St Matthew s Episcopal Church St Matthew s Parish Survey

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church St. Matthew’s Parish Survey St. Matthew’s Parish 36 New Canaan Road Wilton, CT 06897 October, 2011 1

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Survey Objectives 1. Track the demographic and church attendance behavior of our Parishioners. 2. Understand how our Parish community best nourishes and comforts its members, and how it can improve its efforts. 3. Determine what parishioners believe are useful avenues to “proclaim the good news” to all within and outside our Parish family. 4. Determine impressions of newcomers (2 or fewer years in Parish), and identify opportunities to improve newcomer relationships. 5. Determine parishioner attitudes toward parish communications, and help determine ways to improve them. 6. Understand parishioner attitudes on wardenship; vestry service. 7. Understand parishioner attitudes toward children and youth programs. 3

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Survey Method ¡ The survey was launched via email to all Parishioners with email addresses (approx. 90%) during the week of May 16, 2011: approx. 185 of the 206 pledging units. Approx. 20 -25 received a hard copy in the mail or at church. ¡ A cover note from the Rector and Wardens was included. ¡ Weekly reminders were made in Church and via the email addresses. ¡ Returns by Gender and marital status are, as follows: Total Men Women Married Not Married #Sent 357* 167 190 302 55 % 100% >47% 53% 85% 180 73 103 147 27 % 100% >41% 59% 84% 16% Return Rate 50% 44% 50% 50% Returned *206 households ¡ A copy of the questionnaire and resulting tabulations are available at the church office. A comment on the sample: These are current parishioners. “Past” parishioners, those who have left for one reason or another, are not included. So some care should be given to these results. However, it might be reasonable to use reasons for positive and negative reactions to various things among current members as strong inferences to unhappy departures. 4

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 1. Track the demographic, church attendance behavior of our Parishioners: 1992 > 2011. 6

The Parish Profile: Spring ’ 92 > Spring ’ 11 Demographic Profile Spring ’ 92 Spring ‘ 11 (157) (180) % % Female 54 59 Male 46 41 Married 91 85 Widowed/Divorced/Separated 7 13 Single 2 2 21 -29 1 2 30 -39 9 8 40 -49 31 34 50 -64 36 37 65+ 21 20 52. 5 St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 53. 4 Gender Marital Status Age Average 7

The Parish Profile: Spring ’ 92 > Spring ’ 11 Demographic Profile (cont’d) Spring ’ 92 Spring ‘ 11 (157) (180) % % 39 41 Ages 0 -5 13 (. 3) 8 (. 2) Ages 6 -12 20 (. 6) 36 (1. 1) Ages 13 -18 17 (. 4) 27 (. 7) Ages 19+ 14 (. 3) 9 (. 2) 1. 6 2. 2 Employed 64 (m 79/w 50) 66 (m 82/w 54) Not employed 36 (m 21/w 50) 34 (m 18/w 46) 1 hour + 27 21 Less than 1 hour 73 St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 79 Children Living at Home None Average Number Employment Status Commute Time (among the employed) 8

The Parish Profile: Spring ’ 92 > Spring ’ 11 Church Activity Characteristics Spring ’ 92 Spring ‘ 11 (157) % (180) % 55 43 Catholic 9 27 Methodist 8 3 Baptist 7 3 Congregational 5 7 Presbyterian 4 4 Lutheran 4 4 Other 12 9 2 years or less 16 9 3 -4 years 11 14 5 -9 years 20 21 10 -19 years 24 27 20 years + 29 29 13 years 1+/week 42 31 2 -3/month 35 42 1/month 10 18 -1/month 13 10 Average 2. 8/month St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 2. 6/month Denomination/Religion in Which Respondent was Raised Episcopal How Long Attending St. Matthew’s Average Frequency of Attending Church 9

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 2. Understand how our Parish community best nourishes and comforts its members, and how it can improve its efforts. 11

