FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
We believe clarity is kindness. To that end, we will do everything we can to communicate the sort of community we’re aiming to build. We believe people should have as much information about a community or organization as possible, so they can make an informed and consensual decision for themselves as to whether or not they’d like to participate or get involved.
Below are a few of the most common questions we’re being asked and hope it helps bring clarity to the sort of community we’re trying to build. Whether it’s with Commoners or somewhere else, we hope and pray that you’ll find belonging.
IS COMMONERS A CHURCH?
The word church means different things to different people. Instead of organizing around the word church, we’re finding it more helpful to describe Commoners using words like community, collective, or co–op. These words give us more freedom to reinterpret, reimagine, and reframe the type of community we’re dreaming of becoming. While we don’t reject the word church, we don’t think it best describes our community at this stage of our journey.
That said, if you are currently part of a church community, you’re still more than welcome to participate in anything we have going on as well! If you are looking for Sunday worship gatherings, we are in community with a lot of incredible pastors and churches both here in Spokane and around the country, and would be happy to connect you with them.
IS COMMONERS JUST FOR PEOPLE IN SPOKANE?
Nope! We are exploring new frameworks and pathways for people to experience spiritual community. This means we are centering and prioritizing virtual/digital spaces to build community and find belonging. While we will have in-person meet ups and community events here in Spokane, we aim to be a translocal community of love and liberation.
DOES COMMONERS HAVE A DOCTRINAL STATEMENT?
We do not have an official doctrinal statement. We find belonging in shared values and practices, not shared creeds, dogmas, or doctrines. While we honor many spiritual/religious perspectives and beliefs, we center ourselves on the vision for liberation found in the life, teachings, and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.
That said, even though we follow in the way of Jesus, we affirm the teachings of Jesus are but one of many ways to experience the Divine and Sacred in the human experience, and we draw from many diverse sources of wisdom in our spiritual journey.
ARE YOU DOING ANY GATHERINGS?
Yes and no. Yes we are gathering in various ways, but no we are not holding any sort of worship gatherings or Sunday services. We are committed to caring for our community by establishing accessible and sustainable ways for us to organize, care for one another, practice faith, explore spirituality, create change, and build a community of love and liberation, together.
CAN I PARTICIPATE IN COMMONERS IF I DON’T IDENTIFY AS A CHRISTIAN?
Absolutely! We welcome people from any and all religious or non-religious backgrounds to participate in our community. Whether you have lots of faith, a hint of faith, or no faith at all, you are welcomed, accepted, and celebrated just as you are. We’re also committed to collaborating with non-religious and interreligious partnerships to uproot injustice, eradicate poverty, care for the brokenhearted, liberate the oppressed, nurture our planet, and build a better world, together.
IS COMMONERS AN LGBTQIA+ AFFIRMING COMMUNITY?
As a community, we aim to divest from the systems, structures, and normatives of white cisheteropatriarchy. This means that for us, queerness (and transness) is not simply an identity marker of sexuality or gender, but rather an ethic, politic, and framework for living and being in the world. We’re following the subversive ethic of queerness that seeks to liberate us from “the toxic, life depleting, insufferable forces or actors that limit our collective flourishing.”¹ We aim to live by a “radical ethic of nonconformity and noncompliance with sexual, theological, and social politics that limit flourishing, imagination, and being.”²
Using that framework, we desire to become a safe community for our queer/trans siblings to explore their faith and become the best version of themselves. We welcome, honor, and celebrate the way the Divine shows up in all of our diverse expressions of gender identity and sexual orientation.
¹ From Alicia T Crosby
² From Alicia T Crosby
IS COMMONERS A PROGRESSIVE OR LIBERAL COMMUNITY?
The terms progressive or liberal mean different things to different people, and we don’t collectively find a home in either of those terms. That said, we do aim to build a community of love and liberation that is creatively reimagining the future of faith, spirituality, theology, politics, ecclesiology, and community.
DOES COMMONERS HAVE ANY DENOMINATIONAL AFFILIATION?
Though we are open to collaborative partnerships, we don’t have any denominational affiliation.
IS COMMONERS A POLITICAL COMMUNITY?
We are not partisan, but are political in the sense that we care deeply about how our community, city, state, country, and world is governed, organized, and experienced by the people. We will actively name and resist social systems and policies of oppression that harm the poor, immigrants, disabled, ill, LGBTQIA+, children, elderly, and people of color, especially our Black siblings. We will do everything in our power to see the policies, systems, structures, and cultures of white supremacy, patriarchy, classism, ableism, xenophobia, and capitalism in our community dismantled, abolished, and eradicated. We will work towards liberation of the oppressed, freedom for the captive, and flourishing for all humanity.
WHO IS LEADING COMMONERS?
We are intentionally organizing around a vision for mutual collaboration and shared leadership. While we don’t have a full staff or administrative team, we do have community organizers and an incredible leadership council who is giving insight, accountability, and structure while we raise up community leaders.
That said, Joseph Peterson (he/him) is one of the organizers of Commoners and would be happy to connect with you! You can contact him at hello@commoners.co.
ARE YOU RAISING MONEY FOR THIS COMMUNITY?
We have a set of financial needs (tabling, website, admin, staffing, signage, resources, etc.) that we are looking to crowdfund via our community Patreon. After those expenses are met, all money received will be redistributed through our mutual aid fund (Spokane Community Fridge, debt relief, reparations, etc.)
That said, we are (intentionally) not a registered 501c3 and are aiming to organize outside the non-profit industrial complex. We’re convinced that mutual aid is at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus, so we practice the voluntary reciprocal exchange of resources and services for the mutual benefit and flourishing of our community. This means that we prioritize an anti-capitalist culture of economics as we commit to radical acts of generosity, solidarity, and equity, especially among the most marginalized in our community.