Let me get this straight - are not talking about capital 'M' Membership of the Uniting Church in Australia as is indicated in the Regulations etc, or are talking about little 'm' membership of a congregation or faith community within the Church?
I never really got into the debate that the 'Youthfulish' members of Assembly got into and then took to the authors of the Becoming Disciples Paper/process which is basically this same issue. We are or at least should be talking about pastoral care and 'eldership' issues, not the Membership issue . If someone becomes a 'm'ember of a Church they can participate fully in that place - they can participate and lead worship, they can help plan services, and some congs & fth comms. will be happy to let them participate in church meetings. [I was going to use the football team analogy as well, but my point was to say that I have never been a member of any othe clubs I follow, but if go go to the ground and support that team with my jersey or scarf on I do indeed feel like I belong.] However, if they want to become part of the Presbytery, Synod or Assembly, it is only fair to them and the wider church that they go through a process to learn about the Church and how it works (or doesn't in some cases!). My two cents worth Wesley ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
