Dear Friend,
I am writing to invite you to join our Electoral Roll, which this year is a full revision and requires every person to apply to be added to the roll, even if you have been on it before.
The Electoral Roll is an important measure for every Parish in the Church of England.
On the one hand, being on the Electoral Roll is an important administrative and legal function. It enables you to vote for various church officers at our Annual Parochial Church Meeting (which this year is going to be on 11th May). It also is one way of reporting the strength of St John’s as a parish to the Diocese, which in turn enables the Parish to have a full-time stipendiary Vicar. You might not know that it also has an effect on how much we pay the Diocese each year for our Parish Share.
On the other hand, and perhaps more importantly, it is also a sign of belonging and membership to this community and congregation. Being a member comes with an expectation that that you will come to church regularly and learn about God, that you will get involved and serve others and that you will give financially (as you are able to do so) to our ministry.
Whether you have been a member of St John’s for many years and completing the form is a merely formality, or perhaps this is your first time in doing so – you are all invited to do so regardless of the reason.
However, before you do, I want you to think and pray very carefully about what this means to you and why you are joining.
I sincerely hope that that you will be prompted to reflect how you contribute to this community and your role in it and taking on what we hear in scripture, which states, "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10).
With every blessing,
Tim