In the Parish Questionnaire “2008 and Beyond” held in May the following three questions were asked of the Parish:

·         What do you think we do well with the help of God?

·         What could we do better with the help of God?

·         What new things do you think God is asking us to do?

 

The answers were gathered and analysed by the members of the Parish Pastoral Team. Some common themes emerged which are summarised below:

Community

We have a strong and welcoming community that works together well. It thrives under the leadership of the clergy and is represented by many diverse parish groups; these could however work even better and closer together. The parish should continue to build its work to include people who currently may feel excluded (the sick, housebound, single people, divorced, lonely, newcomers from abroad, those lost in their faith). The parish should also continue to be outward facing. It should encourage activities that span and bring together different nationalities and generations. This should include efforts to meet the social, material and spiritual needs of both the local (parish, town) and global communities.

Young parishioners

School, liturgical and social activities for young people are felt to be successful. However these could be built upon to involve young people and their families even more in the parish life. A particular focus was identified for young people in their mid to late teens.

Spiritual growth and faith formation

There is a strong faith in the parish. The efforts and contributions of groups that focus on faith are recognised and valued. There is also a desire for opportunities to further grow and strengthen in faith. This could be focused within the parish and also undertaken with other churches in Newark to increase mutual understanding.

Communication

Members of the parish recognise that a lot has been done to establish contact and communication within the parish itself, and between churches in Newark. This was thought to be an ongoing priority. It was felt that still more could be done to share our faith with Non-Catholics and between other denominations.

Liturgy

The parish is felt to be a prayerful community with a relatively high mass attendance. This could be further enriched by involving more groups in celebration of the liturgy including young people and visiting preachers. The importance of the ministry to the sick was recognised and supported.

 

A new Mission could be a good way of achieving many of these aims.

We would like to thank you all who took part in the questionnaire for the valuable feedback.

 

Here are some thoughts you shared with us:

pray for peace ▪ have another mission ▪ briars style masses for young people ▪ another café programme ▪ strengthen links with All Saints School ▪ use the garden more ▪ give young people a real voice in the community ▪ extend a welcome to all faiths ▪ offer our young people a place in our parish ▪ build bridges with other churches ▪ explain the significance & meaning of the readings ▪ bring parishioners back to us ▪ help for third world countries ▪ develop parish prayer life ▪ have some more time of quiet meditation ▪ meet together more often ▪ have a Polish mass, integrate with newcomers ▪ be more prayerful ▪ give good example by the way we lead our lives ▪ bring peace ▪ be more tolerant ▪ socialise more ▪ start music group ▪ keep our faith strong ▪ drive slower ▪ encourage friends to come to church ▪ love each other ▪ help people ▪ live life to the full ▪ we are a strong parish ▪ learn from each other ▪ celebrate the word of God as a community ▪ parish newsletter is great ▪ love ▪ we are glad to be part of the parish ▪ we have good community of faith ▪ keep the good work ▪ help Polish families ▪ change theme of mass from time to time ▪ attend mass more frequently ▪ welcome newcomers ▪ “adopt a granny / granddad” ▪ more home visits ▪

Should you have any further comments or thoughts - your views are very much welcome. Please contact members of the Parish Pastoral Team.

A fuller analysis of the questionnaire can be found here

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