Charge to New Members

We are a welcoming congregation.  That means both that we extend a particular welcome to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans and Queer people, and also that we are delighted to see anyone who chooses to join us.  Those who wander in to explore, to consider, to visit, to check us out, or to take a spiritual break, are truly welcome.

But the welcome we extend to new members is something quite different.  You came back.  You kept coming back.  Again and again.  You are no longer visitors.  Today you have chosen to become a part of the family of First Church in Jamaica Plain, Unitarian Universalist.  We welcome you home and hope you will find with us the personal community and the spiritual haven a church can provide.

You are joining us at a crucial moment in the history of this congregation.  Quite frankly, we need you.  Our spirit is strong and our outreach in action is broad. But what the Strategic Planning process made clear is that if we are to thrive, we need to find more people who will join in taking responsibility for this inspiring community and this historic building.

By becoming members today, you strengthen us.  You increase the ways in which we can build our religious education program, sustain our social action, and deepen our worship together.  Most of you are young, by my admittedly elderly standards.  We welcome your energy and your ideas.

Joining the church represents the end point of a process of introduction, a period of trying out and getting to know.  Congratulations on your arrival.  It also represents a starting point for greater involvement and responsibility.  There is work to be done.  We are deeply grateful to have you with us.

Andrea Fleck Clardy

June 10, 2012