Parish Social Activity
Survey
Survey Overview
• Survey open from November 20 to December 1, 2013
• Offered on-line and on paper
• Total responses = 142
• Responses from 9:00 = 72%, from 11:30 = 24%; from 7:30 = 4%
• 27+% from those here less than 7 years; 35% here 7 to 20 years; 37%
from these here more than 20 years
Status of Responders
Ages of Responders
Q1: In what types of church activities
do you volunteer …
Q18: I prefer to receive information by …
Some of what we learned…
• 80% agree that social events are well publicized
• People expect to attend future social events at about the same rate as current social
events
• The main challenge that precludes participation is other commitments (time constraints)
• Suggested potential events with a high level of interest include a 1 night program
oriented Parish Retreat and a Movie Night on the Church Lawn
• The preferred time frame for social activities is immediately after church (40%)
• Some like to sign up for social events/volunteer/purchase event tickets in person &
others on line (almost even split)
• Most people (~70%) use the weekly email for information on social activities
• Low rate of response received from Day School Families (10% of respondents)
Q2. Likely to attend the following
What I value most about All Saints
• Liturgy / worship including good music
• Sense of community
• Variety of events and offerings
• Inclusiveness, welcome
• The people
• Service to others
• Great clergy and staff (good sermons)
Good suggestions
• Identify key people in the church who are well-connected within the
church community. Bring them together for dinners and ask them
personally to invite friends. Utilize well-established relationships as
cornerstone to greater gathering.
• Include a link to newsletter in Monday email
• Send separate email re social activities
• Include upcoming lay responsibilities in email (ushers, layreaders,
etc.)
How could we improve the way we
communicate regarding social activities?
• Doing a great job, communicate well (32 of 59 responses)
• Improve email – consider other formats (snazzier, consistency,
accuracy, more detail)
• Send information out earlier
• Increase use of on-line presence and social media
If I could change one thing…
• Change music, time of services (not consistent)
• Improve weekly emails to be more visually interesting
• Make the website useful and more interactive (online sign-ups, room
reservations, updated calendar)
• Increase the focus on family- support for kids/youth activities, babysitting, etc.
• Offer more small group gatherings to get to know people better
• Improve the facilities
• Wish pews were full and 100% of parishioners would pledge
• Don’t change anything
• Offer an online directory
• Welcome newcomers with an event
What we plan for the future…
• People are aware of social events, but participation is <100 people for
most parish wide social activities (significantly less for some)
• Given current participation rates (same as projected, per survey) we
will evaluate:
• Offering fewer parish wide events that are more purposeful
• Offering some new events (Parish Retreat, Movie Night)
• Moving away from parish wide events and concentrating on events targeted
to smaller groups (by age, interest, etc.)
• Scheduling/Calendaring events differently (different times of day, different
times of year)
• Encouraging more participation
• Continuing with the status quo