Freely Give and Freely Receive
By: Joanna Dell
When you think of the word membership, what comes to mind? Netflix? Costco? Spotify? Recently, I read Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry for a book club and was faced with my understanding of membership. The story follows the life of a woman named Hannah and explores the challenges, joys, and redemption of a full life. Recurring themes of love, loss, maturation, membership, and the changing world after WWII are beautifully woven throughout, yet the theme of membership struck me in particular. Berry radically departs from our 21st century definition of membership as strictly transactional in nature and instead posits membership as a form of rooted community. Through the course of the book the reader comes to understand not all memberships are created equal.
The membership Hannah experienced in Port William, KY was a small group of people who not only lived nearby but lived alongside one another. She states that their “membership had an economic purpose and it had an economic result, but the purpose and the result were a lot more than economic”. (Hannah Coulter, p. 93). Love flowed from this pragmatic membership into the physical spaces they called home, from everyone gathering to help Hannah and her new husband fix up an old farmhouse to the farmers helping one another during harvest. In Hannah Coulter we see lives and work freely given and freely received. (Hannah Coulter, p. 93)
Yet, why choose to refer to this group of people as a “membership”? Why not simply say community? My favorite podcast, Close Reads, gave a helpful way to understand this. The word community is widely used and seemingly vague - are you referring to those people that challenge, love you selflessly, and work alongside you? Or are you referring to that friend you see every few months to “catch up” with? The word membership evokes the sentiment that these relationships require something of you - not passivity, nor self-centeredness, but yourself. A community composed of members interested in the flourishing of other members, not simply what they could extract from their relationship.
I wonder if you feel challenged by this concept of membership as I do. Whatever season of life you find yourself in - single, married, flourishing, lamenting disappointments, joyful, anxious regarding your next step - where is your membership? Who are those that you encourage and are encouraged by? Who are those that you give of yourself to and vice versa? Your identity as a woman becomes formed by many things but, as a relational being, I believe those around you possess great power in molding who you are becoming...
A membership doesn’t come without difficulties though. Unlike Hannah who lived in Port William most of her life along with the rest of her membership, you may find yourself in a transient season with many more in the future. So, are we sure the idea of membership isn’t just an old-fashioned concept of the past? Though times have changed and maybe you won’t have the same neighbors for sixty years like Hannah, our need and deep desire for a membership remains.
This may look like simply taking one season at a time and not dwelling on all of your future steps. Savor the membership you presently reside in, whether it be your church, school, clubs… Deep rootedness doesn’t come easily; plant seeds, give of yourself to others without expecting anything in return, and wait patiently. And when/if the time comes to transplant yourself, give thanks for that membership, continue to cultivate it if possible, yet never lose sight of the present and those right in front of you.
May we continue to learn and grow with those around us - our memberships.
