Beloved Friends-
It has now been a week since we “re-re-gathered” for our in-person worship (Trinity@316), and wow, does that feel good after such a long-extended season of being apart. I am also so grateful to all the people and effort that continues to go into creating and offering Trinity@Home- nearly two years without interruption- thank you.
Through both in-person and online invitations, Trinity continues to welcome new people as visitors and those looking for a spiritual home to meet them where they are on their journeys of faith. Over the past two months we have offered conversations, classes and one-on-one meetings to get to know new friends and extending invitations to consider joining this movement of Love.
On Easter Sunday (April 17th), we will “welcome home” a number of new friends making a commitment of care and belonging to all who say yes.
So, I thought it might be helpful to share a little bit about what “membership” means in the Episcopal Church, as well as what we do when we at Trinity, welcome new members “home.”
Technically, membership means individuals will be “counted” in our annual denominational report as “members.” It also means they can now serve on the “councils of the church” including local leadership roles like vestry and at a diocesan level and also at the denominational level. And while all that is important, all that pales in comparison to what membership at Trinity means to us.
Membership at Trinity is not about joining a club; there are no “dues”; frankly there are no “perks” but rather there are promises we make to you and ask that you do the same to and with us including:
- Membership means you are ready and willing to give a portion of your heart to a community that makes mistakes and strives to walk the path of love Jesus laid out for us.
- Membership means you are ready and willing to give a portion of your time to help roll up your sleeves and do the work of love, kindness, mercy and justice in one or more ways alongside us.
- Membership means you are ready and willing to give a portion of the financial resources entrusted to you to join us in supporting the ministry we commit to live into year after year.
- Membership means you are ready to receive the promise that you have a forever place here among us as a beloved child of God and we will help each other remember we are loved and then sent out to take that love out into the world.
Last year I developed some “FAQ”s about membership and recently shared them again with a new group of Trinity friends- perhaps this will help other as well.
Q: Why should I consider joining this movement?
A: We are convinced we are better together; we can do more, be me, learn more, give more, love more as a committed community rather than we could ever could do alone.
Q: But what if I don’t live in Toledo and can only attend through Trinity@Home?
A: That is wonderful! Long gone are the days when proximity to a building was the only way to connect meaningfully with the promise to walk in the Way of Love. We invite you to think of how Trinity@Home has fed your soul as well as other offerings through our growing digital presence. However, you have found a way to connect with the Trinity community- you are indeed “welcome and wanted.” All those offerings will continue on in various ways long after we open our building. And now that we are back in the building you will always be welcomed “home” if and when you make a pilgrimage to one of our in-person gatherings.
Q: What if I am not sure I believe every word we are invited to say in worship, or I am not baptized, or I am a member of another community?
A: Honestly, these are our favorite questions and here is why:
Our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry describes our denomination as “the Episcopal Branch of the Jesus Movement”. In other words, we are not a club with membership dues; we are not an exclusive group defined by social, economic, cultural, racial, gender or sexual orientation- yes true, over the years the church-at-large seems to have forgotten that at times- but at our core- that is not who we yearn to be.
Here is our way of describing the dream of this movement of Love we call Trinity:
We are a progressive, inclusive, creative community of faith,
dedicated to making meaning together, breaking down barriers that divide our hearts and finding a path that follows in the Way of Love.
We find this Way by following Jesus, embracing the ritual, sacraments and tradition we have inherited, increasing our capacity to seek and offer forgiveness and by relying more and more on the power of God’s grace in our lives.
We are a place of BELONGING- offering a way of BEHAVING in the world, and then, through living our lives and discovering eternal truths- we discover what we BELIEVE.
So, if you are new, we encourage you to consider joining this movement. If you have already found your place here- thank you for bringing all of who you are to this community.
And may you never forget that you are loved,
Lisa