Oct. 7 Reflection: Membership
Dear Holy Covenant Family,
Recently, I’ve had many people ask me about membership in the church: What does it mean to be a member of Holy Covenant? Why should I join? How do I join? What are the vows? My guess is many of you may be wondering the same thing.
The book of Acts, which comes immediately after the Gospels, chronicles the earliest community of those who were trying to follow Jesus. They ask similar questions about community: Who is welcome? How are we in relationship with each other? How do we organize ourselves as a family? In the 2nd chapter of Acts these early followers figure out what it means to be the church with one another. It concludes this way:
43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds* to all, as any had need. 46Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home* and ate their food with glad and generous* hearts, 47praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
Don’t worry-membership at Holy Covenant doesn’t mean that you sell all your goods or that we all move in together! But, there is truth, beauty, and wisdom in the early church, which helps us today organize ourselves as followers of Jesus. When people join Holy Covenant, they participate in a ritual during worship and vow to support the church with their prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Anyone who joins a United Methodist Church makes these same vows. The foundation of these vows, of what it means to live in Christian community, are found in this passage from Acts: The first Christians prayed by praising God in all they do, just as we vow to pray for and with this community and those who are hurting all over the world; those in Acts participated with their presence, by coming to the temple each and every day, just as we vow to make our presence known in worship, as often as we can; they offered their gifts, sharing what they owned for the common good of all those in their midst, just as we offer our gifts so that the ministry of Holy Covenant can thrive and grow; they served one another by sharing a common meal, just as we vow to be in service through Dignity Diner, the Green Team, Mission Projects, and LAC; they witnessed to others about the joys of faith, because many joined them and added to their numbers, just as we vow to witness by telling our story of how Holy Covenant has made a difference in our lives.
Anyone, member and non-member, can participate fully in the life of the church; membership doesn’t open up special privileges. Membership does, however, encourage us to deepen our level of commitment, so that we are in a mutual covenant with this community and vow before God and one another to live out our life together as people of faith. If you are interested in learning more, you can read our new membership document.
As always, I’m open to conversation, questions, and disagreements; don’t hesitate to be in touch. We are all privileged to be part of this unique community that lives out love in relationship with one another. Thanks be to God!
Grace and Peace,
Kate
