Parish Engagement Survey Results
Question 1: If my parish could do one thing to help me grow more deeply in my faith, that one thing would be:
(scroll to see all the answers)
| Explain things from the Bible, go deeper into the Creed, tell me more about the Holy Spirit, the Saints. Help me know the works and words of God better. |
| Programs for special needs children |
| Have more father oriented activites/play groups |
| More personal homilies. Let the preiest speak about his experiences too. Not just what the meaning of all thw readinfs |
| Recommend certain books/readings that I can look into to grow my faith |
| Insightful homilies |
| Learn more about my faith |
| Be more relatable |
| Teach me to engage more fully in personal and mental prayer. |
| Even more reverence: sacred music (with professional singers, gregorian chant, polyphony), kneelers, beautiful vestments, incense - nothing but the best for our Lord |
| Not sure |
| Host more “classes/discussions” to teach more about our faith and what we believe. Possibly review certain parts of the mass. |
| Meaningful discussion and less rigidity |
| I love what the parish is doing!! We had one family adoration randomly last year and it was so amazing! It would be great to have a more regular thing! |
| Offer more opportunities for the Extraordinary Form of the Mass (Traditional Latin Mass) |
| More tradition within the mass. |
| Help to foster small groups (ie 3-4 people) where we can grow tighter bonds and connect with each other in a deeper more intimate level in faith. |
| Have a more reverent mass, with traditional music. More confession availability. |
| More adoration |
| More adoration time options |
| Daytime adoration Praise and worship |
| Offering more opportunities for adult faith formation (small groups, prayer groups, book studies, etc) |
| Faith studies; Bible studies, |
| Keep making the Mass more beautiful. I have enjoyed the choir and the latin. |
| Bible studies or book groups that moms can attend (babysitting option maybe?) |
| Be more down to earth, realistic expectations for parishioners |
| Be more environmentally conscious (recycle, use less single use plastic, compost, etc) |
| More volunteering opportunities to help others outside of our parish |
| Bring back the peace be with you greetings or have another moment in mass where we are encouraged to meet others |
| Retreat |
| Bible study/discussions and implications in today’s world |
| Monthly or bi monthly womens focused events. Guest speaker’s, retreats, an evening dedicated to praying the rosary, etc |
| We are new to the parish so we still have to get a feel and so far we are happy. |
| Keep dong what they been doing. |
| My parish is giving my family and I all we need: Mass, often confession, often adoration, and many others. |
| Involve the lady in all aspects of parish life and the mass. |
| The most important aspect to me is reverence within the mass. If my parish held a traditional latin mass on sundays I would be extremely grateful. |
| Our Parish already has many programs in place to help us with our faith. |
| Holy Spirit offers an abundance of opportunities for spiritual growth. The issue is not more opportunities, it’s getting to be able to partake in as many events as possible |
| I feel like Father Suarez does a nice job and he is always available for new ideas. I cannot think of anything. |
| I can't think of anything additional. I think my parish does a great job. |
| That the homily explain gospel read. |
| Celebrate mass in a celebratory way. Currently we have at Holy Spirit a cantor and all hymns are dirges. Plus the priest never says share peace with your neighbor |
| Masses in the weekday evenings or speakers weekday evenings |
| Many things are being done. I cannot think of one. |
| Small groups of 6 to 10 sharing their faith journey. Ups and downs |
| More to help the community |
| Mens and women’s bible study |
| Engagement in activities at the church & have more activity oriented ones to engage different age group s and have a welcoming committee to encourage new participants |
| Praying together for each other . |
| More community events where we help the less fortunate. |
| Create opportunities of prayer as community through worship music, teaching courses on contemplative prayer (available evenings or weekends to include those of us that work). |
| My parish does a great job |
| More bible study opportunities and gatherings to discuss the faith and questions |
| Have reconciliation available before every mass (or at least on Sunday). Perhaps requesting a retired priest to assist? |
| Opportunity for prayer on week-days (probably through the Hallow app with other people from the parish). |
| Keep Bible studies available in the evenings that are structured. |
| Religious Education through fellowship with other parishioners. |
| I think there are enough areas that our church is already doing. If anything, I would like to see more teachings of the bible and what it has to offer. |
| I think our parish offers many opportunities to anyone who wishes to be engaged. We could offer more support to the elderly and home bound. |
