Parish surveys spiritual needs

Of the 338 families registered at Holy Infancy parish in Lake Luzerne, 186 don't attend church at all.

But Rev. Charles Gaffigan, pastor, and the pastoral council hope that they are giving those families "something worthwhile to come back to."

Holy Infancy has just completed a "spiritual survey" of all of its parishioners, from weekly Mass attendees to fallen-away Catholics. The parish community was asked questions ranging from why some no longer attended Mass to what suggestions they might have to make the parish more hospitable. As the pastoral council studies the survey results, appropriate changes will be made in the parish.

Worthwhile effort

Pastoral council president Charis Cook called the survey "a painful process, but a very healthy process for us."

Before deciding to go ahead with the survey, Father Gaffigan asked himself, "Is this going to unify this parish or divide it?" In its wake, he said, "I'm convinced it's going to unify it. It's worth the risk."

The impetus for conducting the parish-wide survey came as a result of rumors that some parishioners were dissatisfied with various aspects of parish life, Mrs. Cook explained. The pastoral council met and agreed that "we needed to listen to our community. We developed the survey to find out what was right with our parish and what was wrong with our parish."

"We're here to serve the people and their needs -- all of them," said Father Gaffigan. "We felt the best way to do it would be to identify those needs."

Most important to the pastor and council was that "we wanted everyone to get the feeling that they were heard," he said. "This was our main objective."

Findings

The parish received a 28 percent response to the survey, a figure the council deemed "excellent." Among the findings were that:

* Most respondents attended church at least most of the time;

* those who did not go to Mass most commonly cited scheduling conflicts or alienation due to some circumstance in the parish; and

* many felt the need to become closer to God in their personal lives.

The four "likes" about the parish most frequently cited were a friendly atmosphere, a caring pastor, the community and the music. Most common dislikes included drawn-out singing, too-general sermons, the lack of kneelers in the church and only one Mass on Sundays (except during the summer).

Many respondents suggested changes in the parish, from "more quiet time before Mass" to the return of kneelers, as well as changes in the times of religious education classes and in the use of volunteers.

Responding

In all, said Father Gaffigan, 93 percent of the respondents had positive comments, and 55 percent offered dislikes.

"We're going to pay attention to all of them," he stated. "We've heard them; we're going to prayerfully consider their suggestions, and we're going to get an answer back to them."

Now that the results are in, they have been sent to the entire parish community along with a letter promising action to "foster common spiritual growth."

The council told parishioners that "every idea will be given serious consideration, even if it was mentioned only once." Those who had personal grievances were urged to contact Father Gaffigan to resolve them.

Providing answers

Several concerns could be addressed simply, said Mrs. Cook, such as explaining to parishioners who didn't know why some candles had disappeared from the church that the candles had been fire hazards.

Other suggestions for change will be more difficult to work out, since several proposals conflicted with one another. For example, while some parishioners wished that parish announcements be made before Mass, others wanted time for silent prayer. Ten felt the homilies were too general, but eight found them "meaningful."

Although finding out the dislikes of his parishioners could be painful, Father Gaffigan looked at it philosophically.

"There's a parable that I work out of as a priest," he told The Evangelist. "`If you don't sow anything, nothing will come up. If you sow something out there, something will come up.' We are responsible for nourishing the spirituality of all the people."

Priest's changes

In the survey, Father Gaffigan fared well. "I've always believed in treating everyone the same. That's always been my intention, but you wonder if it comes off that way," he said.

He was relieved to read 27 responses stating that "the priest cares about everyone."

Still, Father Gaffigan plans to make some changes himself as a result of the survey. "I suspect that there has got to be more improvement on the part of the pastor -- and more improvement on the part of the listener," he said of those who criticized his homilies.

He hoped that as he changed his approach, parishioners also more "actively listened."

Next stage

The next step for the parish will be a series of meetings during which the pastoral council addresses concerns expressed in the survey.

Before each of its meetings, the council has traditionally held a "parish forum" so that any parishioner with concerns can bring them to the council's attention.

The council is already looking at how to better utilize parish volunteers and hopes to invite parishioners with concerns in specific areas to form ad hoc committees to work on the problems. In the works are possible plans for recitations of the Rosary and a support group for newly widowed parishioners.

Reaching inactive

Aside from hearing the concerns of active parishioners, the pastor and council members are pleased to have reached out to inactive members of the parish community.

"There are some that have fallen away," explained council member Julie Daniels. "We're looking at how we can get them to come back home."

"It's not so much what we have done as what we haven't done," Mrs. Cook commented. "Maybe we haven't reached out far enough."

The survey proved that Holy Infancy is a "welcoming parish" and that those whose attendance has fallen off might well look at coming home, Father Gaffigan said, adding: "I believe that will happen if we keep in contact with them."

(10-09-97)