by Cindy Carrol
President of the Congregation
We have tried to tackle this problem in a variety of ways. Our Membership Committee works hard to welcome newcomers to our community. We have begun to do a better job of letting the nearby neighborhood know of our special events and services. Our decision to hire a full-time Minister for Religious Education was, in part, an acknowledgment that we need and value young families in our church community.
I think we must also look at what membership in the First Unitarian Society of Chicago means. Our by-laws state that a person may become a member if the Membership Committee approves and if they agree with the purposes of our society. Sign the membership book, you’re a member! Voting on any issue requires membership for 90 days and a documented contribution of $50 during the previous 12 months (the financial portion may be waived by the Senior Minister.)
There are no classes, no extended ritual conversion practices, no tithing requirements that cannot be bypassed. We seem to expect that each new member will define membership for themselves (certainly a UU point of view!). The difficulty with this is that we don’t always know what our new members want/need/expect/desire from their new church home. We assume that if you joined us, you automatically know everything about us — what every committee is, what it does, and who the chair is...when our traditional services and activities are...where the Garden Room and Woolman Hall are.
Some of our new members are able to be pro-active in their new church home. They find out as much as they can and jump right into church life. They are willing to speak out about what is important to them. They let someone know if there is a problem, and will help find a solution.
Others are more reticent. It can be very intimidating to come into a community where everyone seems to know everyone else, even when people are trying to be friendly. It is easy to feel that you don’t know anyone who will care if you are getting what you need from the 1st U experience.
There is an ongoing debate in the community of churches which questions the validity of trying to recruit new members for committee work. Yet, I think it is much easier to get to know people if you work with them in small groups. This congregation offers many opportunities for extending our relationships with other church members. Our long-term members would like to have the chance to get to know new members better, and working together on any project is one way to do this.
We have many choices here. It is quite possible to come to church on Sunday, pay your pledge, and never be involved further. It is easy for committee chairs to seek out people they know to help with the work of the church, instead of cultivating newer members. But this will be a richer experience if we all view membership as a way to make stronger connections with the wonderfully diverse collection of humanity which makes up First Unitarian.