Belong at Harbor View
Membership is simply a way of saying “this is my church family.” It is open to anyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ and wants to share in the life, worship, and work of our congregation. Here is what becoming a member usually looks like.
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Worship with us
The best first step is simply to come and worship. Get to know the congregation, and let us get to know you.
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Talk with a pastor
Let our pastor know you are interested. We will sit down together, answer your questions, and talk about faith and what membership means. We also offer About Us, a relaxed class for anyone considering membership. It is a great place to ask anything.
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Join by profession or transfer
You can become a member by professing your faith for the first time, by reaffirming your faith, or by transferring your membership from another congregation. If you have not yet been baptized, you will be baptized when you join.
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Be received by the Session
Our Session, the church’s elected elders, joyfully receives new members, and we welcome you before the congregation in worship, where you will affirm the church’s historic vows of faith and membership.
Four promises members make
When you join, you will promise, in words Presbyterians have used for generations, to share in this congregation’s worship and ministry through your prayers and gifts, your study and service. In everyday life, that promise takes four simple shapes.
Worship together
Members make Sunday worship a regular rhythm: in the sanctuary when possible, online when it is not. If getting to worship is hard, tell us, and we will help you find a way to stay connected.
Serve in one place
Find one place to pour yourself into: a committee, a mission team, the choir, a helping hand at a church supper. One commitment, offered gladly. We would rather you serve joyfully in one place than be stretched thin across five.
Give intentionally
Members support the church’s ministry with a pledge, an amount chosen prayerfully and planned on purpose. And life happens: a pledge can always be revised when circumstances change.
Pray for one another
We keep a prayer list of the congregation’s joys and concerns. Members carry each other in prayer, along with the church’s leaders and its work in the world.
What does “Presbyterian” mean?
Harbor View is part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country. The word “Presbyterian” describes how we are governed, not by a hierarchy, but by elders: members of the congregation, elected by the congregation, and ordained to lead with “energy, intelligence, imagination, and love.”
We are also a connected church. Every Presbyterian congregation belongs to a local presbytery, a regional synod, and the national General Assembly, with checks and balances the whole way up. Presbyterians like things done “decently and in order,” and we come by the reputation honestly.
Most of all, the PC(USA) is a big-tent church. Our members come from many denominational backgrounds and hold a range of views, and that is by design: Presbyterians have long held that “Christ is Lord of the conscience,” which means there is room here to wrestle, to question, and to disagree in love. You do not have to have everything figured out to belong.
Ready to take the next step?
There is no pressure and no rush. Whenever you are ready, or if you would just like to sit in on the About Us class first, reach out to the church office and we will walk with you from there.