First Religious Society
Results of Congregational Survey 2000

In February, members and friends of the First Religious Society were given the opportunity to assess the well-being of our church and overall satisfaction with various programs of the church. This was accomplished by completing a survey. The survey requested both a quantitative ranking of various programs and ministerial functions and qualitative comments to provide specific feedback or concerns.

The attached analysis of the survey results consists of two parts:

Part One: Quantitative Analysis of Survey Responses (Compiled by Cynthia Raschke for the Committee on Ministry)

Included are both a discussion of the quantitative results and a copy of the quantitative report. Of the 152 surveys received, only 144 were received in time to be included in the quantitative portion of the report.

Part Two: Qualitative Analysis and Discussion of Comments Made by Respondents to Various Aspects of the Survey

This section summarizes the content of over one thousand written comments.

In both Part One and Part Two of the analysis, it is clear that the overall satisfaction with the church, its programs, and our minister is very high. Therefore, it is likely that where ratings or feedback suggest opportunities for improvement there is a strong commitment to make any necessary changes.

Survey results suggest many opportunities for improvement. Results are being delivered to each committee of the church where they will be evaluated further. Individual committees will then determine appropriate action to be taken, if any.

The Committee on Ministry wishes to thank the 152 individuals who completed and returned their surveys.

The Committee on Ministry

Dorothy Fairweather
Cary Plummer
Susan Ricker
Harold Babcock, ex officio
Robert Smart, Chair

Part One: Quantitative Analysis of Survey Responses

Overview of Survey Analysis

• Respondents are generally happy with overall condition of the First Religious Society and are very happy indeed with the performance of the minister.
• In reference to overall church evaluation and the question "In general, how would you rate the well being of this church", over half of the respondents marked "excellent". The average ranking was 3.6 out of a possible 4.0.
• In reference to the performance of the minister, the rating of "sermon topics and delivery" was 3.8 out of a possible 4.0.

Evaluating Aspects of Church Life - "How Are We Doing?"

• By ranking the average rating for each aspect, we can see the areas for which respondents are generally satisfied (rankings of 3.3 and up) and areas for which respondents are less satisfied (3.2 and below).
• In relation to these rankings, it is important to keep in mind that the variation in the level of awareness of church policies and programs. For example, "management of endowment, investments" was ranked high at 3.5, but a total of 82 respondents have either no opinion or no answer to this question. In contrast, "worship - sermons, topics, and delivery" was ranked at 3.8 (the highest ranking received by any category) and only five respondents marked no opinion or no answer.
• Categories that combine relatively low rankings with high awareness and participation are "property, daily management" and "music program, adult". The meaning of these relationships between rated performance and level of awareness are not altogether clear. Perhaps discussion of comments in Part Two will suggest some clarification.

Ratings of Ministerial Functions

• Here three variable were measured: importance to you, performance of the minister, and "no opinion" responses.
• Most significant is the correlation among the variables. In most of the functions rated "most important to you", the minister's performance ratings are very high. The incidence of "no opinion" ratings is very low.
• In contrast, there is a tendency towards a correlation among "low importance to you", relatively "low performance of the minister" and relatively high "no opinion" responses. For example, notice ratings for the following functions: minister's emphasis on the arts, minister's community leadership, and minister's public communications.
• It is important to note, however, that even in these latter categories, the performance ratings are still high. There is clear evidence of the esteem in which the minister's performance is held.

"About You"

Information was not available regarding the actual demographic make up of our church members, thus one cannot at this time draw reliable conclusions about the degree to which survey respondents are representative.

Regarding the content of the survey respondents, however, there were no significant gender differences or age differences. So the data have good integrity on their own and do not have to be controlled by any age or gender factors. For example, the ratings of "children's RE" did not differ whether or not one had children in the program, with the exception that parents did rate RE as more important.

