​Members at Iona-Hope
There are three types of members that are officially recognized by the Episcopal Church. These are Confirmed Members, Baptized Members and Received Members. In addition, at Iona-Hope we have another type of member known as Sojourner Members. Perhaps the following definitions and statements will be helpful.
Confirmed Member: These are people who have been confirmed by an Episcopal Bishop. These people have usually completed a course of study in preparation for their confirmation. When these people move from one congregation to another a Letter of Transfer is requested from the previous congregation. Once that has been received, they are entered into the official roster. Sometimes it is impossible to obtain records in which case the Pastor may make a determination that they are eligible for transfer and will indicate in the book that they have been “Transferred by Canon.”
Baptized Member: These are people who have been baptized in a Christian Church and have chosen to become members of an Episcopal church. They are entered into the book as a Baptized Member upon their request. It is hoped, although certainly not required, that these members will take the requisite course and be confirmed by the bishop at some point.
Received Member: These are people who have been confirmed by a bishop in another denomination. The denomination must also be one in which the doctrine provides for apostolic succession. This would include Roman Catholics and some, although not all, Lutherans.
Sojourner: This is not a category recognized by the Episcopal Church. It is a category that pertains only to Iona-Hope. These are people who prefer to leave their actual membership in some other congregation but wish to also indicate their support to and for Iona-Hope by committing to being sojourner (those who abide for awhile). This category is open to all Christian denominations.
The categories we use include Friend (people who are our occasional guests), Contributor Only(Generally used for only flowers and memorials), Prospect (all of our first-time guests are initially placed in this category), Member (including Confirmed, Baptized and Received but not Sojourner), Sojourner.
Once a person is registered into one of the Member categories they can only be removed from our records by transfer to another Episcopal congregation.
While we would like for everyone to move into one of the first three categories described above the real truth is that regardless of which category you are in we are grateful for your presence and give thanks to God for your presence in our midst.
To become a member of Iona-Hope please click on the following link to request a transfer from your current church.