by Chad Smith

Transfiguration recently conducted the final survey during this Year of Discernment to help evaluate the satisfaction of our parish members. The Ministry Boards, with the help of the Beloved Community Steering Committee, developed questions to help us further develop our parish ministries. The survey results will enable us to refine our ministries today and help us to develop a five-year ministry vision for the parish this fall. The survey was distributed in the church and also made available online through Survey Gizmo. Having received feedback from 70 parish members, we were very pleased that so many parishioners took the time to answer the survey. We greatly appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts and feelings about the ministry we do together.

We saw some broad themes in the responses. 60% of the respondents attend the 10:30 service, 21% attend the 8am Rite I, and 19% attend the Family Service. We were pleased to learn that there was an overall sense of satisfaction among the members of our parish. Lack of time seemed to be the biggest deterrent to church participation. While the respondents show a significant interest in experiencing community-building events, there was also a desire for programs that help the individual grow in their personal spirituality.

Faith Formation

Prayer seemed to be a high priority when parishioners were asked about what aspects of faith they would like to spend more time on. While lack of time seemed to be the biggest deterrent to church participation, parishioners suggested providing more dependable and available childcare and providing more educational opportunities on Sunday mornings or evening family potlucks.

Outreach

85% of parishioners have participated in IHN. When asked what activities they would like the parish to be involved in, 77% indicated visiting/caring for parishioners, 74% indicating IHN, 61% suggested Habitat, 53% thought we should be involved in peace work, 53% Sandwich Sunday, and 49% believe that the church should be supporting Heifer International. Lack of time again played a part in deterring participation in outreach activities. Suggestions ranged from more family participation to making it feel more like a whole parish activity instead of a subset of the parish.

Liturgy

87% of respondents were either satisfied or extremely satisfied with the current worship services. In addition, we heard that the 10:30 bulletin is working well for those who attend that service and that members appreciate listening to lay preachers. Almost all respondents expressed an interest in having services that include the parish as a whole similar to what was done on Pentecost and on All Saints Day. One area for further reflection/education is our music program. Although a large majority (64%) are satisfied or extremely satisfied with our music at 10:30, comments suggest that we need to continue to work on reaching the younger age groups of this intergenerational community.

Communications

Most respondents were satisfied with the information available on the website. Many respondents indicated they would sign up for parish events and ministry assignments if available on the website. We learned from the responses that members wanted more information about the Diocese of California, the Episcopal Church in the U.S., and the Anglican Communion.

Administration

80% of respondents indicated they understood how the parish functions financially and would like quarterly financial updates. 79% of respondents felt the building and grounds reflect the image of the parish and that they were not aware of any pressing maintenance issues.

Thank you for taking the time to share your voice. The Vestry and Ministry Boards will take this information and immediately apply it to their ministries during this year. This is a fantastic step in helping us become an even stronger Beloved Community.

-The Beloved Community Steering Committee (Betty Strombom, Virginia Fox, Melanie Donahoe, and Chad Smith)