ASKED AT THE CHURCH DOOR

Q : Am I a full-fledged member of the parish just by showing up? Is there anything special I need to do? Do I have to be baptized - confirmed - what?

Stephen Elkins-Williams' reply:

Another word for "full-fledged member" is communicant. According to the canons of the Episcopal Church, a communicant of a congregation is one who has been baptized and whose baptism has been recorded in that congregation. A child baptized at the Chapel of the Cross is a baptized member; at age sixteen that child becomes an adult communicant. Others become communicants by transferring their membership from a former congregation or being declared communicants by the rector. The key requirements are baptism, the intention to live out that baptism in this congregation, and official acceptance by the rector.

The canons do add that "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 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, not confirmed." Confirmation, therefore, (or Reception for those confirmed in a previous denomination) is an expectation, but not a requirement, of membership. In this diocese, however, only those adult communicants who have been confirmed or received can be nominated for vestry or vote in a vestry election.

The canons go on to define "communicants in good standing" (also required for participation in a vestry election) as those communicants of a congregation "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."

If you have been baptized or confirmed or received at the Chapel of the Cross, or if you have specifically transferred your membership from a former parish or been declared a communicant "by cognizance of the rector" (usually after an appointment with one of the clergy), you are "a full-fledged member of the parish." If you are in doubt about your official status, simply call the parish office and inquire.

If you have a particular question, you'd like addressed in this column, please send it to info@thechapelofthecross.org

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