Church Membership
We are delighted to welcome visitors, new friends and members who would like to make West Kirby URC their spiritual home. As a United Reformed Church, we keep a formal list of members, but we appreciate that formal membership is not for everyone, so we also have a welcome list and a friends list. Some information about each is below. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Welcome List:
The Welcome List is for new people who have been visiting and worshipping with us regularly.
The Welcome List is for new people who have been visiting and worshipping with us regularly.
- They have completed a Connection Card, sharing their contact details and indicating that they would like us to keep in touch.
- They will be invited to the next Welcome Lunch, to hear more about the church.
- They will begin to benefit from pastoral care informally around church on Sundays and in a more organised way if they choose to join a fellowship group. They don’t have an elder assigned to them yet.
- They may start to get more involved in church-life, exploring serving in a team or giving financially, for example.
- They have not yet taken the promises of church membership so can’t vote at Church Meetings but are very welcome to attend.
- We hope that people on the Welcome List will move to being members or friends when the time feels right to them.
Members List:
The national United Reformed Church (URC) encourages regular attendees to consider membership when they start to think of a particular place of worship as ‘their church’. Being a member is not essential but, for those who decide to take this step, it can deepen their sense of belonging and it entitles a person to share in decisions about the life and future of their local church. West Kirby URC pay a Ministry & Mission Contribution per member to the national URC each year, currently charged at £375 per member, which principally goes to cover the costs involved in recruiting, training and employing Ministers.
If you are interested in becoming a member at West Kirby URC, you would be invited to meet with some of the leadership team, and usually other people interested in membership too, to talk about what’s involved, and then those who wish to would be invited to make the promises of membership during one of our Sunday morning or evening services.
Church members are people who have made an ongoing commitment to support the mission, unity and fellowship of West Kirby URC in the capacity they are able and called. Church members commit to supporting the church through:
We want pastoral care for all our members to be natural but we recognise that we also need to ensure that pastoral care is sufficiently well organised so that nobody gets left out. For this reason, everyone who becomes a member of West Kirby URC is assigned an elder (one of the volunteer members of the church’s leadership team) who will:
Find out more about pastoral care at West Kirby URC by reading the pastoral care leaflet or visiting www.wkurc.org.uk/pastoral-care
The national United Reformed Church (URC) encourages regular attendees to consider membership when they start to think of a particular place of worship as ‘their church’. Being a member is not essential but, for those who decide to take this step, it can deepen their sense of belonging and it entitles a person to share in decisions about the life and future of their local church. West Kirby URC pay a Ministry & Mission Contribution per member to the national URC each year, currently charged at £375 per member, which principally goes to cover the costs involved in recruiting, training and employing Ministers.
If you are interested in becoming a member at West Kirby URC, you would be invited to meet with some of the leadership team, and usually other people interested in membership too, to talk about what’s involved, and then those who wish to would be invited to make the promises of membership during one of our Sunday morning or evening services.
Church members are people who have made an ongoing commitment to support the mission, unity and fellowship of West Kirby URC in the capacity they are able and called. Church members commit to supporting the church through:
- regular attendance at one or more of our services. What would ‘regular’ attendance look like for you?
- serving in the life of the church. A wide range of voluntary roles are available, and we encourage everyone to find something they enjoy. Find out more by looking at the serving board in church or @ www.wkurc.org.uk/serving, and complete a Body of Christ postcard if you would like to chat more about this.
- giving what they can financially, if appropriate. More information about that is available in our giving leaflet and @ www.wkurc.org.uk/giving
- taking part in the Church Meeting. Four times a year, the church members meet to share in worship and prayer together, hear reports, ask questions and seek God’s will together in decision-making. All church members have a right to vote.
We want pastoral care for all our members to be natural but we recognise that we also need to ensure that pastoral care is sufficiently well organised so that nobody gets left out. For this reason, everyone who becomes a member of West Kirby URC is assigned an elder (one of the volunteer members of the church’s leadership team) who will:
- Pray for the members of their pastoral group.
- Be there for them if they get in touch to talk or pray together.
- Seek to ensure that any members who share with them that they are experiencing difficult times are well supported by the church.
Find out more about pastoral care at West Kirby URC by reading the pastoral care leaflet or visiting www.wkurc.org.uk/pastoral-care
Friends List:
The Friends List is for people we are staying in touch with, to share church news and invitations with and to extend the church's love and care to. Many give to the church through, prayer, finance and encouragement. They could be people who are…
The Friends List is for people we are staying in touch with, to share church news and invitations with and to extend the church's love and care to. Many give to the church through, prayer, finance and encouragement. They could be people who are…
- in their later years.
- suffering from ill health or another challenging season of life.
- part of the wider church community but who don’t wish to be members.
- hoping to return to membership in this or another church in the future.
