Membership at Christ Church Episcopal

09 24 2024

Membership Process and Information on Adult Confirmation

Welcome! We are so glad you are interested in joining our joyful community.

Our mission at Christ Church is to embrace, equip, and empower apostles to serve Jesus Christ. To that end, we hope that you will find your time here to be transformative and life-giving. There are so many things going on here that can enrich and challenge you—our hope with the membership process is that you will get to sample a few of the ways this community seeks to live out Christ’s commands in the world.

The formal rite for joining the Episcopal church is Confirmation, which is “a public affirmation of [our] faith and commitment to the responsibilities of [our] Baptism in the presence of a bishop and to receive the laying on of hands.” At Christ Church, the bishop visits twice a year, usually in December and April/May. Once you have completed the process highlighted below, either date is available to you. (Please note that youth must also be 16 years old before being confirmed.)

Membership Process:

Attend church 2x and reflect on it (Worship Services)
Commit to tithing your time, talent, and/or treasure
Reflection on forgiveness
Attend Discovery Sunday (adults) or Confirmation Retreat (youth)
Attend 1 Episcopal 101 class
Attend Bible study or Sunday School 2x
Participate in a Christ Church service project and reflect on it (Fall Opportunities)
Write a (concise and thoughtful) statement of faith

Again, our hope is that this will help you step more fully into the joys of this community and faith. Seem like too much for this phase of life? That’s ok. Folks should participate at the level to which they feel comfortable. Sunday services and programs are always open to all! Feel free to return to this process when you feel ready to become a member/confirmed.

If you are interested in being confirmed, received, or reaffirmed in the Episcopalian Faith (see note), and therefore ready to complete the membership process, please contact Carrie Moore, Director of Welcoming, for more information and to receive your Confirmation Passport. Let’s begin the journey!

NOTE:

Even if you’ve been confirmed in another church, sometimes you still need to be confirmed in the Episcopal Church.

Those who have been confirmed/made a statement of faith in another denomination (Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, etc.) or have not been confirmed, do need to be confirmed in the Episcopal Church.

Those who have been confirmed by a Bishop in apostolic succession (Roman Catholic, ELCA, Eastern Orthodox), are received. The process looks much the same as confirmation, the Bishop will just use a different prayer.

Those who have been confirmed in the Episcopal Church can be reaffirmed if they feel having a formal recommitment to their faith would be helpful. This is optional if you are transferring from an Episcopalian church. Please provide the name of the Episcopal Church you are transferring from so that I can request an official Letter of Transfer.