During 2017, Calgary-Inter Mennonite Church conducted a “Community Engagement and Visioning” project, which created an opportunity for the congregation to review its history and reconsider its Statement of Values and Beliefs.
The following reflects the current status of an ongoing dialogue regarding the nature of our community. These statements are not intended to be comprehensive or complete, but rather to reflect our conversation about key beliefs and values. (January 2018)
Calgary Inter-Mennonite is a Christian congregation in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition, consisting of people who gather to support and care for one another, and to explore questions of faith and meaning.
Community Values
We are inclusive, and seek to be diverse:
- all are welcome;
- we value diversity in age, in orientation, in thought, in experience, and in belief of all those who choose to be part of our community;
- we deliberately gather with and learn from people both within and beyond our given friendship circles;
- we provide a safe place to participate and explore, irrespective of one’s beliefs;
- differences of belief among individuals regarding God, faith, church, and religion are valued and respected by others in the community.
We seek to be caring:
- we seek to emulate the life and work of Jesus by following his admonition to love God and love others as ourselves;
- we value and seek to apply the tenets of our Anabaptist and Mennonite heritage…peace, social justice, egalitarianism, service;
- we develop and nurture relationships through participation in community activities;
- we seek to be attentive to the needs of people in our community;
- we are enriched by caring for and learning from one another.
We want to change and grow:
- we seek new learning and ways of becoming more effective in caring for one another and serving the broader community;
- we share our stories, experiences and understandings on topics relevant to our community, society, our individual lives and spiritual journeys;
- we value all perspectives, and seek consensus in setting direction and taking decisions;
- we value questions and open conversation on topics relevant to our community, our society, and our individual and collective lives and spiritual/faith journeys;
- each person is on a unique faith journey that is deserving of respect and support from the community.