Does our parish help you grow spiritually? How good are we at connecting you to others in the parish? In what ways do you feel invited to share your talents at our parish? Your honest answers to these types of questions are what will make Saint Andrew a better faith community.
We invite all parishioners to share their input by participating in a 10-15 minute online survey which is available in 19 languages. Our friends at the Catholic Leadership Institute are helping with this online survey through March 31. At the completion of the survey, our parish will receive a summary report of the results. We will NOT have access to individual survey responses.
This survey offers us a unique and important opportunity to learn about issues of importance to parishioners in a confidential and professional way. We will use these results to 1) look at opportunities to support parishioner growth in discipleship and 2) create goals and plans to achieve that growth. The survey is being conducted in conjunction with all parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago and is funded by a grant.
Your feedback and input will help shape various ministries as we plan for the future and strive to be the best parish we can be. We will receive the results this spring/summer at which time we will share what we have learned with the entire parish.
Please respond before March 31. Thank you!
All of the parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago are participating in this survey, but you might wonder why we’re doing this, why it is important to participate, and what we’ll get out of it later this summer.
We’re doing this now as part of the Renew My Church initiative. Let’s face it, our church looks different now, in 2023, than it did just a few years ago. We’ve gone through consolidation of parishes across Chicago, and the need for social distancing shut down our normal worship and gathering for months. Some people moved, some have become comfortable with an on-line spiritual connection, and some fell out of the habit of coming to church. Now more than ever, we’re operating in unfamiliar territory, and the Church needs to understand the wants and needs of our people. This survey is one step in rebuilding those connections, to regaining the sense of community and purpose that we’ve shared for hundreds of years.
Survey responses are anonymous, and it is conducted by our partners at the Catholic Leadership Institute. They’ve surveyed more than 56 dioceses with more than a half-million responses. This gives the survey a broad base that will help us understand where we are as a parish and Archdiocese. Later this summer, we’ll get a full report on your responses aggregated and compared with similar sized parishes, the archdiocese, and the Catholic Church in America. The results will give us a sense of where we are and where we need to concentrate our efforts going forward.
This is why your participation is vital! We need a broad representation of our parish – young and old, new parishioners and families that count generations of Saint Andrew parishioners. We need you to participate if you are heavily involved in the parish and if you just stop by occasionally for Mass. We need your opinions whether we’re meeting your spiritual needs or you think there is room for improvement. And we need responses from every family member! This isn’t a “one per family” situation – everyone’s voice matters!
A few other facts about the survey:
- It is grant funded, so the program doesn’t cost Saint Andrew or the Archdiocese.
- It is available in many languages online.
- It is an opportunity to reflect on individual spiritual growth and engagement with the parish.
- The survey closes on March 31.
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Results will be available in late summer.
Thank you for your time in taking the survey (by the way, it is about 75 multiple-choice questions, and will take less than 10 minutes). If you have any questions, please drop an email to Deacon Mark.
