Last fall, our new Member Engagement Team met for the first time to create a list of priorities for the coming year. One of the projects that emerged was a rethinking of our Path to Membership and the steps that we ask prospective members to engage with before signing the book. This work was inspired by other local UU congregations who have similarly reimagined their Path to Membership with a focus on helping prospective members deepen their involvement in the community prior to joining. The UU churches doing this work have experienced a significant increase in new members joining, and, perhaps most significantly, a membership base that is more involved in the congregation. These churches have found that over several years, the congregants who engaged in this new Path to Membership were more likely to stay in the community, and more likely to eventually take on leadership roles. 

Our flexible new pathway helps prospective members explore UUC through three core UU themes:

• Love
• Justice
• Exploring Unitarian Universalism

Each category offers a variety of ways to get involved. After completing an activity in each category, the last two steps are to make a pledge and sign the membership book. Check out our "Membership/activity menu" (image below) for more details.

Our new Path to Membership and new brochure will be rolling out on Homecoming Sunday. We are so excited to share our hard work with you and to try out this new way of engaging together. Please don’t hesitate to ask someone on our Member Engagement Team if you have any questions. 

In faith,

Morgan Sherwood and the Member Engagement Team:

Emily Joseph, Leslie Robinson, Stacy Carlson, Larry Soriano, Katie Renschler, Sue Oerkvitz, and Mirae Baichoo