One of the challenges of ministry in the 21st century is defining membership. Especially in ecumenical shared ministry! For many of us in Anglican/United Church ecumenical shared ministries membership is ‘counted’ differently. The United Church has members and adherents. A “historic parish roll” is kept and it is maintained as a physical book. Members can transfer from one United Church to another, there is an official transfer form. The only way a person is removed from the roll is if they request it, they transfer or they die.
In the Anglican Church of Canada membership has taken many forms, from the baptised, to those who are confirmed, to those who are communicant members of the congregation. We do not keep an official roll. We often do not transfer to another parish home, we simply show up and keep showing up.
In Fernie we have had the signs of Christ Church Anglican and Fernie Knox United affixed to the exterior of our building for over a year. We have officially adopted the name Fernie Shared Ministry, but have yet to hang a sign.
At our AGM on February 16, I proposed a sign with a specific logo of a cross which is also a tree trunk and branches with multi coloured leaves. These represent a number of things…different ages, different races, different denominations, different faith backgrounds. We have folks attending with us who are Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist,Roman Catholic, United Church, a couple of folks who practice Buddhism and a few that don’t really have any particular denomination, yet have a very deep faith. All of this makes membership challenging.
So, I decided to take the names of all the people who regularly attend worship. And I decided to include the folks who join us online; from those who live in Fernie but find it difficult to get to Church, to those who live further afield in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Montana and even Ida, who joins us from England. Each of our family has a nametag with our logo and their name in simple black lettering.
This came about because of two separate conversations I had one Sunday after Worship. One lady who comes from a Roman Catholic background commented that she loves coming to Fernie Shared Ministry because while she doesn’t know if she is a member, she does feel like she belongs. I assured her that she absolutely is a member and she is most welcome.
A few minutes later I had a conversation with a husband and wife who belonged to the Lutheran Church in Fernie which closed a couple of years back. They took some time to heal from all of what surrounded that and then decided to attend Fernie Shared Ministry. Immediately upon their entrance they were welcomed warmly by friends and neighbours. It was heartening to see the family circle growing. I thanked them for coming to worship with us and the husband commented that they feel as though they belong with us, as they know most all of the congregation.
This got me to thinking…is membership more important than belonging? If we look to the future of the Church, in many areas of growth it is in small towns where two or more denominations have come together to worship God. Aside from denominational labels, they come together to Worship. They come together as the body of Christ and as the family of God. When someone is baptised, they are welcomed into the family of God, regardless of denomination.
It is time, I believe, to look beyond the label and into the heart. To realise and live into the truth that we are followers of Jesus, first and foremost. I am proud of my Anglican heritage and grateful for the Church that raised me up to ordination. And yet, that Church no longer exists. The Church that I began my ministry in no longer exists. And while there is grief surrounding that, there is also gratitude for the lessons I’ve learned and the understanding I’ve realised that belonging is far more significant than membership.
