INTERDENOMINATIONAL MEMBERS

When the First Church in Sterling was formed in 1949, three denominations were joined together to form a "federated church". In joining this new church, some­one had to decide whether to belong to the Baptist, Unitarian or Congregational part of it. Everyone functioned together as one church, but maintained their separate denom­inational memberships within the whole. Just a few years later the new church's by‑laws were amended to allow some to join the First Church without becoming a part of one of the denominational groups. Over the years, the number choosing this "interde­nomina­tional" option has grown, until by 1988 they became the largest of our four membership groups.

It is not clear what the growth of this group will mean for the church in the future, espe­cially if the denom­inational groups decline in membership, as some are doing. On the one hand, the church's policy has been to encour­age new members to join one of the three de­nomina­tional groups, in order to keep them strong. On the other, we want our interdenominational members to feel as much a part of the church as everyone else.

Several different motivations can be iden­tified which lead people to join the First Church as interdenominational members. Firstly, there are those who simply are not interested in denominations at all. The history, distinctive features and present day programs of denominations seem to them irrelevant to what they are looking for in a church. They are content with a "com­muni­ty church", uncomplicated by ties to any larger organizational body. They are more independent than interdenominational.

Secondly, there are those who have a fairly clear denominational identity, but it is a different one from the three we have here in Sterling. It might be Methodist, Presbyte­rian, Lutheran—even Roman Catho­lic, or one of many others—but it is not Baptist, Congre­gational, or Unitarian. They prefer to main­tain at least a quiet personal loyalty to that identity in being Interde­nominational mem­bers. There are even some who choose to join as “associate members”, meaning that they keep an active membership in their original denomination as well as belonging to First Church. Our by-laws specifically allow this.

Thirdly, some are attracted to this church because for them there is something exciting about the religious mix they find at First Church. Per­haps they are searching in their own faith journey; they love the freedom they find here, and feel affirmed in this. Some folk have come from more rigid church backgrounds and find the diversity and openness here healing and challenging as their faith per­spective grows and changes. To be Inter­denominational is to affirm their search, and not put any institutional boundaries on it.

And fourthly, there are those who deliberately choose to affirm the "inter" of interdenominational. By choosing this mem­bership option they want to make a state­ment that First Church is really a blending of three denominational traditions, and they want to share in and learn from all of them. Clearly, this fourth view is the one that most lives up to the name, Interdenominational, and may be an ideal for others to aim for. This is, in fact the spirit which allows our church to exist and function as it does.

Regardless of which membership option one chooses, (Baptist, Congregational, Unitarian, or Interdenominational), indeed, for all of us, new members and old, two princi­ples seem to be important as we live with our diversity:

(1) We should each claim our denomination­al identity confidently and with pride if we so choose, and feel affirmed by the church membership in doing so. This applies not only to those in our three official groups, but also those who come from another tradition that has shaped them religiously in important ways.

(2) We should claim that identity in a way that leaves us open to learn from one another‑‑that is, we should also be sharing in and affirming each other's identity.

We are an interdenominational congregation—all of us. And this is an important witness in a world that is so often polarized and divided. We need to proclaim this clearly, and be clear among ourselves that this is central to our faith.