In the last two years that I have been here, I have engaged in a number of discussions with different people at different times regarding what it means to be a member of the Orthodox Church; particularly a member of St. George in Rossford, OH. In this community three levels of membership have been identified: 1) Active or General Members as defined in the Parish Constitution; 2) Voting Members as defined in our Constitution and By-laws; and 3) Inactive Members. The one that is causing the most discussion is the category of Voting Member. Article VI (a) of our Parish By-laws defines the financial stewardship requirement of the parish to be the “submission of a pledge.” It doesn’t specify a specific amount one must give; only that it be submitted with an amount that you believe you are able to give at this time. Voting membership is based on whether this requirement has been met.
I have had conversations with people who are reluctant to turn in a pledge card because they believe they are obligated to honor what they intend to pledge. They don’t want to be embarrassed if they cannot honor that commitment. Thus a card is not signed but that person may continue to give regularly. One person told me he or she turns in a signed card with zero on it. But that person financially supports the church on a regular basis.
So when we review the parish list to determine voting membership, someone who comes to church regularly, receives the sacraments of Communion and Confession during the year, and supports the parish with their resources, time, or talents on a regular basis would not be recognized as a Voting Member; because that person did not submit a pledge card. On the other hand, someone who comes to church only several times a year, doesn’t receive the sacraments, and submits s pledge card could be counted as a voting member. Now as the priest I am supposedly responsible for determining whether someone is spiritually a member in good standing with the parish. If not, that person would not be recognized as a Voting Member. Yet I was told by an elder of the parish a year ago, that the spiritual requirements to be a member of the parish have not been enforced in the past, only the financial. What are the “spiritual requirements?” Article V Section 1 of our Constitution defines general membership:
All persons by virtue of their Baptism and Chrismation, who accept and adhere to the faith, canons, laws, dogmas, discipline, worship, ritual, decisions, usages and the ecclesiastical authority of the Bulgarian Diocese of the United States of America and Canada and the Orthodox Church in America, and who agree to abide by the provisions of this constitution, shall have canonical rights and privilege to be Parishioners of the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George.
Voting Membership in Article V Section 2 is then defined as those 18 and over “who subscribe to the temporal maintenance of the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Cathedral of St. George through financial stewardship as prescribed by the St. George Parish Council” (i.e. submission of a pledge card) “and comply with the requirements set forth in Section 1 of this article.” Article VIII of the Parish By-laws state the “Pastor shall verify that all the Parishioners on the Voting Membership List have strived to live in accordance with their High Calling as Orthodox Christians.” Finally the same article of the By-laws states the Pastor can exempt parishioners from the Financial Stewardship Requirements. (The exemption is based on those who are in financial difficulty as described in Article VI c of the Parish By-laws)
Why did I go through this summary of our Constitution and By-laws on General and Voting Membership? Because there is something about this picture that is not right. Is it appropriate to let people vote at a parish meeting because they submitted a pledge card? Is it appropriate to let people vote at a parish meeting who do not participate in the sacramental life of the parish community (i.e. Confession & Communion)? I really don’t have a problem with the language of the Constitution and By-laws. I don’t have a problem with the requirement to submit a pledge card. But how are we to understand and apply these “requirements”? Is the annual meeting of our parish just a business meeting? If that is so, does that mean fulfilling any “spiritual requirements” need not be considered in determining who is a voting member or not? When we as Baptized and Chrismated members of St. George Orthodox Cathedral agree to “adhere to the faith, canons, laws, dogmas, discipline, worship, ritual, decisions, usages and the ecclesiastical authority of the Bulgarian Diocese of the United States of America and Canada and the Orthodox Church in America”, and this is a condition for voting membership, what in the world does that mean!? How am I as a priest supposed to “verify that all the Parishioners on the Voting Membership List have strived to live in accordance with their High Calling as Orthodox Christians?” Should that be based on my subjective assessment? What if I decided to “enforce” these above general membership “requirements” of the constitution with the result being some may not be able to vote at the meeting? Would the parish support me; or would I be looking for another job within a month or two? As you can see I have many questions but am running short on answers.
I have one answer to offer as a foundation to help us struggle with the above issues. I have never been a believer in the dichotomy of spiritual vs. business matters, the life of the Church vs. the life of the Corporation. If we really believe in the teachings of the Orthodox Christian Faith, we need to see the cooperation of the human with the divine in all the aspects of Church life. The business of our parish is for us “to be holy as I the Lord Your God am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2) The business of the Church is the business of becoming saints. Thus how we give to the parish, how we pray, how we worship, how we take care of the financial books, how we bake and clean when at the church hall, how we practice our faith, how we spend our time in fun and fellowship are all spiritual matters. How we treat the people we live with, work with, go to school with, and go to church with all play a role in this process of becoming saints in Christ. I would encourage you to meditate on these words from St. Paul:
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, (Gentiles and Jews) and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:13-22)
I think these above words from Ephesians define membership in the Church. If by the Cross and the blood of Christ we have become “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God”, what things do we need to be doing and practicing as a church that keeps us on the road of growing “into a holy temple in the Lord” and becoming a “dwelling place of God in the Spirit?” People are you with me on this? Do we understand what is being said? If we aren’t on the same page here, it won’t matter what answers I have to the above question I have posed. “Enforcing requirements” to membership is not the answer. This is the language of legalism, and legislation. The language of the Church is the language of teaching the truth in love, and persuading people (assuming they want to be persuaded) to accept what the Church teaches because it is for our salvation and well being. We are members of Christ and His Church because of what He did for us and because we trust Him, love Him and are willing to obey His commandments as a sign of our love for Him. This reality is lived out in a community of unworthy and sinful people led by a sinful and unworthy priest seeking to “complete the remaining time of our life in peace and repentance.” Is this what our life is about? Take care, Fr. Paul
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