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The results of our parish survey were presented to the St. Mary's Vestry in their April meeting by Lindsay Ryland of the Virginia Diocese Deployment Office. The presentation included statistical data for our parish and compared the results to various indices for other parishes our size as compiled by Holy Cow! Consulting of Columbus, Ohio.
In presenting a synopsis of the report, the first order of business is to thank each and every one of you who participated in the survey. Based upon our Average Sunday Attendance ("ASA") our response rate was close to 77%, which is an outstanding response rate. In fact, it is the highest response rate that the consulting firm has received in over 20 years of performing church analyses!
What will come as no surprise to many, we have a very healthy parish. We received very high rankings for the strength of our Liturgy, Musical Program, Leadership and Education at all levels. Member satisfaction is high and the responses with respect to our Clergy reflected that while we have a very strong and effective Rector and staff, the parish is not "Rector centric".
The various Descriptive Indices register that we are settled in our progressiveness. That is to say in a graph showing Progressive vs. Conservative (spiritual terms, not political) and Adaptable vs. Settled, we are fairly close to dead center. There is a low amount of conflict in our congregation and when there is a problem, it is resolved through mutual effort. There is a very healthy tolerance of differing opinions and beliefs amongst us, which may explain the health of our parish in these difficult times in the Episcopal Church USA.
There are many other elements of the assessment that reflect upon the wellness of our parish. To elaborate on only the positive, however, would defeat the purpose of the survey. There were several themes identified in the Vital Signs report that will require the focus of the Clergy, Vestry and the overall parish (the following are listed in no particular order)
- Nearly all segments of our congregation indicated that the parish could do more in addressing personal crises and helping heal broken lives;
- Engagement – while we have over 40 outreach ministries, people are having difficulty getting engaged in programs sponsored and offered by the parish;
- There was a strong call, especially amongst the younger members of our parish, for small group ministries that would foster meaningful relationships and friendships;
- Stewardship. While our church is financially sound, contributions versus income levels reported place us in an extremely low percentile as compared to national norms. Frequent attendees in the upper age brackets identified "developing the spiritual generosity of the congregation to financially support the ministry of the church" as a top priority. It is noteworthy that this is not a call to give more to support the operation of St. Mary's, rather an indication that we accomplish many wonderful things and could do even more with additional resources.
- A common theme amongst respondents regarding worship attendance reflected that while their faith was important, they had busy lives and other things were more pressing right now. Obviously, our Fr. Merrow will be addressing prioritization issues in short order.
With respect to the St. Mary's specific questions, an overwhelming majority agreed that taking our time to discern how to use the Peacock Properties was appropriate and it was a source of pride that we dedicate 25% of all income to Outreach.
It is impossible to reduce the results of the Vital Signs report into a single page document. Yet, we have found that the format of the report leaves itself open to misinterpretation without a person to "walk you through" the statistics. For this reason, we will be having Mr. Russell Crabtree of Holy Cow! Consulting coming to Arlington to present the results of the survey to the congregation in the May 20th Open Forum at 10:15. Further announcements of the Open Forum will be forthcoming, but please mark your calendars now.
May 2007 |