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Reasons for Becoming and Remaining a St. Matthew’s Parishioner (n = 180) Becoming Remaining % % 1. For fellowship 38 68 2. The music program 30 62 3. It is open and accepting 38 60 4. The Sermons 25 45 5. It is eucharistically-centered 18 32 6. The outreach opportunities 10 30 7. Sunday school for children* 42 30 8. Closest Episcopal church 49 29 9. The Lessons 6 18 10. Joint venture with WPC 5 10 Have Kids 12 - 55 69 7. Sunday School* *Sunday school (for families with kids), fellowship, the music program and the open and accepting nature of the Parish, along with geographic convenience, are, by far, the most frequently mentioned reasons for becoming a member and the first three, for remaining one. 12

How Good a Job is St. Matthew’s Doing (n=150) Very good St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 56% Good 41 Fair 3 Poor -- Very Good 56 All Other 44 ¡ Relative to all the reasons one has to be a member of the Parish, almost 6 in 10 feel St. Matthew’s is doing a “very good” job at it. ¡ Virtually no one (3%) says it’s doing a “fair” or “poor” job. 13

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church How Good a Job is St. Matthew’s Doing Very Good All Other % % 2 or less (n=16) 86 14 3 to 9 (n=61) 60 40 10 or more (n=99) 49 51 Yes (n=71) 68 32 +34 No (n=71) 49 51 – 2 Membership Years Member opinion gradually deteriorates over time. Have Children 12 or under ¡ The Children’s programs are a great driver of positive opinion. 14

Reasons for Remaining a St. Matthew’s Parishioner (n = 180) Very Good All Other % % 1. For fellowship 75 73 +2 2. The music program 64 64 0 3. It is open and accepting 73 48 +25 4. The Sermons 60 29 +31 5. It is eucharistically-centered 33 32 +1 6. The outreach opportunities 39 26 +13 7. Sunday school for children* 39 20 +19 8. Closest Episcopal church 28 32 – 4 9. The Lessons 25 12 +13 10. Joint venture with WPC 10 12 – 2 *7. Sunday school for children (parishioners with kids) 68 32 St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Leverage +36 How good a job is St. Matt’s doing ¡ Church school, the Sermons and the open/accepting nature of the Parish are the strongest drivers of positive opinion of the church. 15

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Additional Programs Needed? St. Matthew’s Performance Total Very Good Other (150) (84) (66) % % % No others needed 23 27 14 Need for others 77 73 86 Adult Programs 29 25 47 Youth Programs 24 25 27 Outreach 21 17 33 Fellowship 18 18 23 Music 12 10 15 Additional Services 11 8 14 ¡ ¾ of parishioners see a need for one or another new program. Additional Adult and Outreach Programs are more likely to be sited as needs among those with less than a “very good” opinion of the Parish, overall. ¡ It’s probably relevant that these two don’t include children. 17

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Spiritual Journey Where are you on your Spiritual Journey? (n=180) % Moving Along Well 62 Seeking More Help 22 Feel Unsure about Faith; have a long way to go 16 ¡ 4 in 10 Parishioners site the need for help in their “spiritual journey. ” Ways that would help Enrich the Journey % Knowledge of the Episcopal Faith 36 Prayer groups and Bible Study 29 Knowledge of Prayer Disciplines 16 Retreat Days 16 20

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Where are you on your Spiritual Journey? (By Church Attendance) 1+/wk 2 -3/mo 1 -/mo (53) (72) (48) % % % Moving along well 78 58 40 Seeking more help 14 29 21 Feel unsure about faith; have a long way to go 8 12 29 ¡ Church attendance regularity coincides closely with the spiritual journey path. Hard to know which causes which. 22

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Attribute Importance St. Matthew’s Parish Programs More Important and Well Delivered Less Important and Less Well Delivered Less Important and Well Delivered % Very Important More Important and Less Well Delivered 23

