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In order to develop a new Mission Action Plan for St Mary’s a short survey was completed by members of the congregation at a Sunday service earlier this year. There were 66 respondents on the day and 8 more were added later. There are many things highlighted by the questionnaire that St Mary’s does well and can be proud of but there were also areas which were seen as needing improvement.
The objective of the Mission Acton Plan for St Mary’s is to reach out in warmth and friendship to the community and promote:
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Involvement within the church community
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Partnerships with other faith groups and agencies within our community
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Justice, peace and charity with out reach to the community and the world
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Involvement in St Mary’s through Art and Music.
The survey was carried out to gather information from the congregation on how they see the internal workings of the church, establish who may be interested in helping run the church and obtain feedback, support and resources for the Mission Action Plan. The results revealed that there is a wealth of experience we can draw on to assist with running the church and, hopefully, our outreach programme. What shines through strongly is how important music is seen as a means of adding to and improving what we do at St Mary’s and as a means of outreach. The research has also clearly identified the front runners in terms of outreach issues that the congregation would like to see St Mary’s involved in.
Respondents were asked to list three things that St Mary’s do well and list three things that can be improved on:
What St Mary’s does well
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Welcoming & inclusive, relaxed, sense of community, support, engaging
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JuniorChurchcommitment, well organized
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Music, music Group, music has or is improving
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Sermons, use of humour
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Services and readings
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Flowers and beauty of church; clean, well-presented church
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Community and Parish Lunches
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Outreach
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Special services: Babies, Advent, Baptisms, Easter etc.
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Mix of traditional and modern in service, combining religion with everyday issues, experimental
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Well organised and good admin
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Open church and opening times
What can be improved on
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Teenagers and youth services, involvement in church activities, bible studies
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Gospel Choir or Choir, singing, congregation does not sing with enthusiasm
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Heating
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Music dull
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Involve broader section of congregation in activities
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PA, sound systems
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Complete service in one hour shorter services, service a little aged – could be younger
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Sermon
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Fund raising outside church, market stall, summer fetes
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Games for children, children to sing more
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Teaching the word of the creed, following the will of God
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More social events
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Getting people more involved in church & church activities
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More publicity for parish lunches – menu in advance
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Better communication between parishioners
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Welcoming new people into the church, no one talks to me, too many cliques
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Involvement with other churches
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Noisy children & parents
A number of these issues are minor and easy to rectify. Other issues may cause some frustration where those involved feel these issues are already adequately communicated; this may be due to timing. Some of the comments made appear to be contradictory and the reasons for this can be clarified when the report is discussed in detail.
Questionnaires were also distributed to members of the Junior Church and the following feedback was received:
What words would you use to describe St Mary’s?
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Friendly
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Helpful
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Peaceful
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Quiet
What do you like about St Mary's?
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Junior Church liturgy before breaking into the two groups
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Reading the bible together
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Being with friends
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Drama
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Arts and crafts
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Going to communion
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Parish lunch
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Making biscuits
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The activities
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Going out to junior church during the Gloria – the procession
What could St Mary's do better?
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More singing
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Better pens and pencils
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More parishes lunches /children cooking
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More trips / picnics / arts and crafts / parties
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Have a shorter service
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Youth club
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Be more considerate towards allergies
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Football team
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Sponsored events
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Cake sales
Supporting the Church
As considerable help and effort is needed to keep the church open and more help is needed, this section provided people with the chance to list how they might contribute.
The questionnaire has identified that our congregation has a great range of skills, ranging from book-keeping, finance and accounting, teachers, social workers, local councillors and magistrates, to those with outreach work experience, therapy, arts, music, writers, theatre, PR and TV production skills. This gives us a huge range of experience and resources we hope we can call on for our Mission Action Plan and to help us with raising the profile of St Mary’s.
Mission Action Plan
Outreach activities that are needed in Acton
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Teenagers, youth work, drop in, youth choir
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Gospel choir workshops, singing in market, singing events
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Adults on the streets, homeless, drug addicts, mental issues
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Older people, singing with older people in homes
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Helping disadvantaged and disadvantaged youth in community
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Single parent support, family help
What new activities would you like at St Mary’s?
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Youth club, youth development, youth worker for St Mary’s
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More groups to discuss the Bible and its meaning
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Over 50s club, more members
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Social events, use church space for community events, concerts
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Interfaith, engagement with other faiths
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Mission work in another country
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Outings, trips
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Junior Church, mixing with older people
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Rousing choir with doors open to attract attention
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Art classes every month
How can St Mary’s raise its profile in the community?
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Singing, concerts, music, Gospel Choir
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Communication, PR, links with press, website, church banners, advertising, Rector’s message
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Arts
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Fundraising, charity, jumble sales
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Notice boards
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Trips to other churches, guest speakers
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Rallies outside church and outside services
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More work with senior citizens
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Involve Junior Church members and residents’ associations
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Involve and stimulate teenagers to help them remain at St Mary's
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Once a month bring friends and family to service (send invites)
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Working with other agencies
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Keep open and use space outside church so local people know we exist
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Be more sociable
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Rainbow, Brownies, Cubs, Scouts etc.
Conclusion:
Thank you to all of you who filled in the questionnaire; the findings have given us a mandate for the way ahead and, because of the extensive nature of the responses, mean that we have a real flavour of the views of the congregation.
Thank you also to Steve Cameron and Catriona Lindsey for their input in devising and analysing the findings respectively.
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