Membership at MRUC
Whatever your decision in regards to membership, we are glad to have you among us, and warmly welcome your participation in our shared life and ministry as we journey together – learning, growing and serving together as a people of faith, hope, and love.
Why Become a Member at Manor Road?
Many of us come into church with a desire to be a part of something larger than ourselves. We long to be connected with people who will love and support us as we are, and at the same time challenge us to become our best selves. We yearn for a safe space in which to explore important spiritual and life questions, to develop personal gifts and talents, and to find ways to serve.
Manor Road United Church (MRUC) is a place that values authenticity. We honour honest questions as much as we value confident answers. We try to bring heart, head and experience together as we explore life’s big questions. We understand the Christian life as one of continual unfolding—and a lifelong journey. We offer opportunities and suggest practices to deepen and strengthen our spiritual lives and personal relationships. We worship together, share our stories and struggles, and support and pray for one another. We explore scripture, tradition, and spirituality, find new ways to serve, and create opportunities to celebrate and simply enjoy life. In these ways we seek to make our own lives, and the life of our community richer, more purposeful, and more meaningful. In our own small way, we seek to be conduits of Spirit and to make our world a kinder, more compassionate place.
At MRUC, people are loved and affirmed and welcomed into the life of the congregation, whether or not they become a member. Still, becoming a member is one way of demonstrating our commitment to one another through the church in what we call a covenantal relationship. This covenantal relationship is between us, and our church, and is made in worship, and in loving partnership with God. As members of MRUC, we agree to offer mutual acceptance, care, and support as we journey together, holding one another in prayer, and seeking to learn and grow together in faith. Congregational membership also allows you to ‘vote’ on important matters about a church that you are committed to and care deeply about.
Joining through Affirmation (or Reaffirmation) of Faith
Sometimes adults, baptized as infants and perhaps raised in the church, come into the life of the congregation after being away from the church for many years. These individuals may choose to come into the membership of the congregation through “Affirmation,” or “Reaffirmation,” of Faith. If you wish to join the church through one of these, you are invited to contact Rev. Debra and arrange to meet with her. Should the decision be that you will become a member, a brief liturgy will be included during a Sunday morning worship service, and you will be formally and warmly welcomed into the membership of the congregation.
Joining through Transfer of Membership
If you have attended Manor Road United Church for a period of time and prior to your coming here you were active in another congregation, simply request that the Office Administrator of your home church send a completed “Transfer of Membership,” form to us. Your transfer will be acknowledged during worship, a brief covenanting liturgy will be shared, and you will be formally welcomed into our membership.
Communion
We practice an open communion in The United Church of Canada. Whoever you are, and wherever life’s journey has taken you, we welcome you to join us in remembering Jesus as we share in this sacred meal at the heart of our faith. Our basis for this practice is that we believe the Communion Table is the table of Jesus Christ, that he is the host, and that we are all his guests. Scripture tells us that Jesus was ‘infamous’ in his day for eating with all sorts of folks, people just like us, which the religious leadership of his day considered forbidden. We believe Jesus is one who breaks down rules that get in the way of people being in loving, nurturing relationship with one another, and so it is in his spirit that we declare his table, “open to all”!
Manor Road United Church is on the traditional home of the Huron-Wendat Nation, Metis Nation of Ontario, Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation and Six Nations of the Grand River. May we be connected to the heartbeat of the Spirit as one.