Core Team Update #10

JANUARY 21, 2016

Dear Core Team Members:

Please encourage all your parishioners to view the six-minute video message from Bishop O’Connell introducing Faith in Our Future at http://www.dioceseoftrenton.org/faithinourfuture/. You can also encourage parishioners to look at all of the resource material for Faith in Our Future that is on the web site. This includes the Planning Guide in English and Spanish and the print resource “Building Our Future Together. “

Other reminders:

1. There will be a special training session on January 27^th for parish core teams in Monmouth County that have not yet attended a training session at Mother of Mercy Parish, Asbury Park, NJ from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
2. Please make a note of the next steps for Core Teams:
   • Plan meetings for every other week through early March.
   • Continue evaluating the 4 areas of parish life in ways that involve the whole parish (e.g. surveys, task forces, work groups, town hall meetings, etc.).
   • Implement your communications strategy to keep your fellow parishioners involved.
   • Contact your Reid Group consultant with your questions and concerns.
3. Point C above, “Implement your communications strategy to keep your fellow parishioners involved,” is particularly important. As you continue your regular meetings as a core team, plan for regular communications with parishioners through bulletin announcements, announcements at Mass, messages on your website and more.
4. Several parishes have asked about survey samples and how they can make use of survey monkey. Please review the attachments (below) – a “How to” on surveys and a sample from St. Rose in Belmar.
5. If you have substantial changes or corrections to your parish data verification form, please submit these in writing to Terry Ginther ([email protected] , 609-403-7143) by the end of January 2016.
6. The proposed listing of cohort parishes will be distributed for your review the week of January 25^th.

7. Cohort training sessions will be held March 15-16, 2016 at the following sites:

MERCER COUNTY COHORT TRAINING – TUESDAY EVENING MARCH 15, 2016

Saint David the King Parish Center, West Windsor, NJ

MONMOUTH COUNTY COHORT TRAINING – TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 15, 2016

Saint Mary’s Parish Center, Colts Neck, NJ

OCEAN COUNTY COHORT TRAINING – TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 15, 2016

St. Luke’s Parish Center, Toms River, NJ

BURLINGTON COUNTY COHORT TRAINING – WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 16, 2016

Saint Isaac Jogues Parish Center, Evesham, NJ

MONMOUTH COUNTY COHORT TRAINING – WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 16, 2016

Saint Mary’s Parish Center, Colts Neck, NJ

IMPORTANT NOTE:  All Burlington, Mercer and Ocean County Parishes Core Team Members will attend the session designated for their county.  Due to the number of parishes in Monmouth County we have scheduled two training sessions.  The Monmouth County Parish Core Teams will be assigned to a designated meeting.

Here are a few frequently asked questions about Faith in Our Future:

How will schools be part of this study?

Schools are an important part of the ministry of the Church in the Diocese of Trenton. Any parish with an elementary or high school is asked to include consideration of these schools as part of their parish evaluation. Parishes without a school of their own are asked to consider how their parishes support Catholic schools in their area, or the ministry of Catholic schools in the Diocese as a whole.

What is the cost to individual parishes of this process?

There is no direct monetary cost to parishes for Faith in Our Future. The process will be funded at the diocesan level. There is an investment, however, to be made by each parish in terms of the time and energy required from those on the core team, those involved in parish evaluations, and those who will participate in surveys, focus groups, task forces or town hall meetings.

Please let us know what other questions you have and we will answer them in future updates.  Thank you once again for contributing your time and energy to Faith in Our Future.

 

FAITH IN OUR FUTURE STAFF & COUNTY CONSULTANTS

Diocesan Office Staff

Msgr. Leonard Troiano [email protected] Phone: 609-403-7159

Sherrie Sporek [email protected]

Phone: 609-403-7193

Fax: 609-406-7413

The Reid Group Consultants

Burlington & Ocean Counties Consultant

Tom Reid [email protected] Phone: 206-947-2990

Monmouth County Consultant

John Reid [email protected] Phone: 206-947-1055

Mercer County & Bi-Lingual Consultant

Karen Castellon [email protected] Phone: 908-240-9941

 

HOW TO CREATE A SURVEY USING “SURVEY MONKEY”

— AN ONLINE SURVEY OPTION

JANUARY 2016

There are a lot of choices to make when you are creating a new survey, but following some basic rules can help you make the right choices every time.

Here are 6 great general tips for creating a survey that gets you the answers you need.

