more than joining - being a member

 As I walked past the site of my primary school the other day, the school now gone and replaced by machinery for the building a new car park, I'm sure I heard the sound of old playground games long forgotten. One of those involved groups of us, arms round each other, shouting 'join on, join on for...' encouraging others to join the line until it was as long as the yard was wide. I can't remember what we wanted our friends to join, no doubt something to do with whatever we had been talking about, or perhaps had seen on TV the night before. That bit was irrelevant, what mattered was the length of the line we formed. Then the bell rang and we dispersed to our classrooms, our kinship was short-lived.

I was on my way to a meeting of Co-op Member Pioneers, whose ranks I have recently joined. The ice breaker for the day involved us standing in a line across the meeting room arranging ourselves in order of how long each of has worked for Co-op. I was at the very start of the line with only a few weeks service. Yet, it made feel like I belonged, I was part of something, which was not just about the moment, but stretched across years and places.

Co-op Member Pioneers number 1000 across the country, each committing a few hours each week to make our communities better connected, as well as supporting and promoting the local causes chosen by Co-op members. The job is to represent co-operative values across a local area, supported by contributions whenever members buy Co-op products and swipe their membership card.

Becoming a Co-op member costs £1 and I'm sure many people think it is just another loyalty card. It is in fact much more bringing both personal benefits and also real support for local community organisations. It is a win win with money from each shop going to a variety of local and national causes, as well as offering discounts for the member to enjoy on their shopping. There is a mutual benefit, and importantly the knowledge of being part of something which is striving to make a positive impact.   Co-op Membership - Membership that makes a difference - Co-op (coop.co.uk) 

Becoming a 'member' has in many contexts lost its meaning. Often our memberships are about subscribing to a service and not about standing up for something we believe in. The final church services I conducted before beginning sabbatical were services of Confirmation and Reception into Membership. These are always occasions for celebration, but if I am honest they also trouble me. Confirmation is rightly seen as a rite of passage, marking a moment of commitment to faith. But, it is not an end in itself, not just another box to tick. The service is also about becoming a member with rights and responsibilities. Those responsibilities are about much more than turning up to church on Sunday morning, they are about the way in which each individual member is part of the mission of the church. Gathering in buildings for acts of worship is of course important, but it is not the most important part of being a church member. More important is representing Christ like values in everything we do, and seeing ourselves as part of a team.