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All
baptized persons are eligible for membership at Trinity
Presbyterian Church.
Membership in our local congregation also makes one a
member in the Presbyterian Church (USA), which is a denomination
of almost 2.5 million persons in all 50 states as well as Puerto
Rico.
New
Members/Inquirers Classes are held each quarter and are
announced weeks ahead of time.
Those who have indicated an interest by way of the
fellowship pads in the pews, or by communicating with our
pastors or the church office, will receive a letter of
invitation to attend this class.
It is not necessary to have a letter of invitation to
attend, however. The
class is designed for those who know they do want to become
communicant members, but also for those who simply want to find
out more about our local congregation or our denomination and
its beliefs. The
class is held for two hours on a Sunday afternoon, and for those
who do wish to join, they are given an opportunity to meet with
the Elders following the class and be officially received.
Upon reception, a Sunday convenient to all is designated
as New Members Sunday, and those received are presented before
the congregation during worship.
For
those unable to attend the quarterly class, but who would like
to join on a particular New Members Sunday, the Senior Pastor is
more than willing to meet with them at the church or in their
homes in order to share the same information and get them on
board. In order to exercise this option, interested parties
need only to contact the church office.
People
may join our congregation in one of four different ways:
1) Profession of Faith: Designed for those who have
never publicly professed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This is the way
confirmands become communicant members, as well as adults who
have never before been church members.
2) Affirmation of Faith:
Designed for those who did make a public profession in
the past, and have been members of churches in the past, but who
have let that membership lapse. This is also the category for those joining from
Christian fellowships that do not, as part of their practice,
transfer their members to other church denominations.
3) Letter of Transfer: Designed for those who
presently hold active membership in another PC(USA)
congregation, or the congregation of a corresponding
denomination (United Methodist, Lutheran, Congregationalist,
Episcopal, American Baptist, Reformed, etc.).
We ask you to indicate the church in which you hold
membership and give us the address.
Our Clerk of Session will then contact that church for
your letter of transfer.
It is not necessary that the letter arrive before the day
upon which you are taken into membership at Trinity.
4) Affiliation:
Designed for those who hold active membership in another
PC(USA) congregation, or the congregation of a corresponding
denomination, who do not live in our area for the entire year,
but who wish to have a stronger tie with us than simply being
considered a guest or visitor. Affiliate membership entitles one to be an active part
of the membership life of Trinity with the exception of voting
in congregational meetings or being elected to ordained office,
both of which are retained in one’s home church.
For those wishing to affiliate, we encourage attendance
at our New Members class and require the name and address of
their home church. |
