Summary
Members of the UUCV Ministerial Search Committee prepared our version of the Congregational Survey offered by the UUA, and used SurveyMonkey to reach out to the members and friends of the congregation, both on-line and with paper copies. We launched the survey at the beginning of September, and made it available until October 4, 2015. Responses to the survey were received online and through physical surveys, (which were entered into SurveyMonkey by hand.) All surveys were completed anonymously, and had no personal identifiers attached. Click here to see a PDF copy of the survey.
From our membership of 226 and 33 pledging friends of the congregation, 173 surveys were completed and submitted, for an excellent response rate. Some of those persons chose not to answer some of the questions, and numbers and graphs were generated for each question, based on the actual number of responses. Eighty-five percent of respondents are members, with quite a range in years associated with the church: 24% indicated membership for 6-10 years, and 16% have been members for more than 21 years.
Of the persons answering, most are white, 50-80 years old, heterosexual, and married or divorced. Two-thirds of the respondents are female; one-half of respondents indicate that their spouse or partner attends the church. The congregation is well-educated, with several persons holding advanced degrees. Fifty-nine percent of respondents are retired, and the gross income of all responders clusters between $25,000 and $100,000 per year. Annual pledges are in the range of $50-300 per year, with only a small number of members giving more that 8% of their income to the church.
Respondents indicate that they began attending UUCV for the following reasons: celebrating common values, community and fellowship, intellectual stimulation, the minister and UU beliefs, and they continue to attend for similar reasons. When we look at members or friends with children, the Religious Education program is also important. Young adults (ages 19-29) value social action, as well. Opportunity for religious growth is also important to many.
There is diversity in answers to growing-up faith, nature of god (or not), valued faith traditions, concepts of immortality, and personal religious practices. Most respondents indicated growing up in Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish homes, but current ideas of god, immortality, and importance of traditional religious figures, such as Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammad, have departed from earlier beliefs. Respondents value prayer, yoga, meditation, journaling, and small group discussions as religious practice.
The majority of persons want a minister with good character, who is empathetic, approachable and professionally competent. More than 90% agree with the UUA non-discrimination policy, and would be comfortable with a variety of ministers; some people express discomfort with bisexual or transgender ministers, those over the age of 60 (because of longevity questions) and those who are politically conservative.
Well-prepared, intellectually stimulating, and heart-touching sermons are highly valued, with topics that range from coping with life, family issues and parenting, and aging, to UU history and legacy, humanistic values, and exploration of other faith traditions. Sermons that foster spiritual and personal growth by touching on relevant philosophical and psychological thinking are welcomed. Perspective on social issues is considered important, coming from this open pulpit, as long as care is taken exclude no one.
People have indicated a desire for lively singing of less traditional hymns, more instrumental music, and more participation of children and youth in the services. They want worship to attract new, younger families and young adults, and so, maybe offer unconventional worship on occasion.
Respondents also would like a minister who will build community, facilitate right relations, encourage leadership development among members, and provide personal counseling. They would like a minister to be a strong presence in the wider community, working with members on social issues, including our ongoing involvement with the homeless in our neighborhoods. The minister would be expected to work collegially and collaboratively with our Church’s small staff, Board of Trustees, and Committee Chairs, in order to guide us into an exciting and meaningful future.
Graphs, Charts and Analysis
Here, you will find excerpted graphs from the objective question results – a way to give you a flavor of the survey results visually (without bogging you down in all the numbers.) Questions deal with the following topics:
- Connection to UUCV – Questions 1-11
- Worship – Questions 12-17
- Ministerial Characteristics – Questions 18 – 27
- Demographics – Questions 38- 59
- Beliefs – Questions 60-64
While the detailed results of the surveymonkey online analysis of all respondents were fascinating, we did an additional breakdown of the results by different age groups: those under 40, 40-59, and those 60 and over. Looking at each of these, and comparing them with the overall results provided additional insights for us.
Open Ended Questions
Using Excel, we created charts and graphs showing how responses compared – both across the board, and broken down into three age groups. The age break down was particularly important because of the differing levels of participation by age. The over 60 group heavily outnumbered the rest of the respondents, so it was important to break the results down to make sure we were aware of the areas of importance for each group.
These are the charts and graphs created to display the resulting information in a visual way:
Open Ended Questions Charts and Graphs
To ensure that survey respondents answers to the open-ended questions remain confidential, those comments are not being shared openly, but were read closely by the search committee, and made available to our candidates through a password protected website.