal more complex. While our Church and tradition do not require adherence to any written creed, we take our theology very seriously. We are a reformation church, a part of the Church Universal, and a church born from the evangelical tradition. In that heritage, we share certain central beliefs, which draw us together in faith and fellowship and make possible freedom among us on more widely-ranging issues.
Our Values
Intellectually Honest
We believe that to honour our place in the story while rooting ourselves in the tradition of the church; we must actively engage in the ongoing dialogue of faith. For us, treating the Bible with dignity means doing the rigorous theological work of bringing the scriptures into conversation with our time and place. Hard questions, apparent paradox, and our essential inability to completely comprehend the divine are all part of the journey of faith.
We want to speak directly to those who are interested in Jesus but believe the church has retreated into an anti-intellectual posture. We want to embrace those who are interested in Jesus but believe the church has been too slow to adapt to changing social constructs. We want to welcome those who are interested in Jesus but are struggling to understand how to read, interpret and trust the Bible in honest ways.
Spiritually Passionate
We recognize a need to rediscover the beautiful, dangerous, compelling idea that a group of people surrendered to Christ as Lord, and living in community together, really can transform society. God does not want to save us from the world, but rather calls us into his world, where the lonely are invited into family, and the isolated are brought into community.
We are always looking for ways for our lives to intersect grace. This can mean a multitude of things: hospitality, listening, serving, announcing the Kingdom, or simply pointing out where Jesus is present in our neighbourhoods— but it starts with the confidence that God is doing something in our place.
Jesus at the Centre
In Jesus, we see God most clearly. There is no hidden God that sits behind the incarnated word that walked through ancient Palestine. Therefore, we embrace the peaceable way of Jesus as the starting point for our theological reflection, and we read everything in Scripture through the lens of Jesus.
This commitment to peace is not passive, though; it is an active posture of peacemaking in our thoughts and prayers, our relationships, and our neighbourhoods. Our careers and creativity, our families and friendships, our resources and talent–all of these–are part of how we join God in his renewal project. We believe that our work, our purchases, our politics, and our conversations must breathe with the peace of Christ.
LGBTQ Inclusion
You are welcome, period. Our greatest commitment as a community is to hospitality and grace above all else. For a more detailed articulation of our posture, please read the linked article here.
Traditional Territory
Commons Church is located near the corner of Kensington Rd and Crowchild Tr.
2404 Kensington Rd NW Calgary AB T2N 3S1
At Commons, we serve the community on Moh'kinstsis, which describes the gathering place where the Bow and Elbow rivers meet. Commons acknowledges the ancestral home and culture of the Treaty 7 signatories, which include the Siksika Nation, Piikani Nation, Kainai Nation, the Stoney Nakoda Nation, consisting of the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Good Stoney Bands, along with the people of the Tsuut’ina Nation. We also recognize the Métis people of Alberta Region 3, who call Treaty 7 their home.
