Historical Overview
Common Street Spiritual Center was founded in 2012 by Rev. Dr. Ian Mevorach. His vision of community was largely inspired by the pioneering efforts of Howard Thurman, a civil rights leader and mystic, who started the first intentionally interracial and interfaith church in America (The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples). The purpose of the Spiritual Center is to bring people of diverse backgrounds together in an inclusive, loving community that seeks to be the change we want to see in the world.
As a member-led spiritual community, we are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that exists to advance the following mission and vision:
Mission and Vision
We are an inclusive and love-centered community. We value many spiritual paths. We welcome and embrace people of all beliefs and cultures.
We envision a life-sustaining society and cultivate activities that bring peace, justice, and healing to the earth. We find meaning and a sense of community through ritual, dialogue, food, and the arts.
We seek to know and expand our personal spiritual centers through study, practice, and contemplation. We actively support one another by demonstrating love, truth, creativity, and inspiration which flow from our innermost centers.
Our Community
We have a growing community of about 300 members (as of 2023), and a wider and looser community of friends of the Spiritual Center. Our intention is to continue to grow our community as we seek to fulfill our mission and vision.
Members of our community get to know each other and develop real relationships in the context of their life journeys, their highest values, their struggles, growth areas, and aspirations for their personal lives and for our wider world.
We meet in small groups, work on projects together, create programs and events, make art, share meals, sing, pray and study together, and in general create a supportive community context. As a community we have developed a Relational Covenant based on the unifying value of love that guides the way we treat each other, and the way we strive to live in the world.
Leadership
Our community is led by Rev. Dr. Mevorach, a Council of volunteer leaders, a small staff, subcommittees of our Council, and members and friends serving in various leadership capacities. We seek to be a community that is open to the inspiration and emergent leadership of members and non-members alike.
What Happens Here
Given our central location in the Natick Center Cultural District (Downtown), our building is a popular gathering place for activities led by both members and friends of the Spiritual Center. Programs and events have included community potlucks, drum circles, ecstatic dance, yoga, qi gong, meditation, recovery meetings, interfaith dialogues, racial justice dialogues, study groups, book groups, eco-spirituality groups, worship services, music classes, dance recitals, theater productions, choral performances, film screenings, open mics, retreats, poetry readings, religious and cultural celebrations, weddings, funerals, talks, presentations, non-profit fundraising events, and more. The spiritual center is also home to the Natick Children’s House Montessori Preschool, the ASK Muslim Sunday School, and the Natick Winter Farmer’s Market.