Attribute Importance Vs. Delivery The More Important Attributes ¡ Delivered Above Strength Target ¡ St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Delivered Somewhat Below Strength Target – The Choirs – Attracting and Welcoming New Members – The Auction – Pastoral Care – Sunday Coffee – Day-to-day Operations – Hands-on Outreach – Nursery ¡ Delivered on Strength Target – Financial Management – Preaching – Church School/Confirmation Program – Planning for Future Needs – Stewardship – 6 th, 7 th, 8 th and High School Youth Groups – Mgmt of Joint Facilities – New Member Involvement – Community Projects – On-going Member Involvement – Public Communications ¡ Delivered Below Strength Target 24

Parish Characteristics with Greatest Leverage for Improving Overall Attitude St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church St. Matthew’s Performance Very Good Other Leverage (84) (66) % % +/-% 1. Preaching 66 18 +48 2. Day-to-day ops 50 12 +38 3. Annual meeting 45 10 +35 4. Pastoral Care 52 20 +32 5. Seasonal Outreach 64 34 +30 6. Stewardship 63 34 +29 7. Financial Mgmt. 66 39 +27 8. Ushers Program 50 25 +25 9. Taste of St. Matt’s 34 9 +25 10. Hands-on Outreach 43 19 +24 § Of the 54 traits measured, the above 10 have the greatest relative leverage driving toward “very good” parish opinion – “preaching”, having the most leverage of all. 25

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Timing for an Additional Service (n=180) Would like added Service 52 Saturday 4 pm 9 Saturday 5 pm 33 Saturday 6 pm 4 Saturday (net) 46 Sunday 4 pm 6 Sunday 5 pm 10 Sunday 6 pm 6 Sunday (net) 22% No additional Service needed ¡ 48% About ½ of parishioners see a need for an additional service, the great plurality being a 5 pm service on Saturday. 26

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Who wants additional service? Saturday 5 pm Who wants it? % Total Sample 33 Members 2 - years 25 Member 3 -9 years 43 Member 10+ years 29 21 -39 years of age 18 40 -49 54 50 -64 30 65+ 14 Weekly attendees 17 Not weekly attendees 40 ¡ Weekly attendees: no extra service necessary: 80% ¡ Importantly, weekly attendees are far less likely to see the need for an additional service – so the additional service is that much less likely simply to sub for the 10 am Sunday service. ¡ Members 40 -49 who have attended for 3 -9 years are most likely to see this need. 27

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Willingness to Participate (n=94) ¡ Among those who were interested in another service… – 14% were willing to serve on the alter guild – 24% would LEM – 68% would be willing to read 28

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Fellowship Involvement # Years a Member Total 2 - 3 -9 10+ (150) (14) (50) (88) % % Very 24 14 34 19 Somewhat 43 57 36 46 Not Very 25 7 26 27 Not at All 8 21 4 8 ¡ Regarding fellowship involvement, new members can be split into two groups: those “somewhat” involved and a smaller group “not at all” involved. As they become longer term (3 -9 years) members, each group seems to move up a notch. So, it’s important to get at least some level of involvement soon on. 30

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Number of Fellowship Activities (n=150) Total % Too Many Just Right 61 Too Few 15 Don’t Know ¡ 3 22 The current level of overall fellowship activity is seen as “just right” by 6 in 10 parishioners. 31

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 3. Determine what parishioners believe are useful avenues to “proclaim the good news” to all within and outside our Parish family – both by words and deeds. 35

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church “Good News” Proclamations: The Words (Importance and Strength) (n=150) % Very Important % Very Strong Average Trait 56 34 Pastoral Care 87 37 Public Communications 71 21 Arts at St. Matthew’s 39 39 God Class 33 21 Sunday Morning Forum 26 20 Weavings 20 9 Joint WPC Programs 20 9 Joint Library Series 13 13 Joint Programs with Other Churches 13 2 ¡ To parishioners, pastoral care and the public communications of St. Matthew’s Parish are, by far, the most important “word” proclamation programs – the later poorly delivered. ¡ Arts at St. Matthew’s and pastoral care are, by far, the best delivered. ¡ St. Matthew’s could use better public communications 36

