Becoming a Member

There are several milestones in the journey of belonging. The first and most important decision is to participate regularly in Sunday morning worship. This is our primary act as Christian community, as we gather to pray, learn and gain support from one another. Many people attend St. John’s for a year before taking steps to join the parish and we are happy to share our worship life with you in that initial period of exploration.

When you begin to feel at home, another step of belonging is choosing to participate in some measured way in the life and mission of the church. It may mean attending an education program, showing up to help in a ministry project, joining a small group, helping out at coffee hour or in children’s chapel. This is a good way to explore your interests and meet the people here. Before you know it, someone you’ve met has a baby or experiences sudden illness in the family, or you do yourself. Suddenly the church becomes real to you, a connection of people praying together and caring for each other as best we can.

There are some official steps to membership. One is to attend a membership class, held throughout the year. It’s a chance to meet the clergy and leaders of the parish and others exploring membership. We talk about our spiritual backgrounds and faith traditions. We address your questions and explore the mysteries of faith. We tell you about our life and ministry at St. John’s. And we show you our Membership Covenant, the promises we make to one another in community.

We ask our members to make a financial contribution to the church and to support its ministry through prayer and participation. It’s one way we express gratitude to God for the blessings of our lives. We also ask to have your membership records transferred if you belonged to another church. If you’re new to the Episcopal Church, we’ll explore with you the option of being welcomed by the bishop of our diocese at a later date. Finally, we’ll explore with you a place to connect to the community, in one of our many small groups or areas of ministry.

If you have questions about membership or would like to explore it for yourself, please call or email the church office at 612-922-0396. We look forward to hearing from you.