First UCC Search and Call Committee congregational survey summary

Transcription

1 First UCC Search and Call Committee congregational survey summary This summary represents highlights from the First UCC Search and Call Committee congregational survey. These highlights will be used in constructing the profile that describes our congregation to candidates for the senior minister position. If you would like to see all responses to the survey, that information will be available shortly in both electronic and hard copy formats. However, the comments will not be disseminated or shared. Who completed the survey? 188 individuals responded to our survey 143 (77%) of those who responded attend church regularly (at least 2-3 times per month) About one-third of respondents reported having increased their participation in church over the past three years. For most of those who have increased participation, it was because they had accepted new responsibility in the church (71%). I. Style and Content of preaching: While there were several aspects of style and content of preaching that respondents felt were important or very important, three items elicited much stronger responses than others did. These three response options were: Sermons that help me reflect on issues and events that go beyond my personal life and local community 87% felt this was important or very important Sermons that are spiritually moving or inspiring 79% felt this was important or very important Sermons that touch on my everyday life 77.5% felt this was important or very important NOTE: There were forty-three comments offered for this question, the most of any question in the survey. Responses reflect the varying perspectives on the style and content of preaching. Some examples of the range of perspectives include: Issues that revolve around love, peace, and justice in our everyday lives and in the world are the most important. Biblically based, but how do I apply it to the modern world? Ex: How does Abraham s sacrifice of his son apply to me? Humor and personal stories

2 Include more Bible stories in the sermons and less about the pastor s personal experiences and stories. I feel like my Scriptural knowledge is slowly fading here, even as I am learning to relate more to the community at large. Accessible to multiple intelligences: accessible to youth and young adults also. Inclusive language. Never referring to god with gender-specific language is important Openness to different ways to get content across, i.e. drama, story, song, visual art I respond best to preaching that makes me feel as if I am walking through the topic with the minister as opposed to being preached at by the minister. I feel the same way about the pastoral prayer. It means a lot to me that our pastors sit in the pews and pray with us not at us. II. Involvement of staff and laity in planning and leading worship: There was a slight majority of respondents (50.6%) that felt the minister should work with laity and staff in planning worship, while a large minority (37.8%) feel the minister should take more of a leadership role in consultation with laity and staff. However, few felt the minister should plan and lead worship in isolation (7.2%). There were 20 written comments about how staff and laity should be involved in planning. The comments tended to support the response options that were provided. Comments include: The minister should be the inspiration I see things working best as a team effort and with the minister being a team leader There should be a meaningful opportunity for lay people to be involved in worship planning decisions in addition to merely serving in predefined roles as readers, ushers, bell ringers, etc. Worship should be a trip, the greatest hour of the week, fabulous, absolutely lovely, easy, fun, challenging, and heavenly. III. Role of minister in preaching: Most respondents (72.5%) want the minister to preach regularly, but with occasional sermons from lay members and others. IV. Style of worship: There were three responses that represented a preference among at least two-thirds of the respondents. At least two-thirds of the respondents either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the following statements:

3 I want the minister to explore providing "family friendly" worship services 77% I want the minister to be open to exploring alternative forms of worship 71% I want the minister to explore the use of different forms of prayer in worship 67% There were many additional comments that were offered for this question. The comments reflected strong opinions regarding styles of worship that respondents are interested in experiencing, as well as styles of worship that respondents would not like to see. Examples of these comments include: I do NOT want family friendly sermons. I won't come at all if I feel talked down to. How can a sermon relate to both a 4 year old and a 55 year old? We need more contemplative services on a regular basis. We already have a broad spectrum of music and family friendly events in our church. We need more spiritual feeding from the service or it feels like a committee meeting! Rock bands and PowerPoint are not at all interesting to me in church. I [want] the messages and ideas expressed in service to be interesting and relevant to people of all ages and to have that be what draws people to attend church. I love the traditional hymns and prayers, but also really value the Spirit Voices and other music that we enjoy. I am not sure what family friendly worship means, but have always enjoyed the presence of the children, and miss them right now When new form of worship is introduced use it many times, don't jump around with forms from week to week V. Theological Stance of the Congregation: The majority of respondents indicated that they perceive the congregation to be both theologically liberal (56.6%) as well as theologically diverse (50.3%). VI. Conflict: For most part, respondents felt that while conflict has existed within the congregation, it is not an overwhelming problem. There were 31 comments written about how our congregation deals with conflict. Many responded that they were not directly aware of conflict, such as: I personally have not felt a conflict, but I know others have. A few identified specific current reasons for conflict in the church, such as: The only real conflicts I'm aware of are the budget issues and personnel decisions.