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church St. Matthew’s Outreach: The Deeds (Importance and Strength) (n=150) % Very Important % Very Strong Average Trait 56 34 Hands-on Outreach (i. e. , Habitat For Humanity, Homefront), Manna House 77 32 Community Projects (i. e. , Tagless Sale) 75 58 Seasonal Programs (i. e. , Gifts of Christmas, Holiday Baskets) 64 51 Agency Financial Support (i. e. , Pivot Ministries) 53 28 Agency of the Month Program (i. e. , Mercy Learning, Wilton Social Services) 44 12 Edward’s Chest 40 16 Thursday Lunch Club 30 17 ¡ Hands-on outreach and community projects like the Tagless sale are, by far, the most important “deed” proclamation projects. ¡ Community projects and the seasonal programs are the best delivered. ¡ As with the “word” path, the “deed” path, especially for Hands-on and agency financial support need better PR 37

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 4. Determine impressions of newcomers (2 or fewer years in Parish), and identify opportunities to improve newcomer relationships. 41

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Term of Parish Membership (n=180) 2 years or less 9% (new members) 3 to 9 years 35 10 to 19 years 27 20 or more years 29 Average 13 years 42

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church How Good a Job is St. Matthew’s Doing Very Good All Others % % 2 or less (n=16) 86 14 3 to 9 (n=61) 60 40 10 or more (n=99) 49 51 Membership Years ¡ Member opinion gradually deteriorates over time. New members are the most satisfied. 44

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church New Members Importance and Strength (n=16) % Very Important % Very Strong Average Trait 56 34 Attraction of… 76 31 Welcoming and integration 87 38 Involvement in activities/programs 76 21 ¡ Newcomers see the attraction, integration, welcoming and involvement of new members as far above average in importance. ¡ Attraction, welcoming and integration are delivered on a par with other St. Matthew’s traits, while involvement is far below average. 46

Sufficiency of Number/Type of Newcomer Events St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Years of Membership Total 2 - 3 -9 10+ (180) (16) (61) (99) % % Strongly Agree 18 12 21 17 Moderately Agree 36 44 38 34 Moderately/Strongly Disagree 10 25 13 6 No Opinion 36 19 28 43 ¡ Generally, the number and type of events for newcomers is seen as somewhat insufficient. This is especially true among newcomers. 47

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 5. Determine parishioner attitudes toward parish communications, and help determine ways to improve them. 50

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Overall Opinion of St. Matthew’s Communications With its Members Years of Membership Total 2 - 3 -9 10+ (180) (16) (61) (99) % % Very Good 45 64 51 38 Good 43 36 39 46 Fair/Poor 12 -- 10 16 21 -39 40+ Very Good 69 42 Other 31 58 By Age ¡ About ½ of parishioners respond that the communications within the church are “very good”. Only 10% say they are “fair” or “poor”. The response becomes significantly more positive the newer and younger the member. Significantly better than those with the community at large. 51

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Frequency of Reading Parish e-mails Years of Membership Total 2 - 3 -9 10+ (180) (16) (61) (99) % % Every time I get it 46 86 43 42 Most of the time 38 14 39 41 Some/seldom/never 16 -- 18 17 ¡ Parish e-mails are frequently read by all in the Parish (84% every/most times), especially by newcomers (100%). 52

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church The Usefulness of Parish e-mails Years of Membership Total 2 - 3 -9 10+ (180) (16) (61) (99) % % Very useful 37 64 36 34 Useful 39 29 46 38 Somewhat 21 7 18 23 Not Very/Not At All 3 -- -- 9 ¡ ¾ of parishioners find the e-mails useful; 9 in 10 among newer members. ¡ The number of emails received is considered “just right” by 9 in 10 parishioners. 53