1. Use formatting and group similar questions to keep your survey logical and focused. Page breaks, page titles, and instructions help people understand what you are asking and why.

2. Be brief. Keep questions and surveys as short as possible to keep respondents interested and motivated to complete your survey.

3. Ease into it. Asking personal or sensitive questions at the beginning can scare people away. Save those questions—if they are truly necessary—for the end.

4. Stick to specifics. Create survey questions that explore one idea at a time to make sure your respondents can understand what you are asking.  Vague, general, multi-part questions can be confusing and tough to answer.

5. Avoid yes/no questions. Yes/no questions don’t capture people who are on the fence or nuances of people’s opinions.  In other words, yes/no questions will not give you the information you need!

6. Use words, not numbers. When designing answer choices, use phrases such as “slightly likely” or “extremely likely,” not numbers like “2” or “4” to indicate degree of preference. These answer choices are easier for people to understand.

Getting Started

Steps to creating a survey:  www.SurveyMonkey.com  is just one of the online survey options available to you.  Usually, one time users can sign up for a ‘trial subscription’ and not have to pay the monthly fee.

Creating the survey – Design Survey Tab

1. Step one is to ‘create a survey’ using the ‘build a New Survey from Scratch” button.
2. Enter a ‘title’ that will make sense to those taking the survey and then click the “let’s go” button.
3. The new screen will open with options for designing your customized survey.
4. The ‘Builder’ box offers a multitude of question types (Multiple choice, Dropdown, Matrix Rating Scale, Matrix of dropdown menus, Ranking, Single and Multiple textboxes, comment, Text, Image, Page Info, etc.).
5. Question Bank offers a selection of options for different venues.
6. The ‘options’ box gives you the opportunity to customize the way the survey looks.
7. ‘Themes’ will offer a variety of color and design options.
8. At this point you can just “add a question” by choosing one of the options from the ‘Builder’ box and you are on your way.
9. You can copy questions that have the formatting you have already created and just change the text in the question.

Creating the Collector – Collect Responses Tab

1. Send it fast and easy.
2. Be sure that the ‘Web Link Collector’ is checked, NEXT
3. The link can be partially customized; click ‘customize’ and change the open box to reflect your survey.
4. Select each row below the web link to choose the options that best fit the needs of the organization. There are also ‘advanced options’ that are helpful, like setting up a cutoff date.

Setting up the survey for use

1. Send the link from the web collector to the web administrator to place on the home page or another place that will be visible to those who wish to take the survey.
2. You also have the option to send the link out to individuals in an email.
3. Copy the survey and use as a manual handout for info to be added later into the online survey.
4. You can customize the Survey End Page and the Thank you message in the ‘advanced options’ on the Collect Responses Tab.

 

For more information or to have your questions answered, please contact Jane Cardwell, Office Manager for The Reid Group at 206-432-3565 or by email at [email protected]

 

BELOW IS A SAMPLE OF A SURVEY CREATED BY THE “FAITH IN OUR FUTURE “ TEAM AT ST. ROSE, BELMAR. 

(NOTE HOW THE SURVEY IS PERSONAL TO THE PARISH COMMUNITY)

Faith in Our Future Survey St. Rose Belmar

Sacramental Life at St. Rose

In this area, we are trying to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of St. Rose Parish regarding the Sacraments. The Sunday celebration of the Eucharist should be the center of parish life.

1. St. Rose offers ways for parishioners to grow in their life with Christ. Besides Mass, this includes Bible Study, Small Group Faith-Sharing, Retreats, Book Studies, Prayer Groups, etc. Do you know this?

□ Yes, we’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

2. At St. Rose, the number of Saturday/Sunday Masses is appropriate for the size of our congregation.

□ Adequate □ Could be improved □ Inadequate □ Not sure □ I do not attend regularly

3. At St. Rose, the homilies are: well-prepared, relevant, engaging. The homilies are easy to follow, the message is clear. The homilies help us to apply the Word of God to our own lives. Would you say the homilies are:

□ Very good! □ Adequate □ Need Work □ Inadequate □ Confusing/Hard to Follow

4. Does the celebration of the other Sacraments (Baptism, Reconciliation, Confirmation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick) lead to greater participation in the Sunday Mass and receiving the Eucharist on a regular basis?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

5. At St. Rose, the clergy and parishioners visit those who are sick/homebound. They also celebrate the Sacrament of Anointing the Sick, and bring Communion when requested:

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

6. Do you feel the clergy, the music ministry, readers and ushers at St. Rose all work to bring about active participation at Mass? That is, there is active singing, responses, listening, praying – and not just spectators.

