diff --git a/logs/log1755969060.md b/logs/log1755969060.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5f4fc76de6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/logs/log1755969060.md
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# Log 1755969060
+
+## Summary
+- Reordered `StartMemberAsync` to call `BeginStartAsync` before `StartGossipActorAsync`, ensuring `MemberList` and `Remote` are initialized before gossip starts.
+- Added a clarifying comment documenting the dependency.
+
+## Motivation
+`StartGossipActorAsync` accessed `MemberList` and the remote block list before they were initialized, leading to intermittent null-reference failures during cluster startup and tests.
diff --git a/src/Proto.Cluster/Cluster.cs b/src/Proto.Cluster/Cluster.cs
index c1984b5525..2578a922ff 100644
--- a/src/Proto.Cluster/Cluster.cs
+++ b/src/Proto.Cluster/Cluster.cs
@@ -164,9 +164,9 @@ private void SubscribeToTopologyEvents() =>
     /// </summary>
     public async Task StartMemberAsync()
     {
+        await BeginStartAsync(false).ConfigureAwait(false); // ensure MemberList and Remote are initialized
         await Gossip.StartGossipActorAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
-        await BeginStartAsync(false).ConfigureAwait(false);
-        //gossiper must be started whenever any topology events starts flowing
+        // gossiper must be started whenever any topology events starts flowing
         await Gossip.StartgossipLoopAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
         MemberList.InitializeTopologyConsensus();
         await Provider.StartMemberAsync(this).ConfigureAwait(false);