Survey: Parishioners content; still room for improving

Among the areas in which the parish should place more emphasis are faith formation and religious education for teens, and sharing the Gospel with the unchurched, inactive parishioners and Catholics who have fallen away from the Church.

Those are some results of a survey of St. Francis' parishioners. More than 800 people participated in the survey, which was taken to help the pastoral council develop a parish mission statement and goals for the new millennium, according to Rev. David Noone, pastor.

Taking temp

The process began last year when parishioners were invited to listening/discussing sessions; a parish questionnaire was distributed at these meetings and at all Sunday Masses in early summer.

Catholics were asked to evaluate 18 parish ministries in one of three ways: that they were generally satisfied with each, that more emphasis should be placed on each, or that too much emphasis is already placed on each.

Findings

* 88 percent of those surveyed said that Sunday liturgy deepens their experiences of God, Christ and the Christian tradition;

* 86 percent said the parish provides administrative leadership for ministries and programs;

* 79 percent said the Sunday homilies express the Gospel in contemporary language and forms;

* 74 percent said the parish helps members deepen their personal relationship with God and Christ, and encourages them to make social and political decisions based on Christian principles;

* 73 percent said the parish provides a caring ministry for the sick, shut-ins, those in crisis and the bereaved.

More to do

* 54 percent said reaching out to Catholics who feel alienated from the Church should receive more emphasis;

* 48 percent said there should be more emphasis on providing faith formation and religious education for teens;

* 42 percent said sharing the Gospel with the unchurched and inactive parishioners should receive more emphasis;

* 37 said more should be done to provide faith formation and updating programs that deal with contemporary issues for adults.

What's next

Father Noone agreed that the parish needs to do more faith formation and religious education for teens, and that there should be more emphasis placed on "reaching out to people who have lost interest in their faith and don't take it seriously."

The parish has taken steps to address these needs by introducing Life Teen, a weekly Mass and meeting designed to enrich teens' faith, and the ALPHA Course, a 10-week practical introduction to the Christian faith.

The pastoral council hopes to take the survey results and finalize the process of developing a parish mission statement and goals for the new millennium by the end of the year.

(12-02-99) [[In-content Ad]]