As of December 31, 2009, a total of 361 members were recorded by Bethesda Friends Meeting. Of these members, 219 were recorded as adults, 55 as associates, and 87 as junior members.
In 2009, total membership in the Meeting decreased by 8, or about 2.1%. This result was driven by a concerted effort by the Pastoral Care Committee to encourage associate members over 30 to make decisions about their relationship to the Meeting. This process, which is consistent with the Meeting's membership policy, resulted in 16 associate members who resigned, transferred, or were removed due to lack of response. As a result of these efforts, we had just 12 associate members over 30 at year end in 2009, down from 27 a year earlier.
Total adult membership in the Meeting increased by 2 during 2009, reflecting 6 new members and 4 losses. Of the 6 new adult memberships, 3 were by convincement and 3 transferred in. Losses consisted of 2 transfers out and 2 resignations. Our combined associate and junior membership decreased by a net of 10, with 7 young children helping to offset the decline in associate memberships. Eight junior members turned 21during 2009, at which time their memberships converted automatically to associate status.
While attenders constitute a very important part of our Meeting community, no official statistics are recorded on them. Based on a rough estimate, the latest BFM directory contains about 1000 names, suggesting that our community is made up of roughly one-third members and two-thirds attenders.
Despite the statistical decline in membership in 2009, there is evidence that the Bethesda Meeting community continues to grow. Excluding the resignation and removal of inactive associate members, the Meeting's membership actually increased by a modest 2.2%, which is typical of recent years. Furthermore, there are a number of membership applications approved or in process in early 2010.
Rick Morgan, Recorder