St. Athanasius Listening Session Feedback

December, 2008

Attached is the feedback to the six questions posed to the parishioners of St. Athanasius Parish, in Listening Sessions held over a two week period in the fall of 2008. We have also incorporated feedback from parish leaders into this report.

Question 1: What did you first feel when you heard that the Holy Ghost Fathers were leaving our parish?

The initial emotions ranged from surprise, shock and disappointment to sadness, concern and anxiety about the future of our parish. Specifically, there are concerns about the impact of a change in leadership on the parish’s faith and spiritual focus; questions about how this may impact the “personality” of the parish; and anxiety over the ramifications for the sustainability of our parish.

On the other hand, another commonly expressed feeling was one of hopefulness and the view that this may be an opportunity for our parish to grow – a sense that change can be good.

Finally, there was a deep gratitude for the many years of service that the Holy Ghost Fathers have provided to St. Athanasius, including appreciation for their preaching, social action involvement, leadership and the comfort level that comes from the long relationship they have had with our parish.

Question 2: What do we need to keep?

The list of items that Listening Session participants wanted to keep was quite extensive. The following is a summary of the most frequently stated items. Note: these are not listed in any ranked or priority order.

• Pastoral Guidance – focus on faith and spirituality

• The commitment of our parishioners, lay leaders and volunteers to support the parish and it’s programs/ministries

• The strong support of our parish priests

• Pastor’s column in the parish bulletin

• Spanish Speaking priest

• Current mass schedule

• Social Justice Focus

• Music/Organists/Choirs

• Welcoming feeling and attitude

• The openness, receptiveness and tolerance for many views, cultures, languages, etc.

• Activities and programs that are currently in place *

Please see Attachment A for a list of the current programs at St. Athanasius.

Question 3: What do we need to let go of?

Factions / Divisions

There is a strong desire to shed divisions between the Spanish speaking and English speaking communities and cultures. There are also perceived barriers in communication between and among cultural groups, various ministries, parish leadership and parishioners, which can impede the effectiveness of the parish. There is a desire to let go of these barriers in order to be more effective as a parish.

Financial Considerations

Another key area that arose was how to let go of old patterns of thinking about parish finances, as well as parishioner’s financial responsibility and commitment to the parish. Specifically, parishioners questioned whether there are better ways to manage our parish finances; accomplish work around the parish; save money by not purchasing music books annually; having fewer guest priests, etc. Also, feedback included

Ministry

Some concerns were shared that there may be a need to evaluate, consolidate or eliminate some of our ministries and programs, due to the number and potentially overlapping nature of some of them. A few questioned the effectiveness of the Generations of Faith model for Catechetical Ministry.

Other Comments

There were a number of comments received which had to do with personal qualities we should strive to let go of, such as apathy, fear, ego, doubt, indifference, tardiness and disrespect. There were also specific comments related to an outdated mindset regarding improving parish facilities.

Question 4: What do we need to develop, begin, create for the future?

Community

There is a strong desire in both the Spanish-speaking and English-speaking communities to improve the communication and collaboration between the two language groups. In general parishioners perceive there to be two distinct communities within the same parish and there is a desire to improve the communication and relationship between them. The cross community cooperation is envisioned as having both communities work toward common goals and attend the same parish functions. Other specific suggestions in this area include having a bilingual mass each week, combined catechetical classes and offering classes in English and Spanish as a second language.

Financial

At this time there is clear concern for parish finances and a desire to improve the financial responsibility of parishioners. There is a desire to challenge parishioners to take ownership for and respond to the parish financial needs in the Sunday collection. The parishioners see a need to use creative means, such as parish fundraising events, to raise funds. There is also a desire that all financial information shared with the parish be in a format that is clear and easy to understand.

Hospitality

Parishioners see a need to improve the hospitality of the parish, in particular to newcomers. Specific comments in this regard include providing training for ushers and greeters at mass. Other suggestions include developing a systematic approach to finding and welcoming new parishioners, and establishing visiting teams to identify the needs and talents of the parishioners.

Leadership

There is a general perception of the need for stronger leadership within the parish. The desire for leadership is split between the desire for clear direction from the 'top' and broad support for the development of lay leadership.

Catechesis

There is a continuing desire for adult faith formation within the parish. Specific suggestions include bible study groups, workshops, and adult catechetics.

Children and Youth Groups

The Spanish-speaking community consistently shared a desire for developing activities for youth during mass. Another common suggestion was to develop a youth choir and/or establish a regularly scheduled youth mass.

Liturgy

A number of parishioners suggest there be an evaluation of the number of masses for the Spanish-speaking and English-speaking communities, with a lean towards increasing the number of Spanish masses. There is also a desire to instill greater respect in the church as a place of prayer, by limiting the noise and activities that take place in the church during mass or other services. Finally there is a desire to maintain and improve homilies, with a focus on the challenging teachings of the Catholic faith. One other specific suggestion was to create a liturgy committee.

Ministry

There is a desire to create and expand outreach ministries in the parish, specifically with regards to adults, youth, toddlers, the poor and environmental issues. Other suggestions include seeking ways to improve and increasing committed volunteerism of parishioners and increasing awareness of the various ministries within the parish.

Question 5: What gifts, talents, and qualities do we need in a leader to help us move forward in our vision?

The Listening Session participants proposed a long list of ‘leader qualities’ hoped for in our new parish leader. Upon examination, all the listed items were grouped into 4 categories: Leadership, Personality, Understanding the Community, and Ability. The list of qualities under each category follows. Note: These are not listed in any ranked or prioritized order.

Leadership Qualities:

• A strong motivating leader

• Proactive and open to sharing opinions

• Exhibits a collaborative leadership style

• A cultivator and supervisor of leaders

• Able to deal with budget limitations

• A promoter of vocations

• Able to help promote wider participation and involvement of time, treasure and talents

• Able to bridge communities and tend to their needs

• A good communicator and able to pull people together

Personality Characteristics:

• A positive and passionate leader

• A patient and good listener

• An active, good natured, friendly, punctual and charismatic individual

• Open and receptive to a variety of opinions

• Compassionate

• Appreciative of devotions

Skills Useful for Understanding the Community:

• Open to diversity and able to work in a variety of cultural and language communities

• Ability to integrate with all the groups of the parish

• Ability to engage and tend to the needs of parishioners

• Able to reach out to the youth community

• Informed about issues important to Catholic women

• Able to draw people to Mass

• Knowledgeable about multicultural issues

• Comfortable visiting parishioners in their homes

• Knowledgeable about and promotes social justice issues

Abilities:

There is a strong preference that our new leader be a native speaker of English, and also bilingual in Spanish.

Question 6: What gifts, talents, and qualities do the people of this parish bring to such a process?

The Saint Athanasius Church parishioners share, participate and serve in parish activities and are willing to assist and support the pastor. They have contributed to the development of a successful parish. Note: The following list is not listed in any ranked or priority order.

Gifts