ECCC Ministry Licensing
"Our ideal is to be a church in which Christ is honoured through a fellowship of liberty and unity of love. Within a framework of basic Christianity, doctrinal variations are not to divide the church. The right of every believer to his own position is to be respected."
These words were written on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Scandinavian Mission Church in Calgary founded 1911. This church would eventually merge into the founding of Commons Church in 2014.
At Commons one of our guiding values has been the commitment to keep Jesus at the centre. For us this means that despite differences in our theological understandings and personal convictions the only litmus test for us is a commitment to the Way of Jesus. We believe that faithful people can and will come to different conclusions about the meaning of scripture and we believe that this church can include these different understandings as it lives out its mission. We choose to value empathy over agreement and certainty. Further we hold hospitality between congregation members, and toward all those who earnestly seek to serve and understand God, as the paramount expectation, knowing that grace is the only way a collection of humans can thrive together in community. However, for us to hold diverse opinions, experiences, and convictions together we must treat each participant in the Commons community equally. Therefore after a long and gracious dialogue with our denominational leaders, I Jeremy, have chosen not to renew my ministry license with the ECCC. Below is the letter I sent to the Superintendent, Ministerium Executive, and ECCC Leadership Board.
Superintendent Glenn Peterson, the ECCC Ministerium Executive, and the ECCC Leadership Board,
I want to open by thanking the leadership of the ECCC and my colleagues in the ministerium for the way I have been welcomed into the Covenant family. This has been a blessing to myself and to the Commons community that has grown up here in Calgary over these past seven years.
I also want to say thanks to Jeff Anderson for beginning the conversation on LGBTQ+ inclusion with Commons, to Glenn Peterson for the open and gracious way he continued that conversation, and to Rob Peterson for joining the conversation with an open heart this year.
Since the dialogue first began in 2017 I have been clear in my conviction that the LGBTQ+ members of Commons need to be welcomed and included fully without restriction in our community. I have also been clear in my promise to respect the limitations placed on me through my licensing and ordination process in the Covenant Church. In my 2019 ordination interview I offered to refrain from officiating any same-sex unions but was clear that I would be open to participating as a pastoral presence if asked to. This, of course, was prior to the removal of First Minneapolis Covenant Church. After that decision, and in discussion with Glenn, I chose to remove myself from participating in any weddings until such time I could serve our community equally. This year our board and I reached the conclusion that this interim arrangement had reached an end. I was not serving the church well by abstaining from a significant part of my pastoral role and again I offered to refrain from officiating a same-sex wedding but to offer myself as a pastoral presence to couples. Through open and honest conversation it was determined that this would not be permissible under the ethical guidelines of my license. Therefore I have chosen to decline my ordination and not to renew my ministry license.
Both, I personally, and Commons Church as a community remain committed to the Covenant and offer our voice in humble support and dissent. I will not pursue ordination in another context and will instead hope for the day my ministry would be recognized again.
Grace and peace.
Jeremy Duncan
Commons Church
Bobbi Salkeld and Scott Wall have also chosen not to renew their ministry licenses with ECCC. They have the full support of myself and the board of Commons Church.
In accordance with our by-laws staff will now be provided ministry licenses directly by Commons Church.
