Volunteering and Membership Responsibilities

Mary Agnes Rawlings, Johnson Intern Program Director

In preparation for writing an article on the topic of volunteers, I read the definition of the term in Webster's Dictionary. Although I typically think of a volunteer as a person, there was also the description of a volunteer providing service without payment; and finally as an action of offering oneself as an unpaid contributor to a particular cause. I then began thinking - What, if anything, is the distinction between being a member and being a volunteer? I began my query with a simple question, are Chapel of the Cross parishioners considered volunteers when they contribute their time to the work of a program such as the Johnson Intern Program or would they be fulfilling a personal obligation as a member of the Chapel of the Cross parish? Are the terms volunteers and parish members interchangeable?

An example from my own experience came to mind as I contemplated the idea. Recently I transferred my church membership to a parish closer to my home. I received an invitation from the parish council (somewhat equivalent to a vestry) to a social hour for new members. I went to this meeting thinking I would meet folks new to the parish and find new friends amidst the group. Instead, much to my initial surprise, I received instruction about the ministries of the church and the individual requirements for becoming active in these ministries. The meeting concluded with a serious discussion about an expectation that every parishioner contributes through regular consistent tithing. "Requirements," I thought to myself, "I have been in many parishes in my life but not once did anyone tell me there were requirements for serving in a particular ministry!" I also learned that, in this particular parish community, I would be limited to one active ministry at a time! It has taken several months and a lot of time spent in reflection for me to grasp the concept of having requirements for service and limited involvement in the work of the parish.

I think I have had a volunteer mentality without realizing it. We all know how hard it is to recruit and maintain volunteers. My Aunt Helen, after years of consulting with not-for-profit organizations wrote a book, Volunteers How to Get Them - How to Keep Them. She includes a chapter in her book on the 12 basic needs of every volunteer. She says that "Recognizing these (12 needs) and knowing how to meet them will help you expand the number of volunteers and increase the number of hours each gives to your organization." In February, the Urban Institute released a new study, "Volunteer Management Capacity in America's Charities and Congregations: A Briefing Report." It is one of the most comprehensive studies conducted of volunteer management in the U.S. to date. Much of the information included in the report has to do with the recruiting, retaining, and rewarding of volunteers. Do the same principles apply to 'active' members of a parish? Is the trick to find out what the needs of a parishioner are and try to meet them?

My understanding as I reflected upon the meaning of becoming a member of Christ's body, the Church, came as I thought about the fact that each of the disciples had a period of induction or training before moving out into the world as apostles of Jesus. It took Saul 13 years after his Damascus Road experience before he began to serve as Paul. Perhaps we might do well to ponder our responsibilities as members of the community of faith. The 'social hour' I attended brought up questions about my own personal commitment to God's work - questions about how I use my time and talents in church ministries to build the Kingdom of God here on Earth.

I have determined that, for some individuals, parish work could be volunteering while the completion of the exact same responsibilities, for other individuals, is a faith journey as a participating member of the parish. In conclusion, I decided that it all has to do with a person's ability to reflect, knowledge of self, and uncovering one's underlying intentions to know whether one is volunteering or working as an expression of love. In the latter, I believe that God recruits, retains, and rewards the individual who fully understands and accepts responsibility for becoming a parish member.