Deep River Friends and Membership

Yesterday I started a short series on what it means to be a member of a local meeting and specifically Deep River Friends. Our own Faith and Practice defines and Active Member in this way:

"Friends received into active membership those whose faith in Christ as a personal Savior is manifest in their lives and who are in unity with the teachings of Christian truth as held by Friends. Membership is seen 'primarily in terms of discipleship. It implies a sense of responsibility...a sense of commitment...and a willingness to be used by God.' "

As I shared yesterday, our starting point is a relationship with the Living Christ. Being a member is more then just having your name on a Membership Roll. Being an Active Member is a public declaration that you have entered into a spiritual journey with the Living Christ and you desire to take that journey in community with others. On this journey, we don't have it have it all figured out nor do we need to be perfect. What is necessary is that we see our membership journey as more then a "networking" tool or a status symbol. Instead, we see it is an important stage in the ongoing process of our spiritual development. Over the next three weeks, we will continue to look at this definition of what it means to be an Active Member. We are reminded, though, that any understanding of being an Active Member begins with our own personal reflection on our relationship with Christ. The relationship is our starting point and it is what carries us on this journey towards the fullness of membership.

Thanks and Appreciation!
This past Saturday we had some thoughtful folks giving time and energy around the meetinghouse grounds to do some cleaning and trimming. Thanks to all who came out on Saturday for your time and effort. It's also great to realize that when we take responsibility to care for our property, we are exercising good stewardship by not having to pay others to do it for us. It literally saves us money and we are able to take this money and use it for outreach and other meaningful ministries. Thanks to all who give of their time and talents at Deep River Friends!

Ice Cream Social Sunday
This Sunday (September 20) will be the the Annual Missions Committee Ice Cream Social. Come and enjoy great homemade ice cream from a variety of folks. All the monetary donations go towards supporting our ongoing mission projects. The ice cream social is always a great time to visit with others and support our missions giving!

CROP Walk
The Annual CROP Walk is coming up on September 27th. We hope that many of you will either be able to give a monetary donation or participatein the walk. The CROP Walk is intended to both raise money and awareness of those that are in need and hungry both in our communties and across our nation.