On Sunday, December 15th during worship, we will welcome new members into the congregation of LeValley Methodist church. Anne Swinehart and her daughter Jillian have already expressed an interest in joining the Church family.
If you would like to join on the 15th , as well, please let me know and I will review with you what it means to be a member. If you have not been baptized, we will celebrate the sacrament of baptism including the baptismal vows, initiating you into church membership. Those already baptized and wishing to become professing members of the Global Methodist Church shall be asked the following questions before being received into the church:
Do you believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit?
Do you confess Jesus Christ as Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord?
Do you receive and profess the Christian faith as contained in the Scriptures?
Do you promise, according to the grace given you, to keep God’s holy will and commandments and walk in the same all the days of your life as a faithful member of Christ’s holy church?
Will you be loyal to Christ through the Global Methodist Church and joining with your broth-ers and sisters around the world do all in your power to fulfill its mission?
Will you be a faithful member of the [Name] Global Methodist Church (or alternatively the [Name], a Global Methodist local church), doing all in your power to strengthen its ministries through your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness as Christ’s representative in this world?
What is expected once you become a member by profession of faith or baptism? Faithful membership in the local church is essential for personal growth and for developing a deeper commitment to the will and grace of God. As members involve themselves in private and public prayer, worship, the sacraments, study, Christian action, systematic giving, and holy discipline, they grow in their appreciation of Christ, understanding of God at work in history and the natural order, and an understanding of themselves. Faithful discipleship includes the obligation to participate in the corporate life of the congregation with fellow members of the body of Christ. A member is bound in sacred covenant to shoulder the burdens, share the risks, and celebrate the joys of fellow members. A Christian is called to speak the truth in love, always ready to confront conflict in the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation.
I should mention that should there be anyone from the Berlin Center Country Church who would like to join on the 15th , we will celebrate new members there, as well.
Pastor Nancy