However, this does not mean that the survey is entirely representative of the church population. The people who did not turn in a survey, despite their gender or age, could have responded differently. Any conclusions drawn regarding this report should bear in mind that the survey does not include opinions of church members who have:

• a lack of time to fill out the survey
• a lack of access or abilities to fill out and/or return the survey
• a lack of belief that their opinions are needed or important
• a lack of faith in this survey or the importance of surveys in general
• any other obstacle to survey completion and return.

Rating Aspects of Church Life

(Number = 144)

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor	No opinion	[blank]
Worship-sermons, topics, delivery	119	18	2	0	3	2
	82.6%	12.5%	1.4%	0.0%	2.1%	1.4%
Worship Committee services	28	66	20	0	18	12
	19.4%	45.8%	13.9%	0.0%	12.5%	8.3%
Worship service fulfillment	74	52	6	0	4	8
	51.4%	36.1%	4.2%	0.0%	2.8%	5.6%
Music program, Adult	44	56	18	10	8	8
	30.6%	38.9%	12.5%	6.9%	5.6%	5.6%
Music program, Youth	65	45	4	0	21	9
	45.1%	31.3%	2.8%	0.0%	14.6%	6.3%
Religious Education, Youth	39	33	12	1	48	11
	27.1%	22.9%	8.3%	0.7%	33.3%	7.6%
Religious Ed Special programs	26	35	3	0	58	22
	18.1%	24.3%	2.1%	0.0%	40.3%	15.3%
Religious Education, Adult	17	38	12	3	57	17
	11.8%	26.4%	8.3%	2.1%	39.6%	11.8%
Membership Activities, Social	34	64	7	0	22	17
	23.6%	44.4%	4.9%	0.0%	15.3%	11.8%
Social Action/Human Services	23	58	12	4	31	16
	16.0%	40.3%	8.3%	2.8%	21.5%	11.1%
Caring for members in need	24	22	6	4	71	17
	16.7%	15.3%	4.2%	2.8%	49.3%	11.8%
Property, daily management	37	69	18	5	9	6
	25.7%	47.9%	12.5%	3.5%	6.3%	4.2%
Property, long term care	34	60	10	6	23	11
	23.6%	41.7%	6.9%	4.2%	16.0%	7.6%
Financial mgt, budget, canvass	45	62	7	1	19	10
	31.3%	43.1%	4.9%	0.7%	13.2%	6.9%
Mgt of endowment, investments	32	27	2	1	69	13
	22.2%	18.8%	1.4%	0.7%	47.9%	9.0%
General Church well being	83	50	3	0	0	8
(This item from page 3 of survey)	57.6%	34.7%	2.1%	0.0%	0.0%	5.6%

Rating Importance of Ministerial functions

(Number = 144)

	Very Imp.	Important	Neutral	Not imp.	[blank]
Importance of counseling	38	58	26	7	15
	26.4%	40.3%	18.1%	4.9%	10.4%
Importance of meaningful sermons	120	20	1	0	3
	83.3%	13.9%	0.7%	0.0%	2.1%
Importance of preaching Sunday	55	67	13	4	5
	38.2%	46.5%	9.0%	2.8%	3.5%
Importance of social change	36	82	16	4	6
	25.0%	56.9%	11.1%	2.8%	4.2%
Importance of social life participation	34	69	29	5	7
	23.6%	47.9%	20.1%	3.5%	4.9%
Importance of adult R E	26	71	33	4	10
	18.1%	49.3%	22.9%	2.8%	6.9%
Importance of children R E	73	44	10	5	12
	50.7%	30.6%	6.9%	3.5%	8.3%
Importance of committee work	15	73	35	8	13
	10.4%	50.7%	24.3%	5.6%	9.0%
Importance of community leadership	17	67	41	7	12
	11.8%	46.5%	28.5%	4.9%	8.3%
Importance of spirit of fellowship	77	56	5	0	6
	53.5%	38.9%	3.5%	0.0%	4.2%
Importance of emphasis on arts	15	56	44	20	9
	10.4%	38.9%	30.6%	13.9%	6.3%
Importance of administration	28	65	30	10	11
	19.4%	45.1%	20.8%	6.9%	7.6%
Importance of rites of passage	79	50	7	0	8
	54.9%	34.7%	4.9%	0.0%	5.6%
Importance of expand membership	25	77	31	3	8
	17.4%	53.5%	21.5%	2.1%	5.6%
Importance of pastoral calls	27	68	31	7	11
	18.8%	47.2%	21.5%	4.9%	7.6%
Importance of role in fundraising	12	60	44	11	17
	8.3%	41.7%	30.6%	7.6%	11.8%
Importance of UUA participation	13	71	41	5	14
	9.0%	49.3%	28.5%	3.5%	9.7%
Importance of liaison other religious	16	72	32	9	15
	11.1%	50.0%	22.2%	6.3%	10.4%
Importance of public communication	4	19	67	37	17
	2.8%	13.2%	46.5%	25.7%	11.8%

