We are people on a journey…
following the lead of love.
Following Jesus, we’re interested in faith that expresses itself in love. Love makes bold moves, is wholehearted, self-sacrificial, and leads us to lay down power and control in favor of grace and peace. We are not a community in pursuit of believing all the same things, feeling the same, or holding the same opinions, as if that’s even possible. Instead, we’re an eclectic group on the move, bound together by a desire to move forward together in the beautiful way of Jesus. At Canvas, we welcome diversity as a gift because difference, not sameness, strengthens our ability and reveals the heart of God. We are united in our trajectory as people learning to love for the good of the world.
In looking back, we see the way forward.
As best as we can tell, the movement Jesus set in motion was a simple, countercultural, radical expression of grace and peace. Seeking to be true to these roots while moving forward into the future, we sense an important and timely call to be a community of people given to:
Peacemaking / a Christianity that seeks justice
With an imagination for how we might participate in mending the divides, we step forward where there is division. Where there is hostility, we desire reconciliation. Peacemaking is a way of life that beckons us to cultivate health within and without. It involves deeply personal inner work that leads to outward engagement in the struggle for justice. Recognizing and honoring the image of God in all people, we look to stand in solidarity with the vulnerable and oppressed. Peacemaking invites us to inhabit rare territory. It calls us beyond the defective paradigms of fight or flight, left or right, and into a creative new way of presence animated by the bold risks of love, tenderness and self-sacrifice.
Listening / a Christianity that emphasizes contemplation
In a culture constantly bombarding us with noise, we are learning to welcome silence, reflection, and contemplation. In an age which falsely associates strength with shouting and bombast, we are discovering how the countercultural commitment to listen, wonder, and ask good questions is truly revolutionary. By listening first, our prayers, words, and actions become creative responses rooted in context rather than flippant reactions. To listen well is to love well.
Creativity / a Christianity that celebrates initiative
People were created by God to create. Seeking to act on the divine impulse to produce, tend, express, we roll up our sleeves and give ourselves to the work of initiating new things. Whether we’re creating spreadsheets, goods, artwork, structures, or vision, it’s all of value so we proceed with reverence, respect, and awareness for how the things we create influence others. Rather than wasting our time as consumers or critics, we’re set on seizing our true identity as creators.
Growth / a Christianity that embraces change
To be a disciple of Jesus is to be a learner, someone open to a life-long process of change, expansion, and redirection. Change is hard, but together, we’re learning to embrace and celebrate how a life of growth means we will be people in process, people on a journey. Along the way, we’re discovering that belief, doubt, faith and uncertainty all play critical roles in what it means to grow. We are learning to cooperate with the natural rhythms of growth rather than fighting change for the sake of staying the same. The growth we seek will never be found through study alone. It is when knowledge is applied, embodied, and experienced over time, and in relationship with others, that we experience the kind of beautiful growth that makes change well worth it.
Integration / a Christianity rooted in reality
In reality, all aspects of life are surprisingly connected and all truth is of God. The notion that the concerns of religion, spirituality, health, science, arts and politics are incompatible, opposed, and best maintained separate from each other, is a false construct that keeps us from realizing more of the wholeness and flourishing we desire for our lives and the world. Our desire is to seek and cooperate with the kingdom in all places, even those that seem unlikely. In seeking to bring together seemingly disparate worlds, we often discover the presence of God in ways that surprise and renew us. This means there is no reality too difficult to engage, no person or group we cannot learn from, and no fear in listening to the truth we find outside of our immediate circles.
Wisdom / a Christianity grounded in understanding
We desire to live well so we seek to apply discernment and deep understanding to our contexts, decisions, and directions. Because reality is complicated and ethical dilemmas abound, black and white thinking is rarely sufficient to help us see the alternative way of love. The pursuit of wisdom calls us to learn to apply ethics skillfully and in context, in the service of what is loving and most healthy for ourselves, and others. With wisdom as our guide, we learn to navigate gray areas with the confidence that we are being led by something far greater than rules — we aspire to be led by the Spirit of God.