Belonging at St. Andrew

We are discovering that there are many, like us, who are hungry for deeper meaning and purpose in life. Less concerned with the traditional ideas of "membership" and identification with a particular institution, they are more interested in finding a place where worship, care and mission happen in an enduring, life-giving community.

You are welcome to participate as much or as little as you want at St. Andrew. There are no preconditions to our welcome because there are no preconditions to God's hospitality. But if you find yourself drawn to a more intentional and structured way to learn about us and what we value, then we welcome you onto a  path of that goes deeper. We call this the Inquirer’s Process.

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Explore: The Inquirers Process

At St. Andrew, we believe that unhurried time is needed to explore our commitments. We think everyone needs—and we want to give you—a safe place to learn more about the congregation.  Who are we?  What is our faith, worship, mission and why we are this way? 

Through the Inquirers process, we seek to create safe space to voice our spiritual hungers and uncertainties. We want to walk with you without being pushy or with pre-determined outcomes, listening to discern how the presence of God within us wishes to meet the Holy within you…. but only as you are ready and comfortable.

What is involved in this process?

The path involves a series of small-group gatherings (usually in the weeks leading up to Easter) where we learn more about each other, what we understand God to be or be doing in our lives and what our faith means for us today. 

Our time together includes sharing, study and reflection guided by worship, scripture, prayer and a focus on what we believe. We involve the whole congregation in supporting and praying and encouraging.  We will participate in a brief welcome during morning worship. And we invite other St. Andrew members to act as sponsors to accompany you on the journey.

Talk to Scott if you are interested in learning more about our Inquirers process, or want to be a part of it.

Making Promises

Eventually this journey leads to considering whether to become a part of our fellowship. Not all will! We believe that membership is not about having a name on a list. It is about belonging to a community of wonder, mutual care and mission, about entering into relationships in such a way that they can endure amidst the inevitable ups and downs. 

We reflect on how the promise-making God invites us to be promise-making people, creating the framework for the kind of life that we deeply desire.

In this phase of our journey, we continue to meet as before. Now the focus of the conversation turns towards baptism as a sign of God’s promise, and as a call to our mission with Christ encountered in the hungry, the poor, the sick—all those who are in need and are strangers in the world. 

This is the point when participants who are ready to become members will meet with our elders—the Session—and then join with the congregation in the renewal of our baptism.