One of the chief roles of the Parish Council is to ensure that St. Peter’s reflects the goals and meets the needs of parishioners to the greatest extent possible. To do that, though, we need to know what the members of the parish want, and how they feel about what St. Peter’s is doing.

To that end, the Council printed a six-question survey, which was distributed in the pews and the Parish Bulletin in December. It was also available online, through the parish’s web site.

This was not the parish’s first survey, but it was our most successful in recent years, with 41 responses, on paper and online. For the most part, people seem happy with what the parish is doing, and interested in getting involved. Let’s look at how each question was answered.

Question 1: “How long have you been attending Mass at St. Peter’s Parish?”

The largest segment by far were those who had been attending Mass here for ten or more years: 22 people, or more than half the respondents. Of the others, five had been with us for five to 10 years; four for two to five years; four for one to two years; and six who had only joined us within the last year.

Question 2: “How would you like to receive information about the parish?”

Our survey instructions asked people to check all answers that applied, and many ticked multiple boxes here. The Parish Bulletin is a big success, with 34 replies, while 24 indicated that they liked to get information through our website. Another 13 people wanted to get information via email; you can sign up through the website.

Social media was less popular, with only six people favouring the parish Instagram account, and four our FaceBook page. Eight prefer old-fashion socializing, and like to get information from other parishioners. Happily, no one indicated that they found it difficult to get information.

 Question 3: “Are you interested in attending any of these parish events?”

This question had the most evenly split replies, with 27 marking “Bazaars,” 26 for “Socials,” 23 for “Faith Formation,” and 22 for “Family Events.” In response, the Council plans to add another Bazaar to the calendar, tentatively slated for June 15.

Only 14 marked “Eucharistic Devotions,” but written comments asking for more frequent devotions or a change in the devotion schedule suggest that interest may be deeper than the survey results suggest. We plan to publicize Eucharistic Devotions more prominently.

Question 4: “Would you like to be more involved in the life of the parish?”

More than half the respondents answered “Yes” – 23 in all. Another 10 said “Maybe.” Only four didn’t want to be more involved.

Question 5: “Is St. Peter’s doing enough to be engaged with the community?”

The response here was a resounding (if qualified) yes, with 17 answering “Agree strongly,” and 16 “Somewhat agree.” Only two strongly disagreed, and one somewhat disagreed. Four respondents neither agreed nor disagreed.

There were 30 written responses to the request for suggestions, covering a range of topics.

Three themes stood out. First, there were several suggestions concerning upgrades to the church’s sound system and lighting. We are working to upgrade the audio system, and will look into lighting options for the auditorium. There were also comments relating to music. Because of copyright issues involved in reprinting music notation, distributing song sheets at Adoration may not be possible. Also, the hymns are selected to reflect each Sunday’s readings, so it is not always possible to have “more contemporary” lyrics.

There were several requests for more information, whether publicizing parish social events, asking for a guide to gestures during Mass, or establishing a New Parishioner’s Table. Look for these in the coming months!

Also, people would like more social events. So would we! And making those happen would provide plenty of opportunity for those who would like to get more involved in the parish (hint, hint). In particular, look for special events celebrating the centennial of the church building in the future.

Unfortunately, some suggestions would be difficult or fiscally impossible to meet. One called for incense at more Masses, but to do so requires four altar servers, which we don’t often have. The aim is for incense once a month and on Feast days; more volunteers for altar serving are also welcome. One simply read “Youth Ministry.” There are plans for one, but they have been on hold until the re-opening of St. Bruno’s school, which is currently slated for the fall.

At present, the Parish faces a 3.5 million-dollar deficit, so adding showers to the washrooms or an elevator to the auditorium simply can’t be done. One suggestion asked for smaller services in the chapel, but we no longer have a chapel. Another read, “Ring the bells!” Although it may look like the church has a bell tower, there aren’t actually bells.

St. Peter’s Parish Council