| More time for adoration at night. We are a busy family. |
| I feel very rooted in my faith but I think bringing more speakers in to share their experiences in certain areas. would be great. |
| To do down to earth sermons |
| Create a dedicated space or group for women in the “in-between” season of life — moms with older kids or teens — to grow in faith through scripture, journaling, and honest conversation. A group like this, rooted in encouragement and real-life connection, would help deepen my walk with Christ and provide meaningful spiritual support for this unique stage of motherhood. |
| Frequent adorations and confession |
| A beautiful mass with traditional music, and a solemn liturgy. More of what we’re seeing happen at the 9:30 Sunday Mass! |
| I can't think of any one thing. I would say continue to offer the same services and ministries as it currently does. |
| Bible study |
| Continue to offer Bible Study programs |
| More opportunities for adoration with worship |
| Add a Latin Mass option |
| Support in strengthening my marriage. |
| choir theological talks |
| Train more Eucharistic ministers and readers. |
| Offer the most reverent and beautiful Mass humanly possible. |
| Men’s retreats (not necessarily an overnight) |
| Nothing. I feel fully supported |
| Offer couples retreats. |
| Spiritual Retreats |
| Religious education for adults via speakers. Comparative religions seminar |
| I believe my parish is outstanding in many catagories and Father Suarez makes himself available with the Faith Formation program and the Men's group which I participate in. He has to handle everything, additional help either from a like minded Deacon or Sisters from a nearby convent would be a fantastic addition. |
| Return to Tradition |
| Apply the gospel in a practical way to meet today’s challenges. |
| Father Suarez does a great job. No ideas top of mind. |
| Consider 4:00 mass Saturday afternoons. |
| Offer some daily masses in the evening. I wish to attend Mass as often as possible, and, while understanding the demands on our pastor, am simply not able to attend daily Masses with my work schedule. |
| I need help praying. More resources on vocal prayer, novenas, devotions to saints; but also mental prayer and how to do it. |
| provide personal spiritual assessment and guidance |
| Offer opportunities to do mission work, whether local or abroad. Offer service opportunities to the local community. We are very generous materially as a parish, but I would like to have opportunities to work shoulder to shoulder with parishioners which offers opportunities for good conversation and accompaniment. |
Question 2: If my parish could do one thing to help me feel a greater sense of belonging within my parish community, that would be
(scroll to see all the answers)
| Bible groups |
| Programs for special needs children |
| I feel like I belong already |
| I believe my parish already does that. Due to my traveling this parish is one i go to seldomly now. But when i come back, it is with open arms. |
| My church already does an excellent job of this. I love game nights! |
| events, providing an atmosphere that brings the parish together strengthens our community |
| More welcoming social events |
| Schedule events with consideration to working parents |
| Truthfully, I believe my pastor, Fr. Suarez, has done a fantastic job. |
| Classes on Latin, theology, sacred music, and more! Basically CCD but for adults! |
| Gluten free donuts |
| Not much more. My parish hosts many events throughout the week for engagement. |
| To show they care about issues close to my heart. I’ve heard several times mentions of respect for life (often of the unborn), but little about the environment or the plight of migrants. My parish lives in a 1950s bubble. As a liberal I have felt isolated from it after the last presidential election and from Catholicism in general. |
| We feel very involved in the community!! |
| More processions, public traditional celebrations of big feast days, including culturally popular ones like St. Christopher and so on. The Procession of the Cristo Muerto at St. Mary’s in Norwalk is one example. Eucharistic processions too. |
| Creating a parish that attracts families who are striving to live according to Catholic values. I truly believe that Holy Spirit Parish has the potential to become a booming community of growing families if they offer something special. Namely, if there is more tradition and reverence within the mass (which there already is a great deal of!). |
| Help to foster small groups as stated in the first question. |
| More community social gatherings |
| My pastor does a lot. I feel welcome. |
| More community events |
| I feel a great sense of belonging and am very grateful for the community at Holy Spirit! |
| Personal invitations to events |
| I actually think that our Pastor makes a huge effort in bringing families together on a monthly basis outside of Sunday Mass and donuts, which too is a great way to meet new parishioners. |
| n/a |
| Have all of these women’s club meetings and such at attainable times for most of the real world |
| Notice me |
| Gathering to meet more working middle age women |
