Overview

Membership at Sacred Garden Church (SGC) reflects your personal commitment to our least dogma, shared values, practices, and community life. Membership involves respectful support and openness to the church leadership and organizational structure, especially regarding SGC events and community spaces. This agreement outlines expectations clearly to foster a safe, respectful, and supportive community.

Decisions about Member conduct are made thoughtfully and individually by elected stewards of the Sacred Garden Community, guided by our governance principles.

 

Our Shared Faith

SGC is a religion with a single article of shared faith, which we call our least dogma:

We are open to the possibility that respectful practice with the Sacraments of our Church can bring about a direct experience of the Divine, within this lifetime.

We call it least because it is the minimum we hold in common — deliberately small, so that our congregation can hold many theologies, lineages, and personal understandings of the Divine without any one of them governing the rest.

Confirming this faith does not require you to claim a particular experience, adopt a particular metaphysics, or set aside the tradition you came from. It asks only that you hold this openness sincerely, and that you recognize the Sacraments of our Church as sacred rather than recreational.

 

Membership Expectations

As an SGC Member, you agree to:

• Support and understand the church’s least dogma, mission, values, and practices.
• Engage respectfully with community resources and contribute constructively.
• Celebrate diversity, promote unity, and respect differences in beliefs and practices.
• Communicate directly, compassionately, and through approved channels.

 

Membership Constraints

SGC Members agree to avoid:

• Harassment, coercion, intimidation, or consent violations.
• Actions causing or threatening harm to individuals or the organization.
• Repeated disruptive behavior or public criticism undermining church values or governance.
• Unauthorized attempts to alter church leadership, policies, or confidentiality breaches.

 

Feedback and Communication

We encourage Members to share their ideas, feedback, and concerns compassionately and constructively through:

• Direct conversation with involved individuals.
• Facilitated support from church groups such as SGC’s Ordained Facilitators, Listeners or the Community Safety Team.
• Official online feedback forms.

 

Review and Remediation

Behaviors inconsistent with these guidelines may trigger a review by SGC stewards, who will approach each case thoughtfully. Outcomes may include:

• A formal request for behavior modification.
• An invitation to restorative or educational dialogue.
• Temporary or permanent changes to membership status or privileges.

 

Decision-Making Authority

Membership reviews and decisions are conducted collaboratively by church Stewards. Any decision involving significant membership changes must receive majority approval by the Elder Circle (SGC’s board). Further details can be found in the SGC bylaws (available by request to all confirmed members)

As a Confirmed Member, I confirm our shared faith as my own, and I understand and embrace these expectations. I commit to supporting Sacred Garden Church's mission and values, participating with Care, Respect and Trust, and fostering a welcoming and compassionate community.