Parish Survey Report

BE MISSIONARY DISCIPLES: REPORT TO PARISH ON SURVEY REVIEW AND REFLECTION

 
     In 2015, Archbishop Lori authored a Pastoral Letter entitled “A Light Brightly Visible: Be Missionary Disciples.”  Toward the end of last year, the Archbishop asked all Parishes in the Diocese to conduct a Survey of their parishioners on a wide range of subjects.  A large percentage of our St. Mary’s community responded to the Survey in our St. Mary’s community, for which we are grateful.  Oftentimes, however, when we are asked to do things like complete and return a Survey, we hear nothing more about it once we have dutifully handed in our responses.  We would like for your experience to be different.  For that reason, we are providing you this Report to let you know what has happened since the Survey and to ask for your further involvement in using what we are learning in this process to help enrich our Parish’s Spiritual and hopefully become more effective “Missionary Disciples.”
 
     The detailed results of what was a lengthy Survey are simply too voluminous to provide in this Report.  If you would like to receive the Survey results, please contact the Parish Office, and we will send them to you, preferably by e-mail. When we first received the results, however, they were shared with the Parish Staff and the Parish Council, which then formed a Planning Team, comprised of members of the Council and the Staff, as recommended by the Archdiocese.  The Team’s purpose was to study the Survey results, write a Parish Mission-Readiness Statement for the Archbishop, and then make recommendations to Fr. Kunkel and the Parish Council as to programs and activities that would address the Archbishop’s call to be Missionary Disciples, spreading our faith, and address specific needs that had been identified by the Survey.  The Team met at least every other week throughout the late-Spring and Summer.
 
      Based on the analysis of the Survey, we identified a number of challenges.  These include: (i) A significant portion of our Parish’s population is middle-aged and older (67% of our survey respondents are age 50 or older), which is not unusual in the Archdiocese; (ii) Older parishioners have difficulty making it to activities other than Sunday mass; (iii) Mass attendance is approximately 36% of those who have formally registered, which is actually a bit above average across the Archdiocese; (iv) There is an expressed desire for more robust religious education, not just for youth, but also for their parents and for the older adults who make up a large percentage of the Parish’s population and have a desire to learn more about and increase their faith. 
 
     As we reported to the Archbishop, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future of St Mary’s that are evident in the results of the Survey and in other aspects of Parish life.  These include: (i) We have a committed, stable, and cohesive group of volunteers, all of whom are dedicated and many of whom have served in their Ministries for a number of years; (ii) We have excellent and dedicated clergy and staff; (iii) A very large percentage of the survey respondents view St. Mary’s as a welcoming Parish that is largely meeting their Spiritual needs; (iv) We have a number of very successful programs for youth and adults, including an active Youth Group, Catholic Heart Work Camp, which is well-attended, Food Pantry, Health Ministry, Knights of Columbus, ChristLife, the Man-Hour, and, of course, our bi-annual Chicken Dinners for which people give very generously of their time and talent; and (v)We are well managed from a fiscal perspective, and the Parish’s generosity for special programs often exceeds goals.
    
     In response to the results of the Survey and the Archbishop’s call for Missionary Disciples, the Planning Team is making recommendations to Fr. Kunkel and the Parish Council.  These recommendations will include everything from proposed events to new programs and ministries, all intended to address the needs that were expressed by the Parish in response to the Survey.  We know that we cannot do everything that we would like to do at once.  We also know that whatever we can accomplish has to be led by the Holy Spirit so that we will carry out God’s Will for our Parish and not merely our own personal preferences.  And we have felt the Holy Spirit moving strongly in our Parish community as we take stock of where we are today and look to the future.
 
     Some of the things that are under consideration include:
 

1. Finding ways to engage our seniors with programs that can reach them in their homes and drawing upon the power of their prayer for the growth and success of our St. Mary’s community;
2. Using our new Parish Website and myParish App to communicate more successfully with Parishioners and provide useful tools for spiritual growth;
3. Forming an Evangelization Committee and making activities available that will help us all to grow spiritually and reach out to others as Missionary Disciples, including things like Parish Missions, additional Bible Studies and other small group faith sharing opportunities;
4. Enhance our educational and faith formation offerings to people of all ages--youth, young adults, families, and more senior adults—and include offerings for those who we may not currently be reaching, including programs like the Man-Hour, a group for mothers with children and a women’s fellowship;
5. Enhance our prayer, worship, and sacramental life by offering trips to inspiring religious destinations, special programs for children at Mass, and perhaps some sort of event with our Sister Parish, St. Edwards; and
6. Events that enhance our already welcoming atmosphere and draw people close together as a Parish community, including a Parish picnic and other social events at which Parishioners can gather and have fellowship together.

 
     Our plans are in the early stages but they are also ambitious.  We are called to be bold in living our faith and proclaiming our Savior’s message.  We will be looking to you, our St. Mary’s Parish community, for your ideas, your support, and your participation.  God had something very special in mind when our forebears established our St. Mary’s community and built our church many years ago.  Jesus is calling us here and now, in our time, to be his Light in our community and to share our faith with those around us and for generations to come.