By Connie Goodbread

Path to Membership #2

What are the expectations for members of our congregation?
Do we challenge members to be the best that they can be?
Do we challenge ourselves to be the best that we can be?
Do we fund the mission/vision so that the congregation can really make a difference in the larger community that it serves?
Do we understand that we are always evolving, changing, becoming more fully human and that we are never finished?
Do we offer programs that help long time members to go deeper?

We are not the people who believe anything we want.
We are the people who believe what we must.

This, of course goes back to earlier articles in this series about our generosity with and about our faith. It is important how we behave with one another and whether or not we are living our covenant. Do we look at the programs we are offering to make sure that we are covering all six stages of faith development? Do we try to reach people in different ways addressing the three learning styles? Do we recognize the reality that people think and learn differently? Do we keep worship as a time for the faith community to come together, as a whole, to recognize the holy, hold up that which it finds most worthy and to celebrate and mourn?

Generosity – Do we give generously with glad hearts and ask others to do the same? As part of understanding the depth of the community they are about the join, do we communicate to prospective new members the importance and the need to pay for the vision? …to volunteer? …to urge themselves toward deeper understanding …to live
the covenant?

Do we explain, or even understand ourselves, the responsibility of membership? – or are we afraid that this deeper discussion will turn people away so once again we make it easy and sell the faith cheaply. I don’t mean to say that we should just put obstacles in the way of new people who want to join our congregations. What I am saying is that we should communicate the importance of our faith.

What are the responsibilities of membership?

To uphold and stand firm on the values of the congregation and Unitarian Universalism
To work for a just and loving world
To help to grow the beloved community
To be generous with our time, talents and treasures
To believe what we must
To have an open mind and heart
To be respectful
To search for truth, responsibly
To speak our truth in a loving way
To listen deeply
To act responsibly
To become our best selves and understand that we are never finished but always becoming
To ask for forgiveness and be forgiving
To lead when we our leadership is needed and to follow when following is important