Membership in Four Quarters
Four Quarters InterFaith Sanctuary of Earth Religion is many things.
It is a Church with a corporate identity that interacts with banks,
vendors and the government.
It is the Land of Four Quarters, the source of much of our religious
sensibility and home to the Circle of Standing Stones.
It is Four Quarters Farm, the Membership-based Sanctuary and Church
Camp of EarthReligion that makes the Land available to its Members and guests.
But in the end, Four Quarters is about people. The Church, the Camp and
the Land are all inseparable from the people who come here and the choices they make.
When the Church was founded it was understood that people need choices in how
they bring Four Quarters into their lives. It was understood that Four Quarters Farm would
be founded on the basis of membership, because for an InterFaith Sanctuary of
EarthReligion to survive and thrive there must be a way for people to make it their own.
And it was understood that some people who want and need Sanctuary in their lives come
from a set of life experiences that make them unwilling or unable to "join" any
kind of organization.
For these reasons there are two separate forms of membership.
Membership in Four Quarters Farm with its benefits of access to the land and attendance at
Four Quarters sponsored events. And Membership in The Church, with its expectation of
long-term commitment and support of the vision that is creating the Circle of Standing
Stones and the religious work of the Church. It should be understood that Membership in
Four Quarters Farm does not make one a Member of the Church, although Farm Membership is
required of Church Members. If you would like to know more about the Church or its
membership, please visit the Church Section of this Web.
Membership in Four
Quarters Farm
Farm Membership is the most basic level of participation and support for the
work of Four Quarters. Our first year of memberships was 1995, which saw about 50 members
by its close. Membership has risen to
over 440. With the monthly Pledge Program of ongoing support, our goal is to grow
Membership and direct Membership support to the point that they can shoulder the basic
operating costs of Four Quarters; mortgage, power and lights. At that point we will be
able to seriously begin the process of creating a Perpetual Trust to hold the land. And
every year we grow a little closer to this goal. For information about how Memberships and
the Pledge Program will make a Land Trust possible see the Financial Section of this Web.
For some their support expresses itself as a Staff Membership, a season's
commitment to take on the work of running Four Quarters; or as a Staff Intern committed to
working a specific event.
For others a Sustaining or Promoting Membership is their best means of
support. Every person finds what suits them best.
Of course Farm Membership does have its benefits; access to the camp
for members and their guests, subsidized member rates for Church sponsored events and
providing a welcome source of operating funds during the lean winter months which allows
our work of organizing to continue year-round.
But most of our members tell us that they support Four Quarters with their
Membership and their Pledge for the simplest of reasons. To preserve the Standing Stones.
To ensure that the Circle is completed, and held safe for the generations to come. To take
their part in creating this Sanctuary of Earth Religion, and participate in this Work of
Years... Stone by Stone. And to see to it that Four Quarters remains an important part of
their lives.
In the end, Four Quarters Membership is about People and the choices they
make.
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