Friends Church - Calgary

Project Mexico 2027
February 10th-15th

Join the 2027 Project Mexico Team

Ready to Take Water beyond our walls? Join us February 10-15, 2027, as we head to Mexico to help build a safe, secure home for a family in need.

Interest in being part of the team? Applications are now open!

For More Details & To Signup - https://buff.ly/tfXw1RU

The Golden Calves we built this week (and what it tells us about us)

Everyone has one: the scroll that never really ends, the show that autoplays into the next one, the project that always needs one more hour, the busy that keeps you too busy to notice what you're avoiding. It works, until the day it doesn't, and whatever you built it to outrun is still sitting there waiting.

There's an old story about a group of people who couldn't sit with their pain either, so they built a statue of a calf out of gold to make the feeling go away. We all have our own version of that Golden Calf.

This Sunday we're looking at what ours actually is, what it's been standing in for, and how we deal with what we've been trying to make go away.

Come find out this Sunday at 10:30 at the Spiritual Gym.

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This is the first talk from the Digital Idols where we are looking at our spirituality in the age of AI. What technology reveals about our deepest fears, our deepest loneliness, and what we're actually starving for.

Water Sunday: Taking Water to Our World

On September 13th, we took the morning off from our Spiritual Gym for Water Sunday - a chance to put our spirituality into action by serving someone else. Friends took the opportunity to help a neighbour, volunteer, lend a hand, or simply do something to make someone’s day a little easier. It was a reminder that spirituality isn’t just something we talk about on Sunday mornings - it’s something we carry into our homes, neighbourhoods, workplaces, and community.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to Take Water to our World. 💧

Socks For People Experiencing Homelessness
Collecting Socks August 30th - October 11th

Our sock collection is underway, and we’re inviting our Friends community to help keep feet warm this fall and winter. We’re collecting new socks of all kinds to be distributed to people experiencing homelessness and those in need. Every package donated makes a practical difference, and together we can turn a simple pair of socks into a little more warmth, comfort, and dignity for someone who needs it.

Want to do more than donate? You can also sign up to help distribute the socks on October 11th &/or October 18th. It’s a great opportunity to get involved, connect with others, and put our generosity into action.

For More Details on this Water Project & To Signup - https://buff.ly/PRCsjwz

Silver Linings Foundation - Casino Fundraiser

Showing Up for Silver Linings

This September, members of our Friends Church community came together to support the Silver Linings Foundation by volunteering at their casino fundraiser at Elbow River Casino.

For more than a decade, Silver Linings has been working to expand access to quality eating disorder care and recovery support for Albertans. By filling volunteer shifts, our community helped contribute to approximately $2,000 in funding per shift for this important work.

Thank you to everyone who stepped up, gave their time, and helped make a difference. It’s a great example of what it means to Take Water to your World—seeing a need and showing up for our community. 💧

Community Lunch at Friends Church

Join us Sunday, October 4 at 11:45 AM for our next Community Lunch at Temple B’nai Tikvah Social Hall, right after the service.

For just $10 per person, enjoy a great meal, relaxed conversation, and the chance to connect with others in our community. Bring your family, invite a friend, or simply come as you are—there’s always room at the table.

After costs, proceeds will support Socks For Homelessness, helping provide warm socks and support to people experiencing homelessness in our community.

For More Details - https://buff.ly/toy9tzd

Altered Card Gaming Group Event
Temple B'nai Library
Sunday - September 20th - 1:00pm

Join us for a fun and casual afternoon of Altered, a trading card game that’s easy to learn and fun to play! No experience or cards are needed—community decks will be available, and players will be there to help you get started.

Ages 9+ | Free

For More Details & To Signup - https://buff.ly/ymYR8g6

Water Sunday
Sunday - September 13th

💧 No service September 13, back to regular services starting September 20

No regular service this Sunday. We're back to normal times September 20.

Why? We share our building with the B'Nai Tikvah Jewish Community, and this Sunday is one of their biggest gatherings of the year.

So instead, Take Water to Your World:
→ Call a friend, go for coffee
→ Do something special for family
→ Volunteer somewhere you care about
→ Give to a cause that matters

Healthy spirituality shows up in the world. This Sunday, go to church without going to church.

No service. No schedule. Just Water.

Digital Idols - What we build when we're alone
Series Starts September 20th

There's a story in the Bible where a group of people, scared and directionless, melt down what they have and build a life-sized statue — then call it God. Weird enough on its own. Then you realize we do a version of this every time we ask an AI something existential.

What is it about being human that makes us build something more powerful than ourselves, and hand it the job of holding our lives together? A fear? A loneliness? A hunger for something more?

Digital Idols is six weeks on exactly that. We'll sit with the panic behind why people build substitutes in the first place — not to judge it, but to recognize it. We'll hold the golden calf up next to the chatbot and ask why we're drawn to anything that's always available, always agrees, and never leaves. We'll ask what a real relationship gives you that a substitute never will, no matter how convincing it gets. We'll talk about what happens when the thing — or the person — you're waiting on takes too long, and you fill the gap with something easier. And we'll land on the question nobody wants to answer: when the thing we built causes harm, who's responsible — the one who built it, or the one who kept coming back?

This series is about spirituality in the age of AI. What our substitutes reveal about our deepest fears, our deepest loneliness, and what we're actually starving for.

Don't miss this one. It's a Spiritual Gym workout that's going to change how you see yourself — and the world you've built around you. Put this into your calendar and invite someone in your life who might need this conversation right now.