4 Others spoke of conflict in general terms: We will always have conflict, and we will always talk about it. A lot. We will work things out and something else will come up. We mostly won't do what we're told, but mostly we will honor what we have decided collectively. Those who can't do that will leave because they can't live personally with what was decided. VII. Strengths and positive qualities as a church: Overall, respondents indicated that there are a lot of strengths and positive qualities in our church. However, there were four items that at least two-thirds of respondents strongly agreed were strengths or positive qualities of the church. These four items were: Our church is an Open and Affirming congregation 76.9% Our church effectively incorporates music into worship service 72.6% Our church provides many opportunities for people to be involved 70.4% Our church is a Just Peace congregation 67.4% There were also a number of comments from respondents regarding both strengths and limitations of our church. Some of the comments regarding positive qualities include: I appreciate the strong passion of justice and empathy which runs through our Church... compassion for the weak; trying to find meaningful ways to help others; providing an atmosphere of support and care for those around us. Our church values spiritual diversity and expects each person s spiritual path to be different. Our church teaches that God loves each person on earth, and encourages us to do the same. Strong support of each other among the members. i.e., if I need help, of any kind, I know I can ask almost anyone at church and they will respond without hesitating. This means everything to me. VIII. Major challenges that our church will face: There were three items that respondents endorsed as being major challenges that our church will face. These were the only three items that more than half of the respondents selected as being major challenges. The items along with the percentage who endorsed the option are listed below. Finding ways to serve the local community while living within our means 75% Finding a balance in serving young families and older congregants 69.4% Finding ways to engage youth in worship and faith formation 66.7%

5 There were a range of comments offered regarding the major challenges which our congregation will face. Many of the comments were consistent with the response options selected above. However, other more expansive challenges were offered as well. Three comments include: The church needs to consider embracing a new structure that recognizes the shifts in society - less time for parents to sit on committees, more commuters, a new model that meets more people where they are We need to be a much larger congregation to support our mission and we need to attract young families as our group ages. We need to be a more vital part of our community like we were years ago when I joined. We are perceived as elitist and out of touch by many in our community. We need a pastor who can have a presence in the community and be a salesman for the great church we can be! Balancing budgetary commitments to facilities vs. staffing, and living within *our+ means IX. Future of the church: There were three items that more than half of the respondents identified as a high priority for our church over the next few years (and what God is calling us to do). These responses were: Develop a sustainable financial plan for our congregation 85.7% Strengthen Christian education programs for children and youth % Effectively meet the needs of our elderly and aging congregants 47.9% It is clear that the congregation recognizes and embraces the need to develop a sustainable financial plan. However, there were a number of comments that were offered that reflect a diverse array of priorities for the congregation. These responses included: Because so many of our members are involved in social action and social justice efforts beyond our congregation, I have decided what many of us seek is a place to be nourished spiritually so we can continue to work on social action in the wider community and world. So, I am not certain our specific congregation needs to do a lot more on that front, but we need to be a haven where people can find their spiritual bearings and so they can go out and do good works.

6 Streamlining our activities so that we are not so overtaxed with continual calls for volunteer commitments. Make people (fallen away adult, teenagers) want church because it isn't stupid, irrelevant, but because it challenges us, makes us happy, makes us laugh, makes us love life and those about us and love one another and our one and only world. God is calling us to live abundantly which is what faith is all about. All sermons should be made available on line as podcasts or such. within a week of their delivery. All groups of the church should be described online and contact info provided. Sustainability, both corporate and individually. X. Minister s role in helping First UCC achieve our stated goals: The vast majority of respondents (79.8%) indicated that they see the minister s role as Drawing from the congregation's vision and mission, the minister will collaborate with congregants and staff to create programs/ministries to carry out the goals of the congregation. The comments that were offered for this question support the need for collaboration and teamwork. Comments included: Our minister needs the gift of recognizing everyone's gifts. Then s/he can encourage, organize, support, collaborate, suggest, teach, illuminate depending on his/her gifts. my history and mental model has the minister responsible for the spiritual growth of the congregation. the money/building/budget issues tend to be owned by the church deacons. the minister chooses and manages the staff. it's important that the "values" of the congregation be supported (and ideally like minded) by the minister. XI. Minister s role in educational programs: About two-thirds (65%) of respondents believe that the minister s role in educational programs should be to Primarily collaborate with staff and lay leadership to articulate the vision and goals for education programs and share responsibility for implementation. Minister s role in confirmation: Seventy-three percent of respondents would like to see the minister be directly involved in the confirmation of youth, including leading the confirmation program.

7 Minister s role in adult educational programs: Most respondents (76%) believe the minister should be indirectly involved (as opposed to directly involved) in adult education programs, delegating to staff and lay leadership and leading educational programs only when requested. Minister s role across educational programs: Respondents felt that it was essential that The minister should foster connections between worship and educational programs, addressing the needs for adults as well as for children and youth. Almost all respondents (94%) endorsed this option. XII. Leadership Expectations: This question sought insight from respondents regarding the leadership characteristics that the congregation is looking for in the next minister. The top twelve responses were: Is an effective preacher/speaker 84.9% 146 Is effective in planning and leading worship 61.6% 106 Has a sense of humor 52.3% 90 Ministers effectively to people in crisis situations 51.2% 88 Is a compassionate and caring person 50.6% 87 Is mature and emotionally secure 46.5% 80 Helps people develop their spiritual life 44.2% 76 Is a good leader 43.6% 75 Is a person of faith 42.4% 73 Works well on a team 35.5% 61 Is an effective administrator 33.7% 58 Is effective in working with children 32.6% 56 In evaluating the various comments that were offered for this question, the themes that emerged were that, as a congregation, we are looking for a leader who is warm (or outgoing) and friendly, who has administrative skills, and who can pull together with the congregation. Prepared by the First UCC Search and Call Committee March 28, 2011 David Beimers, chair Sarah Forster Tracy Fossum Anna Fure-Slocum Jerry Hankins Marty Hodel Sue Mieska Bobbie Peterson Jan Shoger