Example Letter of Application for Membership

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Dear Clerk of the Meeting and Clerk of the Membership Committee, 

I write to express my desire to become a member of the Friends Meeting of Washington. I have regularly attended FMW’s meetings for worship since May 2023. I am drawn to this community because of the way its members embody their principles individually and as a collective. I hope that formal membership in FMW will both foster and support my spiritual growth and my desire to embody Divine love.

I grew up in an Anabaptist tradition—Brethren in Christ to be exact—but I always believed that God was larger than this tradition. Since my teenage years, I have engaged with and learned from mystic traditions generally, and Christian mysticism specifically, as a means of deepening my own spiritual life and directly encountering the Divine. I agree with the Quaker belief that “there is that of God in everyone.” I also believe that spiritual growth comes from a personal encounter with God, but such growth should be within the context of a community. While attending FMW, I have valued the vocal ministry of Friends, and Friends’ non-vocal ministry like nonviolent activism and social aid works, like grate patrol. Both these types of ministries have inspired and guided my own spiritual development over the past few months I have attended FMW. 

    Given my Anabaptist background, my beliefs fit squarely within the Quaker aspirations demonstrated in the Baltimore Yearly Meeting’s queries. I believe in nonviolence and active peacebuilding, justice for all, simplicity, and letting one’s life—rather than words—be a true testament of beliefs. I believe and strive to embody these principles in everyday practice and how I live my life. I frequently fall short, but I continue to strive for this and I seek the support of a community that graciously fosters this development in its members. I diverge from Anabaptist thought in that I believe God can and does speak through all people, as well as the natural world, rather than just a hierarchical church structure. 

    I have engaged with FMW’s communal life by attending and participating in meetings for worship and its beekeeping. I appreciate the reflective, attentive, and discerning silence of Friends worship. This practice feels naturally very comfortable to me and I feel it supplements my personal daily practices of meditation, reflection on scripture, and other spiritual resources. I concede that I need to become more involved in communal life beyond worship. Specifically, I need to attend meetings for business regularly and join a committee. I see this increased involvement in meetings for business and committees as an important responsibility I will take on as a member. 

    Recognizing that FMW needs support from members, I have been giving regularly for several months and I have volunteered with beekeeping as a means of contributing, in a small way, to the upkeeping and maintenance of FMW’s programs. I am committed to continuing this support and seeking new ways to further support FMW. 

Sincerely,