Frequently Asked Membership Questions
I am thinking about membership. What should I do?
Hopefully you have attended Peace Memorial for a few Sundays now. Perhaps you have joined a class or outreach opportunity. We hope you have made a few friends in the congregation. Now that you are thinking about membership, please speak with Rev. Bob Scott and inquire about New Member Classes. Contact Pastor Bob at 727.446.3001. He will be glad to tell you about Peace Memorial and answer any questions you may have.
Who comes to an New Member's Class?
Typically, a class will include people from a broad spectrum of faith experiences and traditions. Often one or two in the class will have not yet been baptized. Others, though baptized as infants, have never made a public profession of faith. Still others grew up in a Christian church, drifted away from participation in a church community, but have decided to renew their Christian commitments and are looking for help in doing that. Frequently, classes will include people different church backgrounds who, because of personal circumstances, are looking for a new church home that is similar in worship style but more reformed and open in theology and practice. We also have lifelong active church members, whether Presbyterian or other Protestant traditions, who come wanting to transfer their membership to Peace Memorial. Our church is made up of a diversity of Christians. All are welcome!
Must I be ready to become a member to participate in a class?
Absolutely not! Being ready to join the church is not an expectation of those who attend the classes. We want participants to be free to think through membership at Peace Memorial and what is involved with that commitment. Each seminar regularly includes several people who are still exploring their faith, or for other reasons are not yet prepared to join the church. We encourage these people to continue to worship with us and take part in our ministries, telling them that should the time come when they are ready to join, we will gladly welcome them into membership. We welcome anyone who is truly “inquiring” about these various dimensions of the faith! And, we welcome last-minute attendance. Though we appreciate a phone call or e-mail to let us know you plan to attend, it is not absolutely necessary.
If I am ready to join Peace Memorial what do I do?
Contact Rev. Bob Scott and sign up for the class. At the end of the class, an invitation to join the church will be extended. We will help you determine which of the various means of joining is appropriate for you. If you have not been baptized, we will schedule a date for your baptism and include additional time for you to talk with one of the pastors for baptismal preparation. You will then be ready to be received into church membership upon your first public profession of faith and baptism. If you are baptized but never confirmed, we will welcome you upon a pubic profession of faith. If you have been baptized and confirmed but have not been active in a congregation for some time, we will receive you into membership by your reaffirmation of faith. If you have been an active member in another church, we will receive you by transfer of membership from another congregation. In this instance, we will write the appropriate letters necessary to complete that transfer. In preparation for being formally received into membership, we will invite you to meet with members of the church’s governing body (the Session) on a Sunday morning prior to being welcomed into membership during one of the morning worship services.
I was baptized in another church; do I need to be baptized again?
No. Presbyterians recognized the baptisms of all Christian churches, whether received as an infant or an adult. We do not re-baptize.
