Membership in the Church is open to anyone who completes a basic 8-week meditation class compatible with our practices, and pays an annual membership fee.  If you live somewhere other than Western Washington, completion of the class may be waived if appropriate, upon application to the Board of Directors.  An Affiliate Member of the Church is someone who supports our basic purpose and is a part of the community, whether or not they are an active participant and/or live locally.  They are welcome to borrow books from the library, take further classes, be a part of the Sacred Readings Group, etc.   The annual fee to be an Affiliate Member is $25.  In some cases, economic hardship reductions are possible.

An Active Member of the Church is someone who commits to a greater level of giving and receiving within the Church community.  The annual fee for this membership category is $50.  Church members with enough meditation experience are invited to begin teaching classes or assume leadership roles such as lighting the candles, leading a prayer or song, or presiding over a worship service.

People in the surrounding community, i.e. members of the public, can participate in some Church activities such as worship services and Community Healing Times without joining the church.  They are also welcome to take the basic meditation class without subsequently joining the Church.  In other words, everyone is welcome to be a part of creating the Church, and there is a natural flow to our evolution.

In terms of formal governance structure, the Church of the Harvest was set up to be a theocracy of sorts. Long term meditators who are active church members are invited to join the Board of Directors after they have completed Clairvoyant Training (which increases their competence in providing compassionate leadership) and as such, gain voting rights in the church’s affairs.  In actuality almost all substantive decisions about church matters are made by consensus of affected parties.