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church St. Matthew’s New Website Visits Ever visited the Website 73% = 100% How Often? 2+ times a week 7 Once a week 20 Once a month 37 Once every few months 22 Rarely/Never 13 Average/month 1. 8 How do you rate it? Very good 33 Good 32 Fair/poor No opinion 5 30 ¡ About 3 in 4 parishioners have visited the site; among visitors, twice a month is the average frequency. ¡ 2/3 rate it “very good” or “good”. 54

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Social Media Use (i. e. , Facebook, Twitter) Currently Use Social Media 43% Age 21 -39 64 40 -59 49 60+ 14 Presence of Children Have kids No kids ¡ 58 28 About 4 in 10 parishioners claim to currently use social media. Its use is far more common among younger parishioners, and those with children. 56

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Is St. Matthew’s Use of Social Media a Good Idea? Total 21 -39 40 -64 65+ % % Very Good Idea 11 17 13 -- Good 20 24 21 17 Fair 19 12 23 9 Poor 13 6 12 20 No Opinion 38 41 31 54 ¡ Only 3 in 10 think the social media is a good fit for the Parish. So, from parishioners’ view it’s probably true that the time has not yet come for St. Matthew’s and Facebook. This pretty much goes across age groups. 58

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 6. Understand parishioner attitudes on Wardenship; vestry service. 60

Parishioner Understanding of Vestry Role and Church Governance St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Years of Membership Total 2 - 3 -9 10+ (180) (16) (61) (99) % % Very Well Informed 54 25 44 64 Somewhat Well 32 31 43 26 Not Very Well/Not at All 14 43 13 8 ¡ Clearly, there is a learning curve regarding Vestry/Governance understanding, with only 1 in 4 newcomers feeling “informed” as contrasted to almost 7 in 10 among veterans. 61

Are you engaged in decision-making to the extent you’d like to be? St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Overall Parish Opinion Total Very Good All Others (180) (84) (66) % % % Yes 59 68 50 Somewhat 28 26 28 No 13 6 22 ¡ The relative satisfaction with decision-making engagement does appear to lead to a better opinion of the Parish, overall. 62

Interested in Leadership Serving in the Future (n = 180) St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church % Very Interested 7 Somewhat interested 33 Not Very Interested 38 Not At All Interested 22 ¡ There doesn’t appear to be a keen interest in future leadership among St. Matthew’s parishioners. 64

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 7. Understand parishioner attitudes toward children and youth programs. 66

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church The Parish Profile: Spring ’ 92 > Spring ’ 11 Demographic Profile Spring ’ 92 Spring ‘ 11 (157) (180) % % 39 41 Ages 0 -5 13 (0. 3) 8 (0. 2) Ages 6 -12 20 (0. 6) 36 (1. 1) Ages 13 -18 17 (0. 4) 27 (0. 7) Ages 19+ 14 (0. 3) 9 (0. 2) 1. 0 1. 8 Children At Home None Average Number (6 -18) ¡ 60% of Parish families have kids – about the same as 20 years ago. However, we have far more 6 -18 year olds, netting out to 2 kids per family – double 20 years ago. 67

Reasons for Becoming and Remaining a St. Matthew’s Parishioner (n = 180) Becoming Remaining % % 1. For fellowship 38 68 2. The music program 30 62 3. It is open and accepting 38 60 4. The Sermons 25 45 5. It is eucharistically-centered 18 32 6. The outreach opportunities 10 3 7. Sunday school * 42 30 8. Closest Episcopal church 49 29 9. The Lessons 6 18 10. Joint venture with WPC 5 10 Have Kids 55 St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church 69 *7. Sunday School ¡ Sunday school (for families with kids), fellowship, the music program and the open and accepting nature of the Parish are, by far, the most important reasons for remaining at the Parish. 68

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church How Good a Job is St. Matthew’s Doing Very Good All Others % % Yes (n=71) 68 32 +34 No (n=71) 49 51 – 2 Have Children 12 or under ¡ The Children’s programs are a great driver of positive opinion. 69

