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rjstanto
Posts:1
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| 06/17/2008 6:48 PM |
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I am a new member of my church council. I am the chair of the Ecumenical and Outreach Committee, and was asked to investigate church membership practices in the UCC and DOC. We are a small church, and basically we are interested in investigating options to chruch official membership for new church attendees. Some people on the council said they have heard of UCC churches that do not have traditional membership requirements where new church attendees who are interested in "joining the chuch" have to officially become members of that church. I have tried to investigate this online and have not been successful. We want to attract new memebers and want to know what types of membership practices are out there. Thank you! |
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Bill Siddall
Posts:3
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| 06/27/2008 10:19 AM |
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Hello, rjstanto. I'm not sure what question you are asking. On the one hand, "joining the church" by definition, implies becoming a member. On the other hand, in my local church, non-members are treated the same as members, except for being able to serve on church boards and to vote at congregational meetings. (I'm working from memory, so may have forgotten some other minor differences.)
If you are asking about the process to become a member, my local church does not (to my knowledge) have a rigorous, formal process. We have informal meetings to introduce interested people to the church. I suspect that most new members will have had a meeting or two with one of our pastors. And, when we welcome new members in a service, they will affirm their commitment to support and participate in the life of the church. It's a fairly standard new member liturgy.
You may have more luck in your research if you contact a small sample of churches directly and ask the question. |
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fleckers
Posts:40
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| 06/28/2008 9:03 AM |
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| A struggle I have as a pastor is how important it is for someone to become a "card carrying" member of my church. This always hits me when it's time to fill out our annual statistical report to the Conference. We have several very faithful attendees who are not members here, some for reasons that seem legitimate to me - family requests, prior church memberships, etc. So I welcome these folks, tell them this is their church, I am their pastor, and we want them to consider this their church home. Often, after some time, they actually join us, but not always. Do other churches have this same experience? And what is God still speaking about on this topic? |
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MamaGavone
Posts:27
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| 07/04/2008 2:53 AM |
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| hi fleckers,
i can't speak for my entire home church, but i think i've been observing something that might shed maybe just a little light on why some people might be shy about official membership in a UCC church. I just joined my church officially in may (but i started going in early april). Now it's july and my husband is interested in joining the church too and also having our boys' baptism there. however, i noticed he is very stingy with any details of the church when he talks to his mother about it. i asked him about it and he said his mother wouldnt be very happy to hear that our denomination encourages acceptance of gays and political activism and many other more 'liberal' practices (he was scared enough just to tell her it was a protestant church and not a catholic one). is it possible some people might be scared about the political connotations of being a UCC member--particularly when it comes down to explaining what UCC is to a disaprooving mother or father or some other such important figure in one's life who is very conservative? (not to say there aren't conservatives in the UCC, of course.) cuz that's what i'm seeing happening with my husband and his family (although maybe it's a moot point because my husband is actually willing to become a member--he just doesnt want to have to explain it to anyone. i think it just has a lot to do with identity politics in our case).
(my husband seems especially cautious when it comes to our church's ONA statement. he's happy to support it when we're inside the church, but he doesnt want to explain it to anyone outside the church--as if it makes him gay by association or something. and i think he is hyper conscious of this because he is a sailor in the navy-an institution over-run, of course, with homophobia--but this is all an aside..) |
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"What is therefore, our task today? Shall I answer: 'Faith, hope and love?' That sounds beautiful. But I would say – courage. No - even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth. Our task today is recklessness ... [t]o restlessly seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the Kingdom of God."
from The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne
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Linda
Posts:93
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| 07/04/2008 9:42 AM |
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Our church has several people who have attended regularly for a long time but choose not to formally join the congregation, for reasons known to themselves. Our bylaws specifically require that certain ministry (board) positions be filled by members-- like Council, Deacons, Stewardship-- but non-members can and do serve in other places. While it would be wonderful if they formally became members, we welcome their presence and participation in the life of the church as "friends" of the congregation.
Our church has similar simple membership requirements to Bill's church. Anyone interested in membership speaks to the pastor. A New Members class is held as an opportunity to get questions answered and find out more about each other. They are welcomed into the congregation during a service, where the new member and the congregation pledge to support each other, and the new member signs the church covenant.
Jenna, when I tell people about the UCC I emphasize the freedom of belief, the opportunity for individuals and churches to form their own theological understanding based on Bible study, tradition, history, experience-- that individual congregations fall all along the spectrum from conservative to progressive. Yes, the UCC is understood nationally to be pretty progressive, but there are plenty of people within the UCC that consider themselves traditional or conservative. My own congregation is an example of the diversity found in the wider church. We acknowledge our very strong differences-- we don't sweep them under the rug-- and we love each other and work together anyway. That's what I tell people about, because after the hierarchy and expected adherence to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I celebrate being in a place where disagreement is openly allowed, where I feel free to think for myself. Sometimes I also emphasize the strong social stances that the UCC has taken, especially if I know I'm talking to someone who is looking for a progressive church. But no matter where they fall on the spectrum, I tell them that there is likely a UCC church out there that would fit them. It just might not be the first one they try. |
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fleckers
Posts:40
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| 07/04/2008 12:14 PM |
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| Isn't it strange how many of us in the UCC don't understand our polity? We are congregational from the very beginning; each congregation covenants to bind with others in the UCC, but we don't have to agree at all on many issues. I've found in my own church that folks don't realize we are free to agree/disagree with pronouncements that we find to be too "liberal" for us. Maybe we need some Still Speaking Bible studies on church polity - as a minister I could even use a refresher course. |
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MamaGavone
Posts:27
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| 07/04/2008 12:34 PM |
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| Linda, I wholeheartedly agree with everything you have just said. In fact, I have said much the same thing myself at our most recent church council meeting. Right now my churh is embroiled in a heated debate over our adoption of our ONA statement (or so they say). The people who disagree with the statement claim that UCC tries to impose liberal politics and values on members--when it's quite the opposite, actually. The UCC is a place for dialogue and discussion and difference of opinion--there is no silencing of any political opinion, just a call for unity no matter what...which is what i love about this denomination. |
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"What is therefore, our task today? Shall I answer: 'Faith, hope and love?' That sounds beautiful. But I would say – courage. No - even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth. Our task today is recklessness ... [t]o restlessly seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the Kingdom of God."
from The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne
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MamaGavone
Posts:27
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| 07/04/2008 12:46 PM |
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| i just wish more people would realize that the ucc does not tell anyone what to think about anything. my pastor herself has said just this past sunday that you dont have to agree with the preacher and she has told me in the past i must come to understand god on my own terms and no one elses. yet somehow there is still this sentiment that ucc pastors use their pulpit to impose unwelcome beliefs on their parishoners and there's this silly idea that ucc somehow requires these pastors to hold whatever political beliefs they have--as if they were kidnapped and brainwashed into this particular ministry or something. i just think it's such an absurd notion. who would pastor a church in the name of a denomination you feel no affinity towards? we choose the denomination that best represents our most deepest understanding of god's love and word and the tasks with which the lord charges us; at least that's the impression i was under... |
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"What is therefore, our task today? Shall I answer: 'Faith, hope and love?' That sounds beautiful. But I would say – courage. No - even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth. Our task today is recklessness ... [t]o restlessly seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the Kingdom of God."
from The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne
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