ABOUT YOU

How long associated with FRS:	14 years (avg)
How often attend church:	Ev. Sun.	3-4/mo.	1-2/mo.	<1/mo.	Never	[blank]
	25	69	33	14	0	3
Has attendance changed:	Incr.	Decr.	Same	[blank]
	17	18	97	12
Age:	53 years (avg); ranged from 18 to 88
	<30	31-44	45-59	60-74	>60	[blank]
	3	29	61	26	12	13
Gender:	Male	Female	Couple	[blank]
	47	89	3	5
Children in RE program:	Yes	No	[blank]
	48	93	3
What brought you to FRS?
UU (both life-long and becoming UU in adulthood)	39
Friend	35
Family (e.g., a relative attends, inter-faith needs, chidren's RE)	19
Sought a church & chose this	10
Minister and Minister Emeritus	7
Visited	4
A wedding	3
Architecture	3
Curious about UU	3
Moved to area	3
Ad	2
Yellow Pages	1
Other (e.g., special program, an event, welcoming congregation)	10
No answer	5

Part Two: Qualitative Analysis and Discussion of Comments Made by Respondents on Various Aspects of the Survey

The survey provided spaces for comments on each of the ranked church programs, requested comments and suggestions regarding ministerial functions, and included the open-ended questions "What do you appreciate about the First Religious Society?" and "In what ways could our church be improved?" Almost all respondents expressed opinions, many at some length.

The sheer volume of the comments (over 1,000 in all) made it impractical to communicate and reproduce them all in this report. However, in reviewing the comments, we found about seventy generalized themes were present. What follows is a summary of the contents of comments about appreciation, opportunities for improvement, and the various programs in our church community. Also included, where appropriate, is an illustrative sample of actual comments made in each category.

In reviewing the summary, please bear in mind the following:

• The overall mood of the survey responses is very positive. This should not be overshadowed by what may appear to be a large amount of criticism as well.
• The opinions expressed are those of respondents to the survey, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of members of the Committee on Ministry.
• Some opinions may be shared by a large number of respondents while others may be held by only one or two respondents.
• Most readers will not find their actual comments in this summary report. However, their comments are contained within the generalized themes.

The Committee on Ministry is aware that each comment is important, so committee members will report to committee chairs and staff personnel a more detailed report of actual comments relevant to their areas of concern and responsibility.

Appreciation

The appreciation expressed for our community, ministers, Unitarian-Universalist thinking, and physical space was overwhelming, with 150 out of 152 respondents taking the time to expand upon why they value the First Religious Society. They provided nearly 300 comments in response to this portion of the survey. This is in addition to positive comments relative to specific programs made in other parts of the survey.

