being a member

[Giggle Squirt]

I called the church i have been attending since i was little earlier this week to get my son baptised. she asked me if i was a member of the church. I said yes, then she asked my name and i told her and she said oh that dosn't sound familiar... and then told me that she would get father to call me.. I still have not recieved a call about it.. what exactly does beign a member mean... should i have my name on a mailing list or something?

[bluekrissyspikes]

i think it means going on a regular basis and being involved in their activities and programs.

[Soundbear]

A Roman Catholic church??

[ProfessorZed]

I don't think just attending a given church is enough -- they'd have to have you on file for you to be considered a member. If it's a Catholic church, I'm sure I read something about the requirements not long ago in a book on canon law, and could dig it up. (What can I say? My reading choices are...eclectic.)

Man Eater, you give no indication what kind of church this is.

In most churches, you go through an application procedure, whereby you learn to understand the privileges and obligations of membership.

Attendance does not equate to membership.
Even lifelong attendance does not mean membership.

Every church is constituted (if it is a registered non-profit organization) according to certain bylaws and articles of faith and practise, and in that constitution is spelled out how members are received as such and what their obligations are.

If you do not know whether you are a member, you very likely are not. Some churches allow memberships to automatically lapse after a given period of absence. Perhaps that is what happened in your case.

[Giggle Squirt]

i have been going on a regualr basis and have performed my sacraments their.. it is roman catholic.

I guess you need to take it up with the priest.
If you are not a member, he should not be giving you the biscuit.

The fact that you receive the sacrament indicates theoretically, at least, that you are a member.

[Batman]

Maybe, maybe not. I went to an Anglican service once and was told that I could participate in the eucharist so long as I was baptised. It didn't matter in what church I was baptised. Catholic church may be more strict I don't know.

[KWB]

You're not giving enough $$$$$$$$

[Karen-Annie]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Batman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Maybe, maybe not. I went to an Anglican service once and was told that I could participate in the eucharist so long as I was baptised. It didn't matter in what church I was baptised. Catholic church may be more strict I don't know. </div></div>

I believe most Protestant demoninations welcome(and say so in the invitation to the table) all sincere believers to partake.In the RC church,the Eucharist is only open to RC's who have gone through the "First" rites including First Communion.I know that before you had to have gone to confession just prior to mass....like Sat.confession then Sun. Mass(I used to tag along with my friends on Sat.afternoon...i was the only Protestant of our group).I'm not sure with all the changes that have gone on since then if that is still a requirement.

[bluekrissyspikes]

seems pretty dum that they don't know you if you've been going there since you were little.

[Karen-Annie]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bluekrissyspikes</div><div class="ubbcode-body">seems pretty dum that they don't know you if you've been going there since you were little. </div></div>

There's a difference between going to a church and being a member of that church.There is usually some kind of formalized procedure to become a member.

[bluekrissyspikes]

maybe but if someone has been showing up at their church for years to participate in the service then shouldn't they at least know who they are? i mean they see her all time

[Karen-Annie]

It might not have been the regular person in the office,or a new hire or whatever.Who knows?Until there are more details,it's all so much guesswork.

If a church has hundreds, perhaps a thousand or more members on the roll (80 percent of who attend very sporadically), it's not that easy. Especially over the phone, talking to a receptionist who may herself only show up in church irregularly, and on top of that, in some high liturgical churches, a lot of people hardly say hi to each other..

[bluekrissyspikes]

true enough.

[Soundbear]

The last couple of churches I worked in, the receptionist/secretary went to ANOTHER church!!!

That is sometimes a good idea. It can get difficult when a church secretary gets involved in the politics of the church.

Course there are no politics in churches, right Barry? [img]/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif[/img]

[Soundbear]

(unbelievably gross and offensive expletive deleted) Really?