Membership is the state of belonging to a group or organization. Different organizations have various conditions for membership. Some require a fee, others require a pledge. Sometimes membership is simply a matter of showing up. But being as member of the Church is different than being a member of an organization. A Church member is really the member of a family – the family of God.
Our Church canons state “All persons who have received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism with water in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, whether in this Church or in another Christian Church, and whose Baptisms have been duly recorded in this Church, are members thereof (Title III Canon 1.17 Sec 1a).”
Through the waters of baptism we are united with Our Lord Jesus Christ. Through this union, we are adopted as sons and daughters of God. And as His adopted children, our membership in the family of God begins.
Contrary to popular opinion, membership in the Church is not a matter of mandatory dues or obligatory participation. In truth, membership in the church is a voluntary reception of the free gift of life God has offered to us through His Son Jesus Christ, and our desire to nurture that new life through our participation in his Body, the Church.
If you are interested in being united to the Body of Christ through Holy Baptism, or living out your membership in the Body here at St. Michael’s by-the-Sea, we invite you to enroll in our Catechumenate course. This 8-week course is designed to help orient new parishioners to the fundamentals of the Christian faith and the Anglo-Catholic tradition, and to provide instruction for those who wish to receive the sacraments of baptism or confirmation, or to reaffirm their faith.
