Membership
Membership in any religious congregation is a very personal matter. The best way to find out if a congregation feels comfortable to you and your family is to attend a number of services. Talk with the minister and religious educator(s); sit in on some RE programs; attend church social activities like a potluck, open house or social outing; attend a discussion or book group. These experiences will give you a feel for the members and friends of St. John's and offer a chance to set down roots in compassionate community.
Here at St. John's, we endeavor to create a safe and caring community together with those who seek and cherish worship without creed, a free and thoughtful search for meaning and a responsive outreach into the wider world.
We are made up of a variety of creative people. We sing and tell stories, listen to one another and seek ways to enrich our own personal lives and the worldwide quality of life.
We are a welcoming congregation. We celebrate the racial, religious, economic, physical ability, sexual orientation and gender diversity of our members, friends and visitors, young and old. This rich diversity is important to us as a catalyst for personal and spiritual growth.
"What do Unitarian/Universalists (UUs) believe," we are asked, "what is your creed?"
We have no creed. On matters normally frozen into creedal statements, we are expected to follow the dictates of reason, conscience, and experience. Our congregations make no official pronouncements on God, Scripture, salvation, or any other theological issues generally addressed with finality by more traditional religious groups. UUs look for truth and inspiration from every possible source.
The most fundamental of all our values, then, is the affirmation of the right to individual freedom of religious belief--the principle of the free mind.
The act of becoming a member varies somewhat from church to church, but never includes creedal requirements. With your signature in the St. John's membership book you affirm your pledge to enter and to remain in a continuing and tolerant dialogue concerning the ways of truth and love, a dialogue within which free persuasion may occur, to share in our fellowship and in our democratic decision making, and to support with your gifts of energy and money our common work for the common good.
Our congregations are self-governing. Authority and responsibility arevested in the membership of the congregation. Each local congregation adopts its own bylaws, elects its own officers, and approves its budget. Every member is encouraged to take part in activities.
For more information contact the membership chair, listed in the People Directory, or pick up free booklets and leaflets from the table by the front door in the main lobby. Our minister, The Rev. Frank Carpenter, will also welcome a call.