Membership

1. Participate in the life of the congregation – because we are a religion based upon relationships (we are part of that web of life), membership is an ongoing act of reaching-out to one another. Worship, classes, social justice work – there are many different ways to be part of the life of our church.
   
   
2. Support the congregation financially – we ask each year for a pledge of support, and we recommend 3 to 5% of income, understanding that there are times that this might not be affordable or that there will be times a greater amount is affordable.
   
   
3. Keep growing spiritually and faithfully – even as any religion worth having should be helpful in tough times, every religion has its moments of failure (so many religious leaders refuse to admit this simple truth and cause so much harm in this world). We ask our members to keep growing not only for their own well-being, but to grow this Living Tradition, too. Let us know when it needs work, and work with us to make it more robust.
   
   
4. Deeds, not creeds – this is an old saying we have that calls us to use the beliefs we have to make this world a better place for all. It matters what each of us believes (and every human has unique beliefs), but all are responsible for using their beliefs for the good – it’s not enough to believe: do something about it!

1. Our membership is the final institutional authority in the church -- our members control church property, call ministers, and authorize the church to speak-out on social-justice issues.
   
   
2. Members have access to the church’s minister for weddings, memorials, and child dedications and do not pay for use of the sanctuary for these ritual events. Membership begins with a pledge of financial support and the act of signing the membership book.

“Inscribing your name does not transform you into an instant or born-again Unitarian Universalist. Our religious way of life is not so much an arriving as a becoming—an ongoing process of thought and life experience. Joining for you may mean fresh steps along a familiar path. It may mean venturing in uncharted territory. In either case, the initiative is yours. You do not sign on someone else’s dotted line of spiritual development, and there is no fine print. Your signature is your affirming symbol of commitment to an open-minded, inclusive, reasoned, seasoned, compassionate and contemporary approach to life.”