Becoming a Member

Why Should I Become a Member of Trinity Church?
Finding a faith community can be difficult, but when you find the right one, you know you are home. Making a formal commitment to a faith community is an important step on a journey of faith. Membership provides a point of reference from which you can venture out on a life-long journey of faith. Membership also brings you into a fellowship of other members - fellow pilgrims - who are on faith journeys of their own. The Christian life is a life lived by faith-filled individuals who gather as a community of faith in Christ. Being a member helps foster an ever-growing community that provides a safe place to ask questions and listen for the voice of our loving and living God.

Who can be a member of Trinity Church?
Membership at Trinity Church is open to all baptized Christians. Whether you were baptized in the Episcopal Church or in another Christian denomination, you are welcome to join Trinity.

What if I have never been baptized?
First, you are certainly welcome here at Trinity Church! Second, we encourage you to explore and learn more by attending Compass: Finding Your Way at Trinity Church, our monthly introduction to the life of Trinity Church. If you like what you find there, we happily invite you to consider our Inquirer's Class which is offered twice a year. These two steps will help you determine if you would like to be baptized here. Those who complete the Class may be baptized at the Easter Vigil.

Is Membership required to attend services?
No. Everyone is welcome at services! However, Membership is required if you want to serve on committees (such as the Vestry), or if you want to be married here or have your child baptized here. We hope that all who consider Trinity to be their spiritual home will make a formal commitment and become a member.

What does a Member have to do?
There are five requirements for becoming a Member of Trinity Church:

• Baptism
  Membership is open to all baptized people whether baptized in the Epsicopal Church or another Christian denomination. You will need to register your baptism with Trinity Church. If you have a copy of your baptismal certificate, or if you need to obtain one from the church where you were baptized, our staff will happily help you register your baptism with Trinity. If you are a member of another Episcopal Church, then the registration of your baptism comes in the form of a Letter of Transfer. A Letter of Transfer from your former parish will register your baptism at Trinity.
   
• Regular Attendance
  Membership is all about involvement. The most important involvement in any church is worship. The gifts of life and grace God offers in Jesus Christ and the comfort and strength we receive from the Holy Spirit are truly holy things. The response to these gifts is the work the people of God undertake in worship. In worship, we pray, we sing, we hear the words of Holy Scripture, and we experience the presence of Christ in the Holy Communion. All of these acts are offered in thanksgiving and praise to God. Making worship a regular part of life strengthens and renews us so that we can return to our Monday through Saturday with a deeper faith.
   
• Invest Time
  Whether it's a worship service or a volunteer opportunity, Membership takes time. We know that time is the great commodity of our world, but the only way to truly be a part of a faith community is to spend time within it. Time is God's gift to us for life and love. How better to show our thankfulness for life and love than by giving back some of our time to God?

 
• Invest Talent
  Every Christian has unique talents that God has given them and which God calls us to use. The places we find to use those talents are known as our Vocations - the place God calls us. Someone once referred to Vocation as the intersection of a person's greatest love with the world's greatest need. Our unique God-given talents have places where they can meet the world's greatest needs. At Trinity, the many opportunities for faith exploration and faithful service allow us to discern our Vocations - our callings to serve the world. Membership at Trinity Church means a commitment to find and invest your God-given talents.

 
• Pledge Annually
  Trinity Church is a completely self-funded parish. Though we have a modest endowment, without the annual pledges of our parishioners we would never be able to offer the city the spiritual resources we do. Annual Pledges help us budget for the year, and offer each of us a chance to renew our commitment to the work of Trinity Church in the City of Boston.