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Reasons for Remaining a St. Matthew’s Parishioner (n = 180) How good a job is St. Matt’s doing Very Good Other Leverage % % 1. For fellowship 75 73 +2 2. The music program 64 64 0 3. It is open and accepting 73 48 +25 4. The Sermons 60 29 +31 5. It is eucharistically-centered 33 32 +1 6. The outreach opportunities 39 26 +13 7. Sunday school* 39 20 +19 8. Closest Episcopal church 28 32 – 4 9. The Lessons 25 12 +13 10. Joint venture with WPC 10 12 – 2 *7. Sunday school (among adults with children) 68 32 +36 ¡ Church school, the Sermons and the open/accepting nature of the Parish have the greatest leverage to drive positive opinion of the church. 70

Attribute Importance Vs. Delivery The More Important Attributes St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Delivered Above Strength Target Delivered Somewhat Below Strength Target ¡ The Choirs ¡ Attracting and Welcoming New Members ¡ The Auction ¡ Pastoral Care ¡ Sunday Coffee ¡ Day-to-day Operations Delivered on Strength Target ¡ Financial Management ¡ Hands-on Outreach ¡ Nursery ¡ Preaching Delivered Below Strength Target ¡ Church School/Confirmation Program ¡ Planning for Future Needs ¡ Stewardship ¡ 6 th, 7 th, 8 th and High School Youth Groups ¡ Mgmt of Joint Facilities ¡ New Member Involvement ¡ Community Projects ¡ On-going Member Involvement ¡ Public Communications 71

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Some Conclusions 76

1. Track the demographic, church attendance behavior of our Parishioners: 1992 > 2011 St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church ¡ The basic internal demographic and “Activity” structure of the Parish has been stable over the past 20 years. Of the nine characteristics measured, only two showed significant change: ¡ Parish families are more likely to have children in the 6 -12 and 13 -18 age range, leading to a net growth from 1. 0 to 1. 8 kids 6 -18 living at home: +80% increase in the prime children/youth church program range. ¡ Secondly, the religion in which the parishioner was raised was significantly more likely to be Catholic (27% vs. 9%), and less Episcopalian (43%. Vs. 55%). 77

2. Understand how our Parish community best nourishes and comforts its members, and how it can improve its efforts St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church ¡ Generally, St. Matthew’s is doing a good job with the things parishioners find important. However, as with most institutions, after the first blush of thin experience, opinion deteriorates over time with familiarity: almost all newcomers rate the Parish as “very good” vs. about ½ among the more experienced. ¡ Welcoming, concern for, support and acceptance of all are our greatest strengths, and the #1 reason why parishioners remain. ¡ Along with geography, fellowship, church school and the music program are the most frequently mentioned reasons for becoming and remaining a Parishioner. ¡ Sermons by our “three”, church school and the open and accepting nature of the Parish are the strongest drivers toward an overall strong opinion of it. ¡ 4 in 10 Parishioners would like a Saturday afternoon service. Most want it at 5 pm. Importantly, most of these are current infrequent attendees, so it’s not just substituting 10 am for 5 pm. 78

3. Determine what parishioners believe are useful avenues to “proclaim the good news” to all within and outside our Parish family – both by words and deeds ¡ St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church The Words: – As to internal word communications, pastoral care is, by far, the most important. – External (public) communications is next in importance. • This effort is, however, being delivered far below the level required by the importance ascribed to it. – – ¡ Of the lower level importance programs (or any program), AASM is delivered better than any other. Adult education touches a few members currently, but the desire for more information in this area is of interest to many and could lead to progress on one’s spiritual journey. Greater communications of the Episcopal path of this journey on different channels such as podcasts, web info. Or blogs The Deeds – To our Parishiohers, hands-on (Habitat for Humanity) and Community Projects (Tagless sale) are, by far, the most important outreach programs. – As with “hands-on” and “agency financial support”, public communications of these need to be better. – Local and regional support are much preferred over national or international. 79

