A "Why" Moment

This is the first in a series of four posts around hope and forming communities of hope.

A Why Moment

They’re now all out there for us to see. On social media, talk shows, and newsstands, we’ve been given a glimpse of what’s ahead—the world in 2025 and all its various scenarios, some of which border on the apocalyptic. Most of us are concerned about the “world” and the fragile state of life in our own countries and communities. It's easy to enter 2025, confronted by a list of dread and the unremitting news of conflict, global warming, the economy, housing prices, violence, and political polarization. Given these realities, the year ahead can already feel overwhelming. 

Through the 24-hour news cycles and social media, it's too easy to get focused on the “ain’t it awful?” But you know in your spirit that this isn’t the real story shaping our moment. There’s another story that calls us to see that this is God’s time, a time of hope. This is why we’re so passionate about the Commons as an emerging movement. 

In the darkness, a great light shines, and that darkness can’t overcome the light. It only takes a little light to overcome darkness; we should be emboldened, not fearful. Our sense in the Commons is that God is reweaving all things in Christ. Right in the unremitting bad news, in your neighbourhood and community, the Spirit calls forth a different future and invites us to be partners in this reweaving. 

God’s reweaving hope gives us back a life, not mere survival or another bunch of tactics and strategies that leave us disappointed, empty and defeated. Fear isolates us. It closes us off from one another; hope, by contrast, unites us in forming such communities. It opens us up to a horizon that invigorates and inspires us.

What animates us in the Commons is the conviction that this is God’s time, God, reweaving our world through Jesus in each of our local communities. However, local leaders and people often feel isolated and separated from one another. We are closed off from each other. We tend to experience life through experts, professionals, life coaches, and gurus who keep telling us we need them to know what to do. It’s a lie. We need, in Jesus’ world, one another and our neighbours learning to listen to the Spirit with and through one another. Communities of hope open us to God’s horizons and God’s agency, not that of our culture. 

The Commons is a growing community of people working with one another to explore how we form these communities of God’s hope. It’s not about a program but a community of ordinary people; there are no gurus, experts, or data-driven tactics to follow. The Commons involves fellow Christians learning to become companions, discerning what God is doing in our neighbourhoods, and exploring how to join with the Spirit where each of us lives. We’re figuring out how to do this around tables (virtual and face-to-face). These tables are shaped by the three practices of dwelling, discerning, and exploring. We’re doing this because we’re convinced that God is reweaving the places where we are and inviting us to participate through one another.

In 2025, consider joining us on this journey. If we have sparked your curiosity or spoken to your spirit, there are things you can do to become part of this unfolding Commons journey:

• Please keep reading the next posts in this series and add your comments. We’d love to hear from you and broaden the conversation.

• Sign on to our email list (here) to keep updated on Commons activities 

• Share these posts with friends to widen the listening conversations 

We’ll be sharing a series of follow-up posts. Each post will contain a brief thought piece, invite your interactions, and include a place for your feedback. If you believe that 2025 is space to experience God’s hope,  consider joining.  We’d love to learn from you as well as share with you.

Upcoming Posts:

• The Story we’ve lived in (75 year story)

• God is reweaving creation - God’s Agency

• What might we do? - the Commons