Someone asked me, “What does membership mean in a UU church?” There are all sorts of articles you can find on the web about this very issue. I used to hand out the Jefferson Unitarian Church’s “Rights and Responsibilities of Membership” to folks. Sure, it means contributing financially. It means being able to vote at congregational meanings. It means being able to serve as the chair of a committee – if that is something one longs for.
For me, choosing to join a church, choosing to become a member means that you are throwing your lot in with a particular community; you are committing to a group of people – for better or for worse. For congregations are made up of people and people form relationships and human relationships have their high moments and their lower moments. Those times when we are able to bring and act from the best of who we are. And we have those times when we are not able to access the best of who we are in interactions.
Every relationship, every person, every community, eventually falls from grace. The honeymoon phase of perfection eventually morphs into the realities of who we all are: flawed, vulnerable, imperfect, beautiful beings worthy of love. So membership means hanging in there in spite of and because of the inevitable ups and downs that we will all experience in community. Membership is a commitment to what is known and a trust or faith in what is not yet known.
Come and throw your lot in with the WUUC community. Yep: for better or for worse. You will be welcomed and cared for. You will at some time, be disappointed, you will be challenged, you will grow, you will be enfolded into something larger than yourself.
Peace, Shalom, Salaam,
Rev. Lo