At Commons Church we are part of the historical Evangelical Covenant Church. We are also a congregational church that lives and breathes within the specific context of Calgary AB. As such, when it comes to the policies and practices of our community we engage both the larger community of the Christian Church and the specific community of our local expression. Sometimes these conversations line up completely. Other times they differ. It is our conviction that as we hold together in unity and difference, affirming the reality of our freedom in Christ, we both strengthen the body and help to tell the story of love to our world. After all Jesus told us that, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35 NIV11)

With these conversations in mind we have attempted to draw out our current posture on LGBTQ+ inclusion in the church based on three observations.

1. We affirm that the biblical imagination of marriage points humbly toward a complex relationship composed of many complimentary purposes. Procreation (Gen 1:22), companionship (Gen 2:8), and the model of Christ’s love (Eph 5:22). We see all of these present in the Biblical imagination of this one institution.

2. We recognize that each of us is shaped by genetics, culture and circumstance in ways that do not always conform to the cultural norm. Sometimes our diversity is an expression of the creative goodness of God. Other times, it is an effect of the presence of sin and brokenness in our world. Regardless, we are called to live out our faith and connection to the divine in the best expression of what we see in Jesus who is the fullness of God (Col 1:19). With that in mind, we believe we are called to celebrate expressions of love, companionship, intimacy and monogamy, even in those relationships that do not express all of the purposes we see possible in the institution of marriage.

3. Finally, we believe that the church is a body meant for the good of the world. It was designed to show the expanding, inclusiveness of God’s kingdom—from Abraham, to his family, to his tribe, to the nation of Israel, to the foreigner the fatherless and the widow, and finally to the inclusion of all peoples everywhere. In Christ, all dividing lines are broken down and we can truly affirm that, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for [we] are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28 NIV11) This is an expansive imagination for a church that would continue to develop the narrative path that God laid out for us in scripture.

As we imagine these three guiding principles we have attempted to do our best in allowing the Spirit to guide us into how to affirm these ideas for today.

At Commons:

1. We welcome LGBTQ+ persons and families as full members in our community, for baptism, service, and for participation in leadership as they seek to express love within committed marriages.

2. We believe that faithful people can and will come to different conclusions about the meaning of scripture. We believe that this church can include these different understandings within its life as it lives out its mission and we choose to value empathy over agreement and certainty.

3. 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. We also expect to learn and to listen and to continue to be guided by the Spirit of God as we participate in the ongoing dialogue of faith and church.

4. We affirm the legal right of all LGBTQ+ persons to the same protections and privileges that society affords to others and we have a non-discriminatory policy regarding the use of our facility for community events and weddings.

5. We support our Pastors who choose to follow their pastoral conscience for participation in any weddings throughout our community as led by the Spirit of God.