To summarize the overall content of comments of appreciation, they include:

• 72 relating to sermons and the minister(s)
• 80 thankful for our community, fellowship, and atmosphere
• 45 regarding Unitarianism, Universalism, liberalism
• 29 focusing on the buildings and space
• 24 highlighting services provided
• 16 with respect to the Religious Education program
• 14 thanking our adult and youth music program
• 25 other comments

Some actual quotes in response to the question "What do you appreciate about the First Religious Society" include:

• My child loves young church and seems to understand what it means to be a UU
• Thoughtful/peaceful hour a week of reflection and renewal
• I love the church members - friendly but not demanding, receptive and helpful when more is needed
• I love the woodwork in the church, and the way the light slants through the windows
• The fantastic ministers: Bert, Doris, Harold
• I've always felt most comfortable in a firmly liberal social, political or religious environment and Unitarianism provides such a religious environment
• The people! Admire especially those older, long time members who have kept the church going in good times and bad. They are special people!
• Were I to need counseling and/or support due to loss of a loved one, I can think of no more necessary place to go than this church and Harold.
• The preponderance of people in their 60s and 70s, and the assets of that generation - patience, a slowness to critique others in public, an optimistic point of view, sociable qualities
• The two ministers we have had - each with different strengths, but both admirable men
• Diversity and variety of programs for children and adults
• Open acceptance of all beliefs; allowed own journey
• Sermons that provide a reality check, that help me keep my priorities in order
• Fellowship, music, worship, beauty & serenity of service in a beautiful place
• Harold's preparation, dedication and enthusiasm
• The simplicity of the building itself, the clarity of light, and the directness and unpretentious wisdom of Harold's words

Worship

1. Much praise (59 responses) was expressed with respect to the scholarly and religious content, style, and delivery of the minister's sermons and worship services. Representative comments include:

• Harold weaves a good thread with readings and sermon
• I come away with sermons with things to think about
• I get a copy of all sermons so I can refer back to ideas he has expressed
• Rev. Babcock is a very good speaker with right amount of wit - a likable fellow
• I look forward to Harold's sermons each week and am never disappointed
• Harold's choice of readings and his prayers greatly enhance the service
• Harold is the best minister I've ever heard - his sermons always strike a chord in me - intellectually and emotionally - we should do all we can to support him.

2. Suggestions were offered on ways to improve upon the minister's sermons and worship services (13 comments). Comments were singular in nature and focused on such things as the use of readings and quotes, lack of focus in some sermons, and religious thoughts.

3. Many individuals (26 respondents) provided strong praise of Harold Babcock as a person and his overall performance as our minister. Representative comments include:

• Harold, you are a wonderful, warm, and thoughtful person; I am grateful that you are our minister
• Harold is by far my favorite UU minister of all time
• Let's give Harold a raise and lots of praise
• Harold is warm, intelligent, good humored and human
• I am not sure that Harold realizes his true worth and the positive impact that he has on the lives of others.

4. "Joys and Concerns" was singled out by six respondents as something they would like to see discontinued.

5. Suggestions offered with respect to the atmosphere created in church and the format of worship services include requests for:

• Occasional extra services serving spiritual needs
• More varied worship experience
• Less or no clapping during worship services
• More traditional services
• Increased lay involvement and participation in the worship service
• Warmer closing, with some sort of exchange of greetings
• Less noise at the beginning of the service
• Extra moments for silent meditation during the prayer
• More demanding prayers.

6. Guest speakers and lay led services generated comments from 19 respondents, with praise, support and suggestions for change offered.

• John Mercer's sermon was applauded by four respondents.
• Many liked the variety offered by the Worship Committee services.
• More variety was requested, with one individual asking for drama and dance, another requesting more non-white speakers, and several simply wanting to be more challenged by the speakers.
• More active participation of the Worship Committee with the larger church community was requested.

7. With respect to intergenerational services, comments were mixed. Seven respondents praised these services, while six respondents made it clear they do not enjoy intergenerational services.

8. All speakers, including those making announcements and those speaking as part of the worship service, should be coached on the use of our sound system.

Religious Education - Adult

1. Seven respondents offered strong praise of the Adult Religious Education Program.

2. Eighteen remarks addressed the amount and mix of adult religious education classed, with general requests for more programs, programs for our community, programming on other beliefs, workshops and learning activities, and instruction on Unitarian Universalism.

