For the last three weeks I have been encouraging everyone to participate in the Disciple Maker Index, a national survey of Catholics and Catholic parishes which the Archdiocese of Chicago is partaking of this Lent. The survey can be found on our website, and there are paper copies in the back of the church. The responses received from Assumption will be compared with the results of other parishes in the Archdiocese and with churches of comparable size throughout the country. As some of you will remember, we did this three years ago.It will be interesting to compare the results of this survey with the findings last time. 

In 2023 about 17% of parishioners completed the survey. That is not a great number, but it was typical of the Archdiocese and more than the 10% required to be statistically significant.  To begin with a very general question, “To what degree do you think your parish needs to change in order to best fulfill its mission in the next five years?” 20% chose,” In a really good place right now and needs to do more of what is working”; 50% chose “On the right track and needs some minor tweaks”; 20% said, “Getting a little complacent; time to look toward the future: and 10% said, “Need to shake things up significantly now.” This seemed like a healthy distribut8ion of responses.

There are a number of questions on the survey about individual and shared prayer and about other spiritual growth opportunities. While 72% of respondents said they prayed daily or almost daily, the number of people who had prayed with another person in the past year was much lower than the Archdiocesan average. We were lower than average in the number of people who participated in a retreat or other spiritual l experience this past year. The lack of shared prayer experience can be partly explained by the fact that 24% or the respondents last time lived alone, but the percentage of respondents who had attended a retreat, a Bible Study, or other spiritual program was also below the Archdiocesan average. . This was discussed by both the Pastoral Council and the Leadership Group. There was talk about having another parish retreat (We had two of them prior to this survey, there was no follow-through. We did, however, increase the number of opportunities for Scripture study, and our Leadership Group produced a series of short videos on prayer (still available on our website under), We were also slightly below average in our comfort level ab out sharing our faith with others.

A persistent concern of Renew My Church is that parishes be places that are welcoming. In the 2023 survey, 92% of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that Assumption “makes me feel welcomed and accepted.”  While at first this may seem like a huge win,, it is important to remember that the people who filled out the survey were almost all regulars at Assumption. This may not be the experience of people who are visitors to Chicago or who are looking around for a Catholic Church after having recently moved to Chicago.

What I shared above is just a small sample of the kinds of questions found on the survey, and I hope this perked your interest. There are questions about leadership, liturgy, preaching, music, ministerial opportunities, social opportunities. and care for the poor. The more members who complete the survey, the more helpful the results will be. This is the kind of thing that is easy to put off until a better time, and the better time never comes. The pace of surveys seems to have let up recently, but it seemed for a while that for every transaction you made and every place you visited, you were emailed a survey. This led to an epidemic of survey burnout. But even if you are still suffering from survey burnout, I ask you to make an exception for this one.  Anyone still casting about for a Lenten sacrifice, this would be a great place to start! More important, though, taking the time to complete this survey is an expression of our investment in the church community and our own faith life. Some of these questions may lead us to reflect for the first time on matters we simply take for granted. I promise you that the results will be taken seriously. The deadline is March 29.

                                   Fr. Joe