Membership

Dear Visitor,

Welcome to our web site. We hope you will want to become a part of our church family. There are many areas of ministry you could become an active part of should you wish to join St. Paul’s Church. Our ministry coordinator, who is also my administrative assistant, Jere Lynne Shumate, has included a list of ministries page on this site for your benefit.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is part of the Diocese of Central Florida and a member of the Anglican Communion. As pastor of St. Paul’s, I welcome questions anyone may have concerning our church. Often I am asked “How do I become a member of St. Paul’s?” Although there are several ways to become a member of the Episcopal/Anglican Church, membership is broken down into two major categories which I will explain briefly.

The first category, baptized members, includes those who have been baptized here and are in our records as well as those baptized in another Episcopal/Anglican church and have transferred to our church through a “letter of transfer” and entered into our records. If you were baptized in another denomination, all we require is that you were baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit with water. We then ask for a copy of your baptism certificate and record you as a baptized member into our church. If you do not have documentation of your baptism, we enter you as a baptized member through affirmation.

The second category is membership through the Sacrament of Confirmation. This is accomplished through the laying on of hands and anointing of oil by a bishop of the Apostolic Succession. You are required to take a short series of classes concerning the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion before being confirmed at St. Paul’s. After receiving a copy of your confirmation certificate, we enter you into our records as a confirmed member. If you were confirmed by a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church or Orthodox Church, you are received into our fellowship by the blessing of a bishop and entered into our records.

Confirmed Communicants (members) in good standing are eligible to stand for nomination for election to our vestry (church board). Vestry members represent the congregation in temporal matters such as buildings, grounds and finances. Confirmed communicants in good standing are also eligible to vote in church elections. A communicant in good standing is defined as a member who is recorded in the parish records, has reached the age of 16, has been faithful in corporate worship (tithing) throughout the past year unless for good cause prohibited, and has been faithful in working, praying, and giving for the spread of God’s kingdom. Every year, the priest, along with the treasurer and bookkeeper, must determine who is qualified to be nominated for vestry and eligible to vote in the annual meeting.

Hopefully, this will answer many of the questions you may have concerning membership at St. Paul’s Church. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask me. I am available at 294-8888 and in my office most weekday mornings. I can be reached by my office staff or at my home any time in case of emergencies.

Faithfully,
The Rev. Canon Timothy J. Shaw