4. Determine impressions of newcomers (2 or fewer years in Parish), and identify opportunities to improve newcomer relationships ¡ About 1 in 10 responders were newcomers (2 years or less membership). ¡ As stated before, the initial universal appeal of our program deteriorates with greater familiarity: about ½ by 10+years experience. ¡ St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church The most frequent reason given by newcomers (as contrasted to those with 3+years experience) for coming to St. Matthew’s are: – Fellowship – Sermons – Music – The open and accepting nature of the Parish ¡ While the attracting, welcoming and integrating newcomers are all delivered as well as the average Parish aspect, “involvement” is less well accomplished. ¡ The number and type of newcomers events are seen as somewhat insufficient. Mentor families might do a bit more to create these events and encourage attendance. ¡ At least some small level of newcomer fellowship involvement should be actively encouraged to lead to greater fellowship (and overall satisfaction) later. – Parishioners are pretty satisfied with the current # of fellowship opportunities. So, the answer to the above point is not to add activities, but to encourage attendance at the current ones. 80

5. Determine parishioner attitudes toward parish communications, and help determine ways to improve them St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church ¡ 9 in 10 say St. Matt’s communications is “good” or “very good”. The “very good” opinion declines with age and membership term (the “special” [mentoring] attention to the new probably ebbs a bit). ¡ Most everyone reads the weekly e-mails. New members read all of ‘em. This drops by ½ upon leaving the “new” rank. May be the “current” new will stay tuned more resiliently the “past” new. ¡ ¾ of members claim to have visited the new St. Matthew’s website, about ¼ on a weekly or more frequent basis. – ¡ 2/3 rate it good or very good. It’s safe to say that over ½ of those under 60 currently use the social media. – Those with children are twice as likely as those without. ¡ About 3 in 10 think facebook is a good fit for St. Matthew’s – its time is not quite yet for St. Matthew’s; but probably will be by the next survey. ¡ As mentioned previously, public communications of St. Matthew’s, its parish and programs could be improved. 81

6. Understand parishioner attitudes on Wardenship; vestry service St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church ¡ About 2/3 of the 10+yr members say they are “very well” informed about vestry and church governance. – This declines to ¼ among new members; 4 in 10 of whom do not feel very well informed. ¡ Net, ½ feel “very well” informed – not a high level. – Assuming those that actually care about being informed are represented by the less well informed, governance information would be appreciated – and improve the overall opinion of the parish. • • Each Sunday one Vestry member could briefly describe his/her committee. Newcomers could get a handbook descrbing Parish governance. ¡ Over ½ say they are engaged in decision-making to the extent they’d like to be. – This correlates closely with overall church opinion. ¡ 7% express being “very interested” in a “leadership” role in the future; 3 in 10 are “somewhat” interested. Not high levels of commitment. ¡ The communication of this vital need should be improved both in volume and persuasiveness. ¡ Day-to day financial management and stewardship are seen as both very important and very well delivered by our leadership. On the other hand, “planning for future needs” is equally important, but poorly delivered. 82

7. Understand parishioner attitudes toward children and youth programs St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church ¡ As in ’ 92, a little over ½ of families have 1 or more child living at home. ¡ However, there was almost a net 1 child 6 -18 in ’ 92; now there are 1. 8, an 80% increase. ¡ Among families with kids, Sunday School is THE most frequently mentioned reason for coming to St. Matthew’s, and staying there. ¡ Families having children 12 or under have a significantly more positive attitude toward the Parish than those who don’t. ¡ Church school and confirmation are delivered by the Parish in good alignment with the importance ascribed to them. ¡ On the other hand, 6 th, 7 th and 8 th grades, and high school programs are delivered less well than needed relative to their ascribed importance. This could be due, in part, to less emphatic feedback from the older kids to their parents – and on to us. – It might be worthwhile to consider a facebook page for youth groups only. 83