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

This is where we would like your feedback on Sacramental Life at St. Rose. What do you like about the Sacraments at St. Rose? Dislike? What changes would you like to see to improve this area? Please return on or before January 31, 2016. Please return survey to the Parish Office, or drop survey in the special mailboxes found at the entrances of the Church.

 

Evangelization and Catechesis at St. Rose

In this area, we are trying to gauge if activities at St. Rose are driven toward evangelization. Evangelization is the Church’s deepest identity. Evangelization brings the good news of the Gospel to all who seek the life-giving message of faith in Jesus Christ. 

7. At St. Rose, do you see new parishioners joining the parish? Is it easy for new parishioners to feel welcome and become involved?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

8. Are our schools and religious Education programs at St. Rose effective?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

9. At St. Rose, the Parish Website is well-developed and user-friendly. Information is updated frequently.

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

10. The baptisms, weddings and funerals held at St. Rose are opportunities for establishing new (or develop stronger) relationships with individuals and families.

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

11. Also, making arrangements for these events (in question #10) is in easy-to-follow steps and well organized.

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

12. Are we serving the needs of our young parishioners through Youth Ministry?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

13. At St. Rose, would you say we have a comprehensive and well-integrated catechetical program (religious education and instruction, including RCIA) for parishioners of ALL ages?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

14. At St. Rose, are there intentional efforts to bring Inactive Catholics back to regular practice?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

This is where we would like your feedback on Evangelization at St. Rose. What do you like? Dislike? What changes would you like to see to improve this area? Please return on or before January 31, 2016. Please return survey to the Parish Office, or drop survey in the special mailboxes found at the entrances of the Church

 

Communal Life at St. Rose

In this area, we are trying to determine if the St. Rose parish community is reaching out with compassion to individuals and families with particular needs.

15. At St. Rose, are parishioners educated on justice issues and encouraged to advocate for those in need? For example, does St. Rose uphold the dignity of all human life by our teaching, by our witness and by our advocacy efforts?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

16. At St. Rose, do we provide care and companionship to the grieving? As in caring for those who are ill or disabled (and their families), and assist those in need?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

17. At St. Rose, do we have adequate facilities including handicapped accessible facilities?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

18. At St. Rose, does ministry among non-English speaking Catholics extend beyond the celebration of Mass?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

19. Is St. Rose a “good neighbor”? Do we participate in interfaith and civic areas supporting the common good?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

20. Do you feel (collectively) the St. Rose parish does a good job of integrating all the various groups at St. Rose into a “community of communities”? That is, are we achieving a sense of unity while appreciating the diverse nature of our parishioners (diversity of ages, backgrounds, marital status, ethnicities, etc.)?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

Now it is YOUR turn. What are the strengths of our community here at St. Rose? What are our weaknesses? What improvements would you like to see at St. Rose in Belmar? Please return on or before January 31, 2016. Please return survey to the Parish Office, or drop survey in the special mailboxes found at the entrances of the Church

 

Stewardship and Leadership at St. Rose

In this area, we would like to get your feedback to determine regarding the stewardship of St. Rose Parish. We have a shared responsibility for planning for the future and the management of the resources of the parish.

 At St. Rose, the Pastor, staff, Pastoral Council and Finance Council exercise effective leadership that embodies stewardship. That is, they manage resources for today and plan for the future growth of the parish?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

22. At St. Rose, would you agree parishioners are educated and informed about current resources and future plans?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

23. We know at St. Rose, Father Ed is not the only pastoral minister for the parish. But does he have enough help – are there enough priests, deacons, religious or lay assistants to insure adequate coverage for all parish efforts?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

24. At St. Rose, are all facilities and surrounding areas (sidewalks, stairs, etc) well-maintained and kept in good repair? Are the facilities (not just the church, but all facilities) appropriate for the size of the congregation? □ We’re very good at this!

□ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

25. How would you rate the efforts here at St. Rose of engaging young adults (ages 18-35 years old) in the life and ministry of the parish?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

26. Would you say, at St. Rose, new people are constantly invited to participate in different ministries and asked to take part in leadership? And do new participants receive proper training and supervision?

□ We’re very good at this! □ Adequate □ Needs Work □ Inadequate □ I do not know this!

What are your thoughts regarding the stewardship and leadership here at St. Rose? What improvements would you like to see at St. Rose in Belmar?