Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out our short survey that was e-mailed out a week ago via our Flocknote communication tool concerning the summer Mass schedule. As promised when we launch the summer schedule, we will move back to the original Mass schedule starting August 4th as Fr. Doug, parish staff, pastoral council, and the liturgy committee continues to evaluate the needs of our parish. In the meantime, we wanted to share the results of the survey with the community.
Here are some of the details of the survey. We have just over 1500 active members of our Flocknote system. Of those users, 58% of them viewed the survey, and 43% of them completed the survey.
We asked two questions in the survey:
1. Did you like the summer Mass schedule, and should we do a summer Mass schedule again next year? The results: 84% of parishioners loved the schedule or the schedule did not matter to them (40% of parishioners loved the summer schedule), while. 16% of parishioners did not like the Mass schedule.
2. Should we do the summer schedule next year? Of the respondents: 87% said it worked better for their family or did not matter (34% said the schedule worked better for their family), and13% of parishioners saw no benefit in continuing the summer Mass schedule next year.
We had 128 comments posted. Many parishioners loved seeing Mass full and felt more part of the parish community. They also enjoyed the combined choir giving a more vibrant and engaging liturgy. Some even said to keep the current schedule moving forward now more than ever with only having one priest. Parishioners also noted that they would attend Mass at St. Simon no matter the schedule and the summer times did not impact them. We also had many suggestions on revising times, such as a 10.30 or 11.30 Mass time. Finally, many felt keeping the current summer schedule and adding a Sunday evening Mass would be beneficial.
Some concerns with the schedule were that it was not very complimentary to young families with kids due to nap times. Other parishioners felt that it was not helpful to families with teenagers, especially in the summer months. A few people thought that the 10 am Mass was too full. We had a few parishioners feel that the change was inconsiderate and should never have been made. Finally, we had a few comments tell us that this Mass scheduled forced them to attend Mass at other parishes in the area.
Again, we thank you for your feedback, and the information will be used in the future. If you have any additional questions, please let us know. We will continually pray for God's guidance, and please always pray for our St. Simon community.
Some comments for our community...
"I think the same schedule would be great all year round. I don't think Mass is needed three times on Sunday. Attendance is low at some Masses."
"I missed not having the 9:15 but realize with only one priest now to serve our community; we will probably need to cut back."
"10 am mass was great loved the crowds and combined music groups."
"The 10:00 mass was too packed."
"9:15 Mass works best for my family. Even that extra hour felt like the day was half over by the time we got home after Mass."
"11:00 works better for teenagers. Ten is too early."
"I will say that the church seemed fuller on most weekends, and that's exciting and wonderful."
"Did not like the times and mass and parking to crowded."
"The choir was so full and uplifting!"
Shared Blessings,
Eric Marasco
Stewardship Director & Youth Minister