3. A lack of understanding of what programs are actually offered, and a desire to find out, was commented on by several respondents.

4. A request was made for us to be kept informed of lectures with a religious content offered elsewhere that may be of interest.

5. A need for more access to adult religious education classed was identified in terms of having more available "after business hours".

6. Four respondents observed that the adult religious education program may need to be reorganized, professionally led, and receive additional volunteer support.

7. Several individuals expressed a desire to attend adult programs and offered that the time hasn't been available to do so.

Religious Education - Youth

1. The minister should have more interaction with the youth, as suggested by six respondents, including a more active role speaking directly to the youth in the intergenerational services and spending more time with Young Church.

2. The needs of the teen program do not appear to be addressed adequately, based on six comments on this topic.

3. Comments relating to the current DRE were mixed. Strong statements of support were shared by six respondents. Two respondents saw room for improvement.

4. Feelings about the curricula are generally supportive, as reported by seven respondents. Respondents liked the term on the seven principles, saw room for more parent input during the term on God, and saw the FRS curricula as one of our strengths.

5. A few respondents voiced general dissatisfaction with the content of the RE program, stating that the program needs more structure, more stimulating content, more consistency, and less haphazard.

6. Four respondents commented on the OWL program, with three voicing strong support. A fourth found the program too liberal and expressed a desire for abstinence to be stressed more in the program.

7. Revels received rave reviews from one respondent.

8. A need for additional funding and support for the RE program was expressed (3 responses).

9. There may be opportunities to improve the integration of the children into church life.

10. In addition, five respondents expressed positive assessments of the RE program.

Music Program

1. The youth choir and its director received lots of strong praise (18 comments). Many expressed a desire for the youth to perform more often in church.

• Claudia does a great job; so many young singers!
• They seem to have a great spirit about them. Good leadership.
• Here we do a very good job. Claudia and JoAnne are very good.
• I'd like to see interaction with other youth choirs in the state or region to spark interest and build "team" identification.

2. Regarding Youth Choir selections, a request was made for more "Unitarian" words and better coordination with Young Church curricula.

3. The adult choir received praise and support from seven respondents.

4. Broad support was expressed for more variety in the selection of music, increased use of instrumentals, more energizing music, and the use of more diverse types of music. (34 comments). For example:

• Music has not progressed or kept pace with the interests and preferences of the members of the congregation.
• Music is an important part of the service, and if we are to expand and grow, good music is vital.
• A broader range of music styles from time to time.
• There are so many genres of music (gospel, jazz, folk) - let's take advantage of some of them.
• Invite many more accomplished instrumentalists to play.

5. Many respondents (thirty-two) felt there is room to improve upon the performance level of the choir and its leadership.

6. Some individuals (six responses) felt the candlelight service has lost its direction and should be redesigned. As stated by one respondent "shorter service and more publicly accessible music in candlelight service.

7. Three respondents expressed a need for the FRS to devote more resources and staffing to the Music Program.

8. Two respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the hymns.

Caring

1. Comments identify little awareness of what services are available to offer caring to members in need. Suggestions focused on a need for us to organize ourselves better for providing such services. (19 responses)

• I wish I knew who was in need - I would like to help
• Need to organize for this
• Would like to see a committee dedicated to this

2. Much appreciation (8 responses) was expressed by those who did receive pastoral support from our minister in their times of need, including the following:

• Harold visited me in the hospital
• Harold was a great comfort at my parent's passing
• I should always be grateful for Harold's concern during my wife's illness
• Thank you for your kindness.

Human Services

1. The Human Services Committee and FRS received praise for activity in this area, with recent improvements noted (4 responses).

2. A number of respondents (15) felt that we as individuals and the FRS as a whole could and should do much more in the area of human service.

3. Six respondents highlighted a need for more social action and a greater focus on social issues, perhaps even the formation of a "Social Action Committee".

