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what price membershipWho me? A member? ...of what? ...why? ...and what do I get out of it?
Part of the Catch the Vision process has been the question of where we fit into the overall picture of the Christian presence in this country. This includes statistics: how many ‘members’ do we have – and is this a genuine reflection of our size and significance within the wider church?
But what do we mean by ‘members’? Traditionally, in the history of Presbyterians, Congregationalists and the Churches of Christ, we have stressed the importance of members participating in the democratic processes of the church – by having a voice in the local Church Meeting, through which we are represented in the wider councils of the church at regional and national level.
This is not the same as democratic voting rights in secular society or other organisations. It is about the working of the Spirit, with members of each meeting listening and contributing as appropriate, and acknowledging the presence of God in the process. But in order to exercise this right, it has been necessary to ‘sign up’ and register membership with a local church – and at the same time to make a public confession of personal faith, together with a commitment to active involvement with that local congregation.
This is historical fact – but is it really relevant for today? Can we continue to live in the past and ignore the fact that times have changed and people’s social and personal commitments are expressed in very different ways within today’s society? The reality is that the churches are not alone in finding that people no longer wish to ‘sign on the dotted line’ in order to become ‘members’ of particular organisations. Voluntary organisations, clubs and even political parties are losing traditional ‘members’ at an alarming rate. For us too, statistics are a matter of concern – but do not necessarily reflect the reality of life on the ground. URC churches are not all falling apart because of a lack of people, although attendance on Sundays may be more occasional than in the past, and Christian commitment may be expressed through activities within the wider community rather than in joining the choir or running the Brownies.
When we commit ourselves as ‘members’ to our local church, is this just a case of attending on Sundays and putting our money in the collection plate? And if we fail in this, does the church have the right to remove us from that membership?
How does ‘membership’ of the particular church we happen to attend at the moment relate to the original act of ‘becoming a church member’ in the sense of going through a once-and-for-all ceremony of ‘confirmation’ – a term probably used more in other denominations than in the URC? Is the need to make a public declaration something that puts us off? The emphasis here is much more about our ‘belonging’ to the wider fellowship of those who believe in the shared gospel of Jesus Christ. Is it right that we are asked to re-enact this every time we move church?
So what is the point of being a member? People who belong to organisations and clubs tend to expect some benefit for their membership fee – such as being entitled to join activities or get a regular newsletter. But the church is surely not quite like that – or is it? In some ways it looks like the very reverse – we are asked to offer our time and energy in service to others and to offer our money freely for the wider work of the church. It seems that the only thing we gain as individual members is the right to vote at a church meeting – but who values that sort of nominal democracy these days?
I guess this article may have broken a record for being so full of question marks… But that is deliberate. The URC is currently asking all sorts of questions about all sorts of things, and why we continue to do them in the same old time-honoured ways. Perhaps the time has come to change our thinking.
The debate is open – and we want to hear your views.
Sheila Brain is a member of the Life and Witness Committee Please send your comments and ideas directly to the Revd John Steele (Secretary for Life and Witness) at URC Church House (email life.witness@urc.org.uk). Deadline for responses is 30th April 2006.
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