At the Union Church, we come from all sorts of backgrounds. One third of our members grew up Catholic. One third of our members grew up Protestant. One third of our members did not grow up in a church. We have interfaith families as well, in which one parent is Jewish and one parent is Christian. We are convinced that these differences are our strength. We delight in singing the hymns that we don’t know but turn out to be the ones someone else sang as a child. We are open to trying things in new ways.
We gather not because we believe the same things but because we share the common desire to worship as a community and to serve God by responding to the needs of others. Because this is true, joining the church is relatively simple. We ask only two questions: whether it is a person’s intention to follow Christ and to be an active member. As we ask those questions, we ask the congregation to commit themselves to welcoming new members into our shared life.
New Members Sundays happen usually three times a year. New members may sign up, and Pastor Mark Hindman will meet with them. We find a date for New Member Sunday that works for everyone. And we thank God for the lifeblood that new members are in our church’s life!