Membership at Saint Mark's
At Saint Mark's, we are a welcoming community, and we treasure everyone who comes to worship, serve, pray, and learn with us. But attendance - even regular attendance - is not quite the same thing as being a member in good standing of the parish. Whether you have been coming here for a month, or a year, or for many years, becoming a member of this parish is a meaningful step which signifies the important place this particular parish has in your life and affirms your connections to the people who worship and serve beside you in this holy place.
The Canons (ie the rules) of the Episcopal Church define membership as follows:
Baptized Members
All persons who have received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism with water in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, whether in this Church or in another Christian Church, and whose Baptisms have been duly recorded in this Church, are members thereof.
Adult Members
Members sixteen years of age and over are to be considered adult members.
Members Confirmed or Received
It is expected that all adult members of this Church, after appropriate instruction, will have made a mature public affirmation of their faith and commitment to the responsibilities of their Baptism and will have been confirmed or received by the laying on of hands by a Bishop of this Church or by a Bishop of a Church in communion with this Church. Those who have previously made a mature public commitment in another Church may be received by the laying on of hands by a Bishop of this Church, rather than confirmed.
Communicants
All members of this Church who have received Holy Communion in this Church at least three times during the preceding year are to be considered communicants of this Church.
Adult Communicants
For the purposes of statistical consistency throughout the Church, communicants sixteen years of age and over are to be considered adult communicants.
Communicants in Good Standing
All communicants of this Church who for the previous year have been faithful in corporate worship, unless for good cause prevented, and have been faithful in working, praying, and giving for the spread of the Kingdom of God, are to be considered communicants in good standing.
What does all this mean?
a - any baptized person can be considered a baptized member.
b - children below the age of 16 who have been confirmed (or received) are considered members of the parish.
c - anyone over the age of 16 who attends church regularly, receives communion, and is a financial contributor of record is considered an adult communicant in good standing and is therefore eligible to stand for elected office in the Parish, and to vote in parish elections
How to become a member...
If you have never been baptized, please contact the parish clergy about preparing for Baptism.
If you are already an adult Episcopalian whose membership has been at another parish, contact the parish clergy and ask to have your letter of membership moved from your previous parish to Saint Mark's.
If you are a child between the ages of 12 and 15, who has not been previously confirmed and you would like to be, contact the parish clergy about preparing for Confirmation.
If you are an adult (16 or older) and have never been confirmed, contact the parish clergy about preparing for Confirmation.
If you are an adult (16 or older) who has already been confirmed by a bishop in historic succession (ie in the Roman Catholic Church or in one of the Scandanavian Lutheran churches), contact the parish clergy about preparing to be received into the Episcopal Church.
If you are a child or an adult who has been baptized in one of the Eastern Orthodox churches, contact the parish clergy about preparing to be received into the Episcopal Church.
Confirmation and Reception into the Church normally take place in the spring, after Easter, most often on or around the Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist (April 25), our patron saint, when the bishop makes an annual visitation. Classes for preparation normally begin late in January or early in February. Please contact the parish clergy for specific information.
