You

You have been created to live in union with God and others. We believe that Jesus is the one through whom that union comes to life and so we want to invite you into our journey of living as his disciples.

Us

Commoners is a community within the Wesleyan Methodist Church of New Zealand. That identity places us within a historical arc that has a passion for the good news of Christ and what it means for the world.

Him

We believe in one God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth, incarnated in Christ, the Son, and constantly drawing the world towards redemption and reconciliation through the work of the Spirit. We trust in his grace, freely offered.

Keeping it simple

We're a Wesleyan Methodist community in Hamilton. Being a local Wesleyan Methodist community in Hamilton, we follow and are accountable to our own Local Church Constitution and the Constitution and Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of New Zealand.

At our heart we are a community that desires to see our lives flow from our union with God and each other. We believe that we are saved by grace, through faith, for good works. We want our response to God's grace and our openness to his Spirit to be our focus. We want to learn to see the ongoing activity of the Spirit throughout creation in the moments of our everyday lives and we want to connect with it.

To this end we engage in worship rhythms and practices that open us up to the presence of Christ and his ongoing work of transformation within us.

Our Values

As with all communities we have values that unite us and make us who we are. They give us a lens for determining the direction of our path together. They guide our rhythms, practices and decisions. For some communities those values are unwritten. For us, we wish to for these values to be the bedrock of who we are.

Worship
We value worship as the central element of who we are. Worship is the space where we place our lives before God, recognising his place, our place, and allowing him to shape us. Our worship is contemplative, sacramental, and shared with one another. Central to our worship, both communally and individually are the practices of prayer, scripture reading, and gathering for Holy Communion.

Simplicity
In a busy world we value learning to tune into the presence of God in the ordinary experiences of life; enabling people to reduce the ‘noise’ in order to tune in to the still, small voice of God. In amongst the noise we value quiet, not simply as a sound experience, but as a way of being – learning to find calm in the midst of our everyday lives. For this reason we, as a local church, will not add to the busyness of life. Rather, we seek to be a sacred sanctuary where people can take a breath, unite with God and each other, and be recreated by the transforming grace of the Spirit.

Hospitality
Christ embodied hospitality – welcoming all to the table of God. As we are united with God and shaped towards holiness, so we, with no discrimination, invite all others to that table. As Christ’s hospitality has been extended to us, so we value hospitality and extend it to others in whatever ways we are able.

Mission
In our life of worship, simplicity, and hospitality we are shaped to tune into the presence and activity of the Spirit throughout the world, constantly redeeming all of creation. We value recognising that work, giving voice to it, celebrating it, and connecting with it; embodying the Gospel in words and actions.

Why 'commoners' and 'wesleyan methodist'?

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Nicene Creed

The Nicene Creed is an ancient statement of faith that simply tells the story that sits at the heart of an orthodox Christian faith. It, in its basic form, expresses the story we ascribe to.

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. *universal church

Sacraments

We recognise two sacraments (sacred practices) in the life of the Church and those seeking to live as disciples of Christ. We believe that through practising these sacraments as Jesus instructed, we open our lives to the transforming grace of God.

Baptism

Baptism is a sacrament of initiation through which we visibly commit to covenant relationship with God and unity with the wider body of Christ, the Church. It is also a sign of the covenant God has entered into with us and therefore it is a means by which we enter into God's transforming grace. Baptism is about union with God. In the water we identify with Christ's death and the old passing away. As we rise we identify with Christ's resurrection and our transformation through being made new. We are not 'saved' by baptism, but as a means of grace we recognise this sacrament as a pivotal initiation into covenant with God and his Church.

Holy Communion

Holy Communion is our central act of worship together. Through it we come to the table of God as equals no matter how we or others feel about our status. Together we come to it as people humbly remembering Christ's work on the cross and seeking the transforming grace of God available to all of us. In Holy Communion we open our lives to God, partaking in his Real Presence that is gifted to us in the sacrament, and in so doing we unite with him, with each other, and with the universal Church (the whole body of Christ both past and present). Our aim in the Commoners community is to practice Holy Communion together as often as we can.