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Joining St. Andrew
We are discovering that there are many, like us, who are hungry for deeper meaning and purpose in life. Less concerned with the traditional ideas of membership, they are more interested in finding a place where worship, care and mission happen in an enduring community.
As a visitor to St. Andrew, you are welcome to participate as much or as little as you want. But if you find yourself interested in a more intentional and structured way to learn about us and what we value, then we welcome you onto a path of discovery and discernment that can take us deeper. We call this the Inquirer’s Process.
Explore
We believe unhurried time is needed to explore our commitments. We think you need a safe place to learn more about the congregation—who we are, our faith, worship, mission and why we are this way. We seek to create safe space to voice our spiritual hungers and uncertainties. We want to walk with you without being pushy, listening to discern how the presence of God within us wishes to meet the Holy within you…. but only as you are ready and comfortable.
What is involved in this process? The path involves a series of small-group gatherings where we learn more about each other, what we understand God to be or be doing in our lives and what our faith means for us today. Our time together includes sharing, study and reflection guided by worship, scripture, prayer and a focus on what we believe. We involve the whole congregation in supporting and praying and encouraging. We will participate in a brief welcome during morning worship. And we invite other St. Andrew members to act as sponsors to accompany you on the journey.
Making Promises
Eventually this journey leads to considering whether to become a part of our fellowship. Not all will! We believe that membership is not about having a name on a list. It is about belonging to a community of wonder, mutual care and mission. We reflect on how the promise-making God invites us to be promise-making people, creating the framework for the kind of life that we deeply desire.
In this phase of our journey, we continue to meet as before. Now the focus of the conversation turns towards baptism as a sign of God’s promise, and as a call to our mission with Christ encountered in the hungry, the poor, the sick—all those who are in need and are strangers in the world. This is the point when participants who are ready to become members will meet with our elders—the Session—and then join with the congregation in the renewal of our baptism.
Still have questions? Want to know more? Just ask the minister, staff, an elder, or send an email to scott@standrewpc.org
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