Membership at CCH
What is membership?
As you consider how you hope to be involved at CCH, we invite you to consider church membership. While not required to share in the aloha spirit of our community, active church membership does come with some benefits and responsibilities.
One of the key benefits of church membership is the opportunity to do life together with people of different ages, backgrounds, races, and points of view. In a world that is so divided membership at a church—and in particular CCH—provides an opportunity for us to connect beyond our comfort zones and emulating and experiencing the love of God in a variety of different ways. To help us understand what that means, CCH has a "Covenant of Membership." See the note below from the pastor to read that covenant.
Communal care is open to former members, visitors and friends, but by becoming a member you state that you are eager to be wrapped in the spirit of Aloha through the CCH leadership and community.
With membership comes the opportunity for leadership. In congregational churches, it is the membership that makes the big decisions; to have your vote counted we need you to be a member. Similarly, it is the lay leaders not the pastor (or pastors) who form the governing bodies of the church. To serve on Church Council, as a Deacon or with the Endowment Committee, you need to be an active member of the church.
As a member of our community, you generously give regularly to engage the spiritual practice of generosity and to join with others in supporting and living out our shared mission.
How do I become a member?
At CCH we invite everyone to reaffirm our covenant of membership on an annual basis. If you would like to reaffirm your membership for this year and maintain your status as active, please fill out the following form.
If you are curious about becoming a member for the first time, please email info@cchonolulu.org to make an appointment with the pastor to learn more about CCH and the membership process.
Embracing Aloha: Our Shared Covenant of Love, Justice, and Grace
Dear Friends,
As you consider your involvement in the life of the church, take a close look at our church covenant. This is the statement of identity and purpose we claim as Community Church of Honolulu:
WE COVENANT with each other to seek and respond to the Word and the Will of God. Our purpose is to walk in the ways of Love, made known to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We hold it to be the mission of the Church to build a community of justice, love, and grace in line with the teachings of Jesus. Together, we will do this through worship, service, and fellowship, giving generously of our time, talents and treasures to our shared mission. As did our forebears, we depend on the Holy Spirit to lead and empower us in these activities and mission. In our work and prayer, we look forward to the day when all people will know the eternal love, justice, and grace of God.
I love this statement of mission--I love how it pushes us toward a life together that reflects the love of God and that doesn't shy away from difficult conversations and hard issues. At CCH we believe that if our faith cannot speak to the pain of this world, it is impotent and without the transformational power the gospel requires. To that end, we are committed to a vast and extravagant welcome; when we say everyone is welcome here, we do in fact mean everyone: we welcome and celebrate women in leadership, we gladly embrace our LGBTQ+ members and visitors, and we make intentional space for a wide variety of perspectives, believing that our diversity does make us stronger. In short, this community always strives to be a place where the aloha spirit lives and thrives.
In a world where so much is uncertain and where life can quickly become lonely, tending to healthy community is one of the most important investments we can make. I am delighted to welcome you to Community Church of Honolulu, and to the beautiful, challenging, oh-so-worth-it work of being the Church together.
Me ke Aloha,