| Parish is doing a lot already |
| Continue to have coffee and donuts and parish events! Or maybe even a quarterly “new parishioner shoutout” in the bulletin, or even a specific event dedicated to welcome new parishioners |
| I truly would like to address the Clergy by First name as I feel this is telling me he is on the same plane with the people. |
| The community events |
| We feel 100% a part of our parish |
| Relax the conditions and restrictions for younger family members to participate as confirmation and baptismal sponsors, and in marriages involving people of different faiths |
| My parish has a wonderful community and has been doing a stellar job growing/maintaining the current community. |
| Fr Suarez has been very welcoming especially to families with young children. |
| Please eliminate the Latin from the masses. I have two young children, but I shouldn’t be forced to teach both my faith and a new language to my children. I have specifically asked Father Suarez and he has directed me to other masses (other than the 9:30 am which is the children’s mass). |
| I think my parish does an amazing job hosting events and offers an array of events for families. We are a young family with children and we welcome all the opportunities to get together with our parish and we participate as much as we can. |
| Stress the importance of weekly confession. |
| Get rid of the Latin. Holy Thursday was all in Latin. Holy Spirit clearly doesn't want the parishners to know what is going on or to participate. Response are in Latin and Greek. |
| I THINK THE PARISH ALREADY DOES PLENTY TO MAKE ME FEEL A SENSE OF COMMUNTY |
| Again it is being done. |
| Already doing a great job |
| It’s doing a great job. There are plenty of opportunities |
| Parish directory |
| Have some short visits to see historical churches and picnics there |
| Get to know each other intentionally; engage in conversation and show interest . |
| More church events for me to connect with other parishioners. |
| Cannot think of anything, I feel embraced by my community |
| We have a good parish family |
| Continue having all the events Holy Spirit already has - weekly coffee and donuts, monthly opus day events, all parish events. |
| The parish is run wonderfully. There are so many opportunities available for people in different phases of life/spiritual development. |
| Keep having social events not just for family but seniors as well. |
| Increase the ability for a parishioner to feel included through opportunities for active participation. |
| Again there enough opportunities currently. I need to take better advantage of those opportunities. |
| We have a strong sense of belonging. |
| Nothing! Great parish community at Holy Spirit |
| I'm pretty involved in my parish so I feel like they are a part of my extended family. |
| A senior gtoup |
| Foster more authentic community by offering smaller, intentionally inclusive gatherings where people can get to know each other beyond Sunday Mass — such as casual faith-based book clubs, service projects, or social events that bridge age and life-stage gaps. Feeling seen and known beyond the pews would help cultivate a deeper sense of belonging. |
| Keep the donuts! |
| A beautiful mass with traditional music, and a solemn liturgy. More of what we’re seeing happen at the 9:30 Sunday Mass! |
| I can't think of anything, my parish already gives a great sense of belonging. |
| Continue to host parish wide events. |
| Some sort of parish initiative to catechize and evangelize the parish together as a whole-eg Alpha, Christ life |
| Nothing |
| Make me a stronger leader for my family |
| more young adult events |
| More uplifting music instead during mass. |
| Offer the most reverent, traditional and beautiful Mass humanly possible. |
| The music and songs for Sunday Mass would be the ones that are familiar. |
| Additional concerts and lectures |
| My parish is very welcoming! |
| Offer programs to support those struggling with infertility. |
| Before Mass starts allow for people to introduce themselves to those closest to them & then quiet down so Mass can start. |
| I feel like I belong |
| The Church of the Holy Spirit feels like family to me and I know I belong there. It is the home parish for the Sisters of Life at the Retreat Center and when they participate at our church they enhance the experience. More religious persons would be a plus. |
| Put the social kingship of Jesus Christ first. |
| Not sure |
| Show a way to bridge the gap with the homebound. |
| Fr Luke does a great job of being available and responding to any help I may need. |
| Nights for young adults to pray, worship and socialize together. |
| Ice breaker activities at parish socials that force people to meet and mingle with people they don't already know |
| We are a very warm and inviting parish, but I think we could develop a better ministry to those who have newly joined the parish to welcome them and connect them. I think we could develop a more robust "greeter" ministry and help them to be more intentional in connecting with people, especially visitors who could potentially be new members. |
| This is a test |
