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January 14, 2008

Dear Ones,

In my last letter I shared a product of the work of the 2006-07 Membership Task Force entitled “Needs of the Congregation.” This week I am following up with its companion list: “Needs of the Individual.” Both lists support our intention as a congregation to pay attention to who is among us, to be conscious of our needs and gifts, to celebrate our contributions as we choose again and again to come through these doors into a chosen community. An entirely voluntary pathway to membership is taking shape this year, one that will help newcomers and others actively explore their sense of “belonging” here. The act of joining is a pretty big deal. The clearer we all are, the more helpful we can be, as individuals and as a powerful collective, to one another and to those in need beyond our walls. No one will be asked to do, give, or be anything s/he does not want to do, give or be. Each of us will always choose a relationship with the church that feels right to us. Yours may remain the same or change. It is up to you.

I want to reassure those of you who may be/have been a bit put off, reading these lists, by the “corporate”-sounding language. The heart of our intention is relational: connecting person to person in order to open channels for the unobstructed flow of vital energy into the work of being a community of faith. We are all free individuals who share, to one degree or another, this free faith. Together, we are also a single body (corpus, -poris n. Latin), a community of people bound in love and service to one another and to the world around us. In our ministry together we are looking to achieve the optimal balance between our freedom and our responsibility as companions on a shared journey.

• to know that this congregation exists and may meet my needs;
• to be intentionally and warmly welcomed in the course of my initial visits;
• to be able to move about this property and these buildings with ease, reach spaces, use equipment, and access experiences, regardless of my physical ability;
• to have assistance in identifying and meeting the immediate needs that brought me to the church and to have any initial questions answered;
• to meet the ministers and key leaders in the congregation;
• to feel that others notice me, value me and want to get to know me without feeling “assaulted” by excessive attention;
• to feel sure that each member of my family and circle of friends is safe and comfortable in the church, their worth and dignity recognized and upheld;
• to have my curiosity about Unitarian Universalism and the history and mission of this congregation amply satisfied;
• to understand the shared values and the implicit and explicit assumptions of this congregational culture;
• to find easily opportunities to deepen my understanding of the intersection of the UU faith and my personal spiritual development and to find “purposeful companionship” in that work;
• to find easily opportunities to engage in the progress of the congregation towards fulfilling its mission;
• to receive personal support in times of celebration, loss, confusion, stress or crisis;
• to continue over time to feel recognized, valued and invited into the fun and work of this community;
• to see that individuals in this congregation live out with integrity the values, principles and covenants we together affirm as we go about our ministry “within, among and beyond” ourselves;
• to understand the “rights and responsibilities” of membership and, when ready, to encounter a clear and supported process for “signing the book.”

Again, I welcome your thoughts about this pair of letters. Moreover, I invite any of you who are interested in helping the Membership Committee fulfill the promise of these lists to contact me - - 203-227-7205, ext. 19 - or our process administrator, Lorraine Reilly - . There are a variety of jobs for volunteers, many small and time-limited or cyclical. Meanwhile,

Be well,

Margie

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