A Message from the Pastor
Dear People of Faith,
Happy Birthday to the Church-- Sunday, May 11. It is Pentecost Sunday, when the church was born, when the disciples huddled together in fear for their lives, “…all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind…Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit….” Acts 2:2-4
What is the church, for heaven’s sake? On Friday, April 18, one of our own, Cheryl Milejczak, e-mailed me. Her friend wanted to know why in the world she can’t “just” come and worship? Why should she become a member? With Cheryl and her friend Dana’s permission I am sharing their messages.
I was talking to my girlfriend Dana
who has been to church a few times
now with me and she received the
packet that talks about becoming a
new member. She was asking me why
she should become a member of the
church and I told her my thoughts
(that you become a part of a
community, the church becomes your
home, you help make decisions on how
the church grows, etc). She’s in
marketing and thought the materials
we have for new members should
include a discussion about why I
would want to become a member of
the church. Why not just attend every
Sunday and not become a member?
Can you help me respond to her?
Until we bought our first house, we did not feel as though we were a total part of a community. But once we owned property, we kind of owned the city, and because we were paying property taxes, we really had ownership in the total picture. One sits up and listens better because you and your property are at stake. A member in the church. Spiritually one somehow feels "more included" because a member becomes a distinct part of the church, even though, I often will say---if you are a Christmas- Easter person, your name is emboldened in the seat in which you sit every time you come to worship.
There are many parts to being a member. Financially you contribute to a greater/larger vision and mission. Gift and talent-wise you contribute. All that is in you is needed to spread the gospel of love in Christ Jesus. You become an integral part of this holy place. You are "in the circle," rather than on the outside looking in. You become a witness to Christ as Lord because you have a distinct and significant human base called Christ the King, Cumming. You claim your membership by participating in all the peripheral work/ministries even as you come together as Community of Faith, Body of Christ, to as many worship services as you can--the center, the core, where the community meets in all its wholeness.
The birthday of the church occurred on Pentecost (50 days after Easter), Acts 2, worth looking at--being in stride with one another. The Holy Spirit that ties us together is powerful in the church. When we sit in the pews, for example, and worship God, who is our audience, we are together in richness and fullness and wholeness. One doesn't need to be a member but, I would guess, there is a different sense of belonging if one is not a member. People join because they want to belong, want to become consecrated regularly in the Word, in Holy Communion, through Baptism, as we are connected to God through Christ and with one another.