In a Congregational Church, everything begins and ends with membership of a "Believers' Church". Who makes members, then -- or removes them? It is of course the members themselves. This makes it an offence for a minister or diaconate to make members or remove them. Not surprisingly, therefore, malicious rumours may claim that they did just that. I just stumbled upon this statement of Church elders in one of my Churches, many years ago:
"We wish to assure members that our Minister has never removed [members] from the Roll, nor has he ever suggested to our Diaconate that they should be removed from the Roll. Our Church Constitution grants the Minister no authority to remove any member from the Roll. Only the Church Meeting may remove members from the Roll ..."The Church Constitution is a sacred covenant between members, about members, and this has priority. Apart from this, though, membership is an issue close to everyone's heart. Therefore I have sought to deal with the issue openly and kindly, fully informing all concerned -- especially in the case where membership has been about to lapse. OBSERVATION: There may, however, be "emergency clauses" in Congregational constitutions. Perhaps in another post.
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