Continuing Thoughts

Over on dark_christian, this thread sparked a few thoughts about how we Numenists see things.

The topic boiled down to: “churches shouldn’t have membership applications”.

I have to disagree with this. Numenism is structured so we have Celebrants – which is basically anyone who wants to call themselves Numenist and who attend Numenist functions and celebrations and Members – those who dedicate themselves to the aims and goals of Numenism via belief, dedication, study, research, clergy and ministerial work. Celebrants don’t have to be members of Numenism. They are frequently casual in their interactions, and no commitment is expected of them.

But once they decide to make a commitment to Numenism, to become a member, we interview them and subject them to testing and questioning to be sure this is what they want and that they will fit in with our beliefs. They have to prove their commitment, face challenges, and integrate themselves into our community and worldview. It can take years before someone is accepted as more than a Celebrant.

Joining Numenism is much more than a cutesy view of divinity and the spiritual. It’s work. Community work within Numenism at a local level, networking work between the far flung Numenists, research, study, training both within Numenism and secularly to fill the needed functions within, and interfaithing work.

I would expect any reputable religion to operate somewhat similarly – an outer “shell” where the uncommitted and curious go to interact and decide if they want to commit further, then layers of inner levels that require more knowledge and training and education as they become more involved and committed to the church or religion.

Membership, as opposed to casual attendance, comes with responsibilities as well as perks. Many of the local churches won’t provide charity to anyone who will not commit to their particular church. We see some of this in the churches who go overseas to help disaster victims, then deny that help to those who won’t convert or profess a commitment. Those who are appalled by this have probably never actually joined a church – they’ve only attended one and assumed that all churches are modeled on the medieval concepts of Catholic charity. Most Catholic denominations will provide charity to non-members with no string but hope attached – hope that the recipient will remember the kindness and, at the very least, reciprocate by making a donation. The best hope is that they will make the commitment to become a tithing member. Actual members of churches do get special benefits: they get assigned pews with cushions, they get mentioned in special prayers, they are first to be helped when help is needed, they get a vote in how the church is operated and tithes are spent, they determine what projects the church becomes involved in, and so forth – things the casual visitor to the church never gets to do. Since churches rarely collect a rent, they depend upon tithing, donations, and the collection plate to support them.

As Numenists, we follow some of these things. Our Houses are independent. The foundational theology is the same from House to House, but the operation of it is entirely in the control of its members. It doesn’t make sense to have someone off the street who knows nothing about Numenism come in and set House policy and determine House projects and celebrations. So, yes, if people want to have more than a Celebrant status, to be an actual member of Numenism, then they have to apply for it – take classes, study Numenism, contribute to the upkeep of the House and its projects. In exchange for the work and contributions the members make, they get to vote on House projects, determine where the Community Center will be, set House policies and regulations, determine where their charity goes, who pays for permits and licenses required by the city/county, and so forth.

This means each House needs to keep track of who their members are so they know who has voting rights. And that often means applications.

A few Houses (the ones with no Elders) have started requesting background checks as well, because of the atmosphere of fear being fostered by our current government administration and the media. The Houses with Elders usually don’t because we’ve come to trust our training process. It tends to weed out those who aren’t truly committed – sometimes very quickly.

Members are expected to commit to contributing towards the support of their House. If the members vote to have a Community Center – the cost of running that Center is to be divided among the membership. If the members vote to operate a charity, the expense of that charity is to be shared by the members. Things cost in today’s society, and instead of donating goods, as was once common, money is the preferred medium of exchange. Goods are still welcome as part of the contributions (especially in maintaining the grounds and building), but what landlord or mortgage company today will take lasagnas or prayers in place of cash?

Because members have greater responsibilities and greater benefits to joining, we have our members go through a waiting period to join – one filled with challenges, classes, tests, and learning about one another.

We’re not just talking about a clubhouse type situation here – we’re talking community. These are the people you will trust to have your back when things get rough – people you depend upon and who depend upon you. They are the people who will smack sense into you when you’re doing something stupid and will brace you until you heal when you’re broken. So, yes, an application to join, as opposed to merely attending, a church or religion makes perfect sense to me.