I have never been a part of a faith community like Commons before. It has been such a joy to worship, serve, and experience life alongside fellow “Commoners”. My spiritual life has flourished since attending this church. I feel as though I have been given the tools to love God and love others well. I'm so grateful for the space that has been given to ask hard questions and practice a theology where there is always a seat at the table.

Commons has been huge in helping me heal previous religious trauma. It’s so comforting to be surrounded by such a great group of loving people who outpour welcome and acceptance in place of the judgement and criticism I experienced in churches previously. Learning that our theology is supposed to change and if you think you’ve got it all figured out, you’re doing it wrong was ground breaking for me. Commons has helped me grow so much personally.

In regards to the second question (specifically the true self bit)… I was in grade 10 when I first came to Commons, and the Youth group at the time was very tiny and very awkward, because we were all pretty shy. I only attended a few times, and I remember when you (Bobbi) asked how Youth was and I explained, you said something along the lines of “sometimes what we invest into something makes a big difference in what we get out of it”. At the time, I felt deeply uncomfortable with the idea of taking initiative to cultivate community. Since then, I’ve become much more motivated to do that, and Commons has given me so many opportunities to grow more secure in a newer version of myself - ie. through attending Sevenpm, striking up conversations with strangers on Sundays, and getting involved with Youth leading. For me, Commons was a space to grow up in, and then became a space to grow in. Commons has given me the desire to cultivate community, and the space to do so.

What has been so transformational about Commons for me is that it has given me permission and space to bridge the divide between my faith and who I am. In many previous church experiences growing up I had felt a dissonance in myself: a strong deep and authentic love for God, and a heart that cared deeply for things I didn’t see reflected in the church. Like two sides of myself that could not be held together. There was a fear that came with exploring the questions that came with this divide. Commons felt like such wide open space, room for questions, room for doubt, room for God to be bigger than I imagined. At Commons my faith has grown tremendously, and has become completely integrated with all the pieces of myself that I didn’t feel fit in the church before. I always leave Commons feeling more hopeful about God’s goodness and love, and for that I will always be grateful.

The community is a great source of connection and support that keeps me coming back. The people at Commons has become a valuable part of my life. This is a community where I feel free to be who I am, and know I am fully accepted and loved.

Great worship (my love language to God), great people (my extroverted self is grateful), great kids program (our kid loved it from day 1 and was an easier transition than daycare), and great opportunities to serve (which connects me to God and His people) drew me to Commons and helped me stay here.

My husband went to the very first Commons service alone, while I remained at home, skeptical. We’d been away from church for about 5 years, and I was weary of trusting that we could find a home in any such community again. That evening, Stephen watched the recording with me. I remember two things: being moved to tears because I was finally hearing teaching that I so wholeheartedly resonated with, and Jeremy wrapping up the message by essentially saying, we are not here to be gatekeepers but to be doormen. I was so tired of playing the who’s in/who’s out game. And here was a pastor saying, “Yeah, we're not doing that. That's literally not our job.” It was such a deep relief to hear this behavior directly called out, and then given the alternative.

We've also been so thankful to find friendship within the community and to see that community embrace and develop around our children. We are so confident in the acceptance and love shown to our kids, in the care that is extended to them, and in the way that they are taught and discuss God's love.

For me, Commons has been a place that has helped me build my love and understanding of people. The teachings here have really helped me ask important questions, to understand context and to try and understand when the world seems difficult or unreasonable that there is a cause, or at very least a course that can be taken to try and help others who struggle with those things at those times. Also I have truly found encouragement and support in the community, we have made great friends and deepened other friendships, as well as the support I've found in the music team and my development in playing and performing.

I really feel like since I've been here that I have been encouraged spiritually and personally to grow and supported myself and my wife with positive encouragement and open conversation.