St. Mary Magdalene Parish Survey Results

In early 2009, St Mary Magdalene participated in a parish wide survey. Below you will see the survey results and two summaries of the data. Also below, we've included links to the detailed survey reports provided by US Congregational Life survey. Feel free to download these PDFs and review the survey details.

Questions & Answers (download report)
Displays the questions and answers to all th equestions in the survey. There were 505 total responses.
Connections Report (download report)
Displays survey responses compared to the average of Catholic Church responses.
Strengths Report (download report)
Displays survey responses grouped into 10 different categories. These categories are used to compare our parish to other churches of similar size.
- Age Report (download report)
  A demographic report based on the age of responders.
- Children Report (download report)
  A demographic report based on whether the responded indicated having children at home.
- Member Status Report (download report)
  A demographic report analyzing responses from members and non-members.

As you can imagine, with this amount of data, it is easy to get lost. Below is a brief summary of two of the main reports.

Connections report: St. Mary Magdalene compared to the average for Catholic Churches

This section is a summary comparison of St Mary Magdalene's responses to the average for Catholic Churches. Scores are reported with the St. Mary Magdalene percentage vs. the average for Catholic Churches. 8 of the 10 categories were rated higher than the average for Catholic Churches.

Strengths

Welcoming New Worshipers (84% vs 27%)
Caring for Young People (56% vs 46%)
Empowering Leadership (48% vs 39%)
Meaningful Worship (66% vs 58%)
Looking to the Future (42% vs 34%)

Weaknesses

Having a Sense of Belonging (27% vs 30%)
Participating in the Parish (42% vs 44%)

Survey Categories comparing St. Mary Magdalene to the average for Catholic Churches

In each category, each question was compared to the average for Catholic Churches. Our high and low scores for each category are presented below (Percentage for St. Mary Magdalene first, average for Catholic Churches listed second).

If no negative scores are reported, the percentage for St Mary Magdalene's was higher for each question than the average for Catholic Churches.

In the title for each section, the category total percentage is color coded; green means St Mary Magdalene was higher than the average, red means St Mary Magdalene was lower than the average.

Growing Spiritually (Category total: 39% vs 38%)
- Spend time at least a few times a week in private devotional actives (72% vs 61%)
- Are growing in their faith through participation in activities of their parish (27% vs 32%)
- Report Bible study and prayer groups as one of the three most valued aspects of their parish (6% vs 9%)
Meaningful Worship (Category total: 66% vs 58%)
- Report worship services and other congregational activities help them to a great extent with everyday life (61% vs 43%)
- Report the sermons, preaching, or homilies as one of the three most valued aspects of their parish (48% vs 32%)
- Experience inspiration during worship always or usually (80% vs 70%)
- Experience joy during worship always or usually (81% vs 72%)
Participating in the Parish (Category total: 42% vs 44%)
- Attend Mass usually every week or more than once a week (86% vs 80%)
- Have one or more leadership roles in the parish (33% vs 42%)
- Often participate in important decision making in the parish (5% vs 14%)
Having a Sense of Belonging (Category total: 27% vs 30%)
- Report they are participating in the activities of the parish more than they did two years ago (30% vs 28%)
- Say most of their closest friends are part of this parish (7% vs 15%)
- Feel their sense of belonging to this parish is strong and growing (45% vs 48%)
Caring for Young People (Category total: 56% vs 46%)
- Who report ministry for children or youth as one of the three most valued aspects of their parish (25% vs 9%)
- Whose children and youth (living at home) also worship here (90% vs 74%)
- Who are satisfied with what is offered by the parish for children and youth (under 19 years of age) (53% vs 54%)
Focusing on the Community (Category total: 34% vs 33%)
- Voted or will vote in the 2008 presidential election (89% vs 70%)
- Contribute to charitable organization other than their parish (79% vs 65%)
- Are involved in social service or advocacy groups through the parish (9% vs 20%)
- Worked with others in the last year to try to solve a community problem (16% vs 23%)
Sharing Faith (Category total: 21% vs 20%)
- Have invited to a worship service in the past year a friend or relative who does not currently attend anywhere (47% vs 40%)
- Are involved in outreach or evangelistic activities in their parish (16% vs 11%)
- Report reaching those who do not attend as one of the three most valued aspects of their parish (7% vs 12%)
- Feel at ease talking about their faith and seek opportunities to do so (14% vs 17%)
Welcoming New Worshipers (Category total: 84% vs 27%)
- Began attending services or activities of your parish in the last five years (84% vs 27%)
Empowering Leadership (Category total: 48% vs 39%)
- Strongly feel there is a good match between the parish and the priest (69% vs 42%)
- Describe the leadership style of the priest as one that inspires people to take action (56% vs 39%)
- Feel the parish's leaders encourage them to find and use their gifts to a great extent (21% vs 30%)
Looking to the Future (Total: 42% vs 34%)
- Feel the parish has a clear vision, goals, or direction for its ministry and mission and are strongly committed to them (47% vs 26%)
- Feel the parish is currently moving in new directions (36% vs 27%)

Strengths report: St. Mary Magdalene compared to all Congregations

This data compares St. Mary Magdalene to all the congregations who have taken the survey. 50% is the average for all of the responses.

Strengths

Welcoming New Worshipers (98%)
Meaningful Worship (66%)
Looking to the Future (57%)
Caring for Young People (55%)

Weaknesses

Participating in the parish (8%)
Sense of belonging (16%)
Growing Spiritually (18%)