The Challenges of "Membership Fees"

When I regularly went to church (two weeks old - sophomore year of high school), the definition of being a church member seemed fairly simple. Babies got baptized, school age children went to church school, 7th graders finished Confirmation and, confirming the promises their parents made for them when they were infants, became church members. On my Confirmation Sunday, I stood with my class and promised to be a good, committed Protestant. I was not expected to pay for the privelege of membership in the community in which I was raised. Some months before I converted to Judaism, I formally ended my church membership. I received a wonderful letter from the senior minister who wished me well on my new path. When I have visited to see family friends and church school classmates, I always felt welcome.

Throughout my conversion process, I was a "regular" at my synagogue, which meant that I attended Sabbath services nearly every week. In addition, I had several meetings with my rabbi. I felt like an "unofficial" member, which was good enough for me. Outside of attending worship services, I was not involved in the synagogue. My freshman year of college, however, I was offered a membership application on Rosh Hashanah. I took it and filled it out, figuring this was my way of paying back. While it felt nice to be "official" at the time, my involvement didn't change or suddenly feel different. Except, of course, when I got letters about membership fees.

In contrast to the Protestant system, in which members give voluntarily during (and outside of) the offering, most synagogues expect people to contribute a fixed portion of their income, or a pre-set fee, in order to be members. At many congregations, there are also charges for seats at High Holy Day services. During my first year of membership at my synagogue, I didn't have a job, so I arranged with the treasurer to pay $15 per month instead of the standard membership and building fees, which added up to over $500 annually.

I was grateful to be able to make this arrangement, since some synagogues don't make exceptions for lower-income or young members. At the same time, it felt embarassing to have to make a special request for the arrangement. While these arrangements are always confidential, they unintentionally set up a dichotomy between those who can pay the membership fee and those who cannot. Letting each person to pay what he/she is able to/wishes to allows people with limited budgets to not feel embarassed or a burden and people with larger budgets to not feel "forced" to support their synagogue financially.