Here in this church, human beings have gathered for centuries seeking a higher purpose and deeper life than they could find alone. We are grateful today for each one of you, that you have found your way here, and that you have decided to make a commitment to this faith community. We hope that as member of this church you will allow yourselves to know and to be known, to minister to and to be ministered unto, to love and to be loved, by this congregation.

We never really know what combination of fate and friendship and good luck it is that brings certain people together in this world for any purpose. But we believe that membership in the church calls each of us here to celebrate the fate that has drawn us together, and to regard each one a spiritual friend and a potential teacher, even of occasional hard lessons.

The relationships we form in our church are based on needs of the soul -- needs that render each of us vulnerable, and therefore reliant on each other’s grace and goodness, and generosity of spirit. As members of this church we pledge to be guardians of each other’s spirits, to respect the ultimate privacy of each one’s human struggle, and to believe in each one’s inherent dignity.

Finally, as members of this congregation, we know that we can always rely on the wisdom of our covenant which reminds us of our true purpose in being together. Will the congregation please rise and join together with our newest church members in affirming the covenant, found in your order of service:

In the bonds of fellowship and love, we unite
To cultivate reverence,
To promote spiritual growth and ethical commitment,
To minister to each other’s needs and to those of humanity,
To celebrate the sacred moments of life’s passage,
And to honor the holiness at the heart of being.

We welcome you to this community with all our hearts.

Offer the Hand of Fellowship to each.