Our Pre-History: The Closing of FBC Natick
After much deliberation and soul-searching, the First Baptist Church in Natick (FBC Natick), officially stopped worshipping and disbanded its membership in the fall of 2011. A temporary board of trustees from FBC Natick worked with the American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts (TABCOM), the historic denominational partner of FBC Natick, to call a minister to start a completely new community of faith in Natick using the building and resources left behind by FBC Natick. The process of disbanding their congregation to make room for a new congregation to be born was an incredible leap of faith for the members of FBC Natick. It was their hope that a vital witness to God’s love would be born in Natick in the place where they formerly worshipped and enjoyed fellowship. For more info on the closing of FBC Natick, please read this newspaper article.
The Calling of Rev. Ian Mevorach
The Rev. Ian Mevorach was called by TABCOM, in consultation with the temporary board of trustees of FBC Natick, to start the new congregation. Rev. Ian Mevorach was chosen because he is an outside-the-box thinker with the entrepreneurial skills and talents required to start a completely new church that would be relevant and transformative for the community in and around Natick. He moved to Natick with his wife Amy and their three children (now they have four), in June of 2012. And from that day on, the work of starting a new community began.
In partnership with Ian, Amy played an essential role in this work, building relationships and leading key programs and groups. She is recognized as the co-founder of Common Street Spiritual Center. Amy and Ian decided to end their marriage in 2017, and while Amy has since moved on from a leadership role at the Spiritual Center she is appreciated for her many contributions to the growth and development of the Common Street community and its mission.
Common Street Begins
After spending months in Natick meeting people, praying, brainstorming, and figuring out what the needs of the community in around Natick were, both spiritually and practically, Ian and Amy began to articulate the mission, vision, and values of a new community of faith called Common Street Community Church (CSCC). Through conversations, a website, outreach events, social media, and public meetings they gathered those who were interested in “building a multicultural community of faith that is inclusive and accepting, rooted in Christian faith and practice, and open to our neighbor’s faith and spirituality.” The community of people attracted to the vision, mission, and values of Common Street Community Church held its first public worship service on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2012. A great story about this first service was published on the first page of the Boston Globe the next day; you can read it here. Since that time, we have continued to gather for worship each Sunday at 10:30am, and have also developed many other ministries and ways of serving and connecting with our community.
Common Street Becomes Self-Governing
On June 2nd of 2013, Common Street Community Church became a self-governing congregation when the temporary board of trustees from FBC Natick resigned their positions, having completed their charge to maintain the upkeep and administration of the facilities until the completion of the initial start up phase of the new congregation. Common Street Community Church’s first governing council was formed, its bylaws set in place, and its initial membership confirmed.
Doug Sheperd, the former moderator of FBC Natick, embraces Rev. Ian Mevorach at the worship service on June 2, 2013, where the temporary board of trustees officially transferred their responsibility to the first church council of CSCC.
Renaming
In the fall of 2014 our community gathered for conversations to consider the epiphany of Rev. Ian that we change our name from “church” to “spiritual center,” a name that better fits with our inclusive vision. The decision to rename was nearly unanimous; it was also supported by the leadership of our denomination as a way to catch a “fresh wind of the Spirit.” During our communal discernment process, Amy Mevorach sketched the vision of “spiritual center” in a ring of circles, with a common center in the middle; later, thanks to design work by Scott Pressler, the concept Amy sketched became our new logo. Each circle represents the different but inter-connected ways that folks within our community pursue their various callings, all of which are centered in Divine Love.
On March 14th, 2015, we had a wonderful renaming celebration to mark the occasion. As a spiritual center we are a love-centered community that seeks to connect people to their spiritual centers and support people in manifesting what flows out of their spiritual centers.
The Journey Continues
Today Common Street Spiritual Center is still alive with possibility. We are continually experimenting with new language, new ideas, and new ways of being and becoming what Martin Luther King Jr. called “Beloved Community.” We’ve maintained our historic affiliation with the American Baptist Churches, USA, who have offered their wholehearted support of our inclusive mission and vision. We are deepening our sense of mission, widening our inclusive vision, and striving to live out our values in all we do.
Clarified Mission and Vision
In the spring of 2018, our community voted unanimously in favor of a clarified version of our mission and vision, one which most clearly and boldly describes our vision of a loving and inclusive pluralistic community inspired to change the world for the better.
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.
A Goal of Membership Growth
As we enter our seventh year, in 2019, our major goal is to grow our community, currently of about 55 members, to a critical mass of about 200-300 members. It has taken us quite a while to build our base community and discern our common sense of mission and vision. We have indeed been “planted” as a community. Now, in 2019 and beyond, we hope to see our community continue to deepen its roots, and to blossom and grow!
Approaching Critical Mass: 2023 Update
In 2022, our community grew from 91 to 155 members, and as of February 1st, 2023, one month into 2023, we are at 187 members. It appears that our community is approaching the goal we set in 2019, to reach a critical mass of about 200-300 members. Our community is in a very creative place. With our baseline of pluralistic acceptance of many religious and spiritual paths, we find ourselves as a hub for the emergence of a new paradigm of spirituality that is responsive to humanity’s major aspirations, such as connection across difference, world peace, a respectful and sustainable relationship with nature, gender equity, humanization, self-actualization, creative expression, authentic community, etc.
Read More
Check out these news articles that tell the story of the beginnings of our community.
“In the Spirit of Christmas, a church is born” — Boston Globe, 12/25/12, Front Page Feature
“Natick First Baptist Church tries for comeback” — Metrowest Daily News, 06/23/12