Question 3: What is your parish? Clearly all of our respondents answered, "Holy Spirit"
The answers to questions 4 though 7 have also been displayed as bar charts. Those can be viewed here:
Question 4: During the past year, approximately how often have you done the following:
| Answer Choices | Never | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | Very Often |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Come to mass having read the scripture readings prior to mass. | 25 | 22 | 23 | 8 | 13 |
| Asked a fellow parishioner for help understanding a matter of faith or morals. | 32 | 20 | 31 | 8 | 3 |
| Attended a parish social event. | 3 | 9 | 22 | 38 | 22 |
| Discussed your faith journey with your pastor or another priest in your parish | 26 | 23 | 26 | 14 | 5 |
| Attended a church-sponsored social event at another parish than your own | 23 | 29 | 30 | 6 | 6 |
| Worked with other parishioners to complete a project for your parish. | 28 | 17 | 26 | 13 | 10 |
| Attended parish activities outside of mass to enhance your spirituality (e.g. prayer group, adoration, bible study etc.) | 10 | 11 | 25 | 27 | 21 |
| Participated with clergy or parish staff on activities other than liturgy (e.g. organizing social events, parish committees, etc.) | 27 | 17 | 26 | 14 | 10 |
| Spent more than 30 minutes in personal prayer at home or in another location, other than a church. | 5 | 8 | 27 | 24 | 30 |
| Talked about your faith journey with a pastor or priest from another parish other than your own. | 40 | 11 | 23 | 14 | 6 |
Question 5. During the past year, approximately how often have you done the following:
| Answer Choices | Never | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | Very Often |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discussed matters of faith or morals with your pastor or another priest in your parish. | 28 | 15 | 24 | 18 | 5 |
| Explained matters of faith or morals to another parishioner. | 21 | 18 | 35 | 12 | 5 |
| Participated in parish-sponsored community service opportunities | 19 | 28 | 30 | 11 | 3 |
| Discussed ideas from scripture readings or homilies with others outside of your parish (family, friends, co-workers, etc.) | 10 | 17 | 30 | 20 | 14 |
| Participated in a service event sponsored by another parish or Catholic entity other than your own parish. | 30 | 28 | 21 | 7 | 5 |
| Used parish resources or programs (e.g. support groups, spiritual library, food pantry) | 51 | 23 | 10 | 4 | 3 |
| Reviewed parish publications or electronic media sources (e.g. e-mail newsletters, website news stories, social media, bulletins) | 5 | 11 | 17 | 32 | 26 |
| Been challenged to explore the strengths and weakness of your own views on an issue | 9 | 21 | 40 | 15 | 6 |
| Spent more than 30 minutes in personal prayer in a church outside of scheduled liturgies | 10 | 20 | 26 | 20 | 15 |
Question 6: Based on your experience at your current parish, please rate your level of agreement with the following statements.
| Answer Choices | Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neither Agree nor Disagree | Agree | Strongly Agree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I feel connected to my parish community | 3 | 3 | 12 | 32 | 43 |
| Priests at my parish are available to help parishioners. | 1 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 65 |
| I am supported by at least one member of the parish community | 2 | 5 | 6 | 30 | 50 |
| I have the support I need to grow in my faith journey | 1 | 6 | 10 | 38 | 37 |
| I feel I make an important contribution to my parish community | 2 | 10 | 25 | 33 | 23 |
| I am challenged by my priests’ expectations | 1 | 8 | 28 | 38 | 18 |
| I am aware of parish events and activities | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 66 |
| I have been involved in a parish group or organization that does important work | 4 | 10 | 11 | 38 | 30 |
| Faithful in my parish are friendly and supportive | 0 | 1 | 8 | 31 | 52 |
Question 7: Based on your experience at your current parish, please rate your level of agreement with the following statements.
| Answer Choices | Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neither Agree nor Disagree | Agree | Strongly Agree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I feel a sense of belonging at my parish | 3 | 3 | 6 | 36 | 43 |
| I have had the opportunity to engage in serious conversations with parishioners whose political opinions, religious beliefs, or personal values are very different from my own | 8 | 20 | 24 | 27 | 14 |
| Parish resources and programs (e.g. support groups, spiritual library, food pantry) are an important resource for parishioners | 1 | 3 | 19 | 45 | 24 |
| Parish administrators and staff are accessible to parishioners | 0 | 1 | 6 | 32 | 53 |
| I feel the parish community offers opportunities for me to express my concerns | 1 | 6 | 14 | 32 | 40 |
| I feel welcomed by the parish community and have a sense of ownership of my life here | 3 | 2 | 13 | 25 | 50 |
| Whether I have used them or not, I believe parish resources are accessible to me when needed | 0 | 0 | 9 | 35 | 49 |
| Parish activities outside of mass provide a meaningful connection to my faith journey. | 2 | 2 | 8 | 33 | 48 |
