Unity of Kalamazoo

FAQ about church membership

We hope you feel you 'belong' here all ready, but we do make a distinction between a 'belonging' and 'voting member.'

Belonging means you have taken the first step in church membership and are part of our congregation. In the capacity of belonging, you are asked to serve on a volunteer team and begin to take the series of classes that would allow you to become a voting member of our spiritual community

Voting member means that you have completed the requirements for being a voting member and taken the second step to make a full commitment to Unity of Kalamazoo.

Anyone may 'belong' without being a 'voting member,' and may participate in many ways, however, you must be a voting member to vote on official congregational business  such as our annual meeting, or run as a Trustee on the Board of Trustees.

If you have been attending regularly for six to eight weeks and want to belong to our congregation, Rev. Marty offers a series of classes to help you understand more fully what Unity teaches.  Sometimes they are held on a weekend - Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday - sometimes they are held on the same day for 4 weeks in a row.

Anyone may take the class. If at the conclusion of that class you decide that you want to become part of the congregation with the intention of moving into voter membership status, you may join the congregation and "Belong."

What sort of pledge do I have to take?

When the class is completed, and if you decide you want to join the congregation, we do not ask you to confess to any creed or dogma.  We simply ask that you make a commitment to your own spiritual growth:  to support this spiritual community with your prayers, time, talent and treasure; and to begin taking the series of classes required to becoming a voting member.

Do I have to tithe to be a member?

Although tithing is not a requirement for those in this first step of joining the congregation, we do ask you to step into the deep spiritual rewards of that practice. We do expect that voting members will be tithers. Tithing acknowledges God, and your source of spiritual nourishment as first in your life. No one pressures you personally to give anything. It is between you and God. But it is clear that spiritually mature people practice tithing and know the joy of giving and receiving in gratitude with an attitude of abundance. 

What does it mean to join the church?

It means you find spiritual nourishment here and are moving into the next stage by making a commitment to your own spiritual growth by actively supporting this spiritual community with your prayers, time, talent and treasure.

The three classes required to become a voting member are:  

1.  A prosperity/tithing course.

2.  Lessons in Truth or Discover the Power Within You or another class that covers Unity basics.

3.   I of the Storm and Day by Day Reconciliation or Loving What Is or another class that deepens our understanding about taking personal responsibility for the way we experience our life.

Voting members elect the board of trustees who are responsible for the spiritual and financial management of the legal 501(c)3 entity which is Unity of Kalamazoo. We do require that board members tithe, and we do feel that people who have a say in financial matters should be people who understand our spiritual teachings including the ones on prosperity and tithing and practice them in their own life.