If you are interested in becoming a member of First Friends, please let the Pastor or a member of Ministry and Oversight know. You will receive a copy of Indiana Yearly Meeting's Faith and Practice to read. We will also set up a small 'clearness committee' to meet with you. That group will be comprised of the Pastor and at least one member of Ministry and Oversight (in addition, you may request one other member of the Meeting to be included). That group will have at least three exploratory conversations with you, over the course of approximately a year.

We hope that you will be as involved as possible in the life of the meeting (attending Monthly Meeting, Commissions, small groups as led) during this time. This process will make coming into membership a more meaningful and useful experience. We follow the same process with new Friends, with Friends seeking transfer from other Quaker meetings, and with Junior members seeking Adult membership (Junior membership terminates at age 21 in Indiana Yearly Meeting; a Junior member can apply for Adult membership before age 21).

Somewhere toward the end of the process, we will ask you to draft a letter of request for membership. Below are some queries that we hope will inform your letter.

Queries for those writing a letter of request for membership:

• What has drawn you into fellowship with First Friends Meeting? What in the life of the Meeting gives you joy and comfort, stimulates your spiritual life and personal growth? What are your hopes regarding membership?

• First Friends is part of Indiana Yearly Meeting and Friends United Meeting, Christian bodies of Friends. How does the Christian conversation at First Friends speak to your own spiritual experience? First Friends does not deny the truth of other religious faiths or discourage members from exploring them. Nor do we claim that we have all the answers to Christianity or the life of the Spirit. But the primary language and shared understanding of our Meeting is Christian. How does this work for you? Are you willing to grow in Christian understanding and discipleship, whatever other spiritual traditions may also enrich your life?

• To be a vital fellowship that grows and reaches out to its community, First Friends needs to draw upon the spiritual gifts and material resources of its members. Are you willing to share your time, energy and financial resources with the Meeting? Are there any particular forms of service or committee involvement of interest to you?

There are no 'right answers' to these queries. But we ask you to engage with them as part of your discernment process in approaching membership with First Friends. Your letter will form the basis for further conversation. We may ask you to clarify your responses to these queries, in conversation and in a further draft of your letter of application. When they are 'clear' that they are coming into unity of understanding with you, your clearness committee will recommend to Ministry and Oversight that your name be presented to the Monthly Meeting, to be approved for membership. We hope that this process will deepen our mutual acquaintance and make your membership a meaningful and long-lasting commitment.