4. Two respondents offered that they would like our human services focus to be local.

5. There was some uncertainty expressed about what human services and social action actually takes place at the FRS, also stating that more information would be helpful. (7 responses)

6. A suggestion was made by one respondent for us to explore programs that would send youth to help in third world countries.

Membership

1. Much praise was offered for the Membership Committee and its activities, including circle dinners, church suppers, and nebulous parties. A desire was expressed for more of each of these popular activities.

2. The formation of "subgroups", such as the 20/30 Somethings, Baby Boomers, Women's Alliance, and Retired Guys Out To Lunch, was cited as a positive direction for us to be moving.

3. A desire was expressed (12 comments) for more social activities, including events held during the day. One respondent requested a monthly social activity. Another requested that we document and communicate all that we do offer.

4. There was a general feeling expressed (8 responses) that we could improve our outreach to new members. Some felt that families need more activities while others felt that singles do not have adequate social programming.

Property

1. Poor snow removal was a strong concern expressed by seven respondents.

2. More hours were suggested for the sexton and general care of the building.

3. Many praised the physical appearance of the church buildings (12 comments).

4. Improvements were requested, including painting, fixing the back yard and kitchen stairs, redecorating the Parish Hall, making the pews more comfortable, and generally improve upon the maintenance and care of the buildings.

Financial Management

1. Twelve respondents were very positive about the canvass, how it is organized, the results, and the canvassers themselves.

2. Criticism of the canvass was mixed, ranging from finding the approach too high pressure to feeling it could be more aggressive.

3. Some respondents felt friends and members of the church community should contribute at higher levels (three comments).

4. A suggestion was made to charge for young church.

5. The auction was very popular with five respondents.

6. Some respondents felt uninformed about church finances. We need to improve communications regarding the budget, budget process, and financial condition of the church.

Endowment

1. Respondents (19) expressed a desire to know more about the endowment in terms of sources of the funds, the endowment's size, financial performance of the endowment, and how to make contributions to the endowment.

Opportunities for Improvement

1. Much emphasis was placed upon how we govern ourselves with suggestions regarding administration (12 comments), staffing (11 comments), our committee structure and effectiveness of our communications (6 comments), leadership and leadership style (12 comments), and organizational structure (4 comments).

2. The need to improve upon our use of volunteers was recognized by seven respondents. Comments focused on the need to increase volunteer participation, provide more administrative support for volunteers and treat volunteers more respectfully.

3. Many respondents (43 comments) saw our space needs as the area requiring our attention for improving, and voiced general support for the direction taken by the Space Needs Committee.

4. Some concern was expressed by several respondents over our ability to accommodate our recent growth. However, this concern was minor relative to all of the other comments.

5. Three respondents felt we, as a community, could be a bit more welcoming and friendlier to newcomers.

6. A number of respondents (6 comments) were concerned with how we speak of Christianity and other religions. Some find that some individuals in our community tend to be disrespectful of Christians while others found any Christian references undesirable.

• One respondent stated "Stop disparaging Catholics/Christians. It is very pervasive and laughing comments are very often made at coffee hour and RE. The reality is that there is a culture of religious intolerance, though we profess tolerance. It's been very painful for my family."
• Another stated "Most of us are not traditional blood and cross Christians and we resent the continued barrage."

7. A desire to see our church more connected to the community was expressed by some (9 responses), including a desire to see better representation of society at large within our ranks.

8. "Adopt a stricter policy on separation of church and state, particularly in the selection of guest speakers", was the sentiment of two suggestions.

9. Additional programming was desired by two respondents (this is in addition to requests for programming changes made throughout the survey).

10. A request was offered to have children refrain from having the adult refreshments during coffee hour.

11. Improve upon the use of the sound system through training of speakers and use of the sound system for all announcements.

12. An earlier time for the beginning of the Sunday worship service was suggested by two respondents.

13. As one respondent put it "not obsessing over how to be improve would be nice." This thinking was shared by three others who felt we are doing just fine as we are.