This may already feel like ancient history, but back during Lent, we asked as many of you as could spare some time to fill out the Disciple Maker Index. The DMI is a national survey of Catholics and Catholic parishes which tries to tease out attitudes, beliefs, areas of satisfaction and areas of concern. In Lent of 2023 the Archdiocese of Chicago asked all parishes to participate in this survey. This Lent the Archdiocese made the same request. You were given the option of filling it out online or using a paper form. The purpose each time was not to amass information, but to see how parishes were responding to the call to Renew My Church:  to become more welcoming to both outsiders and regulars; to become more outward looking in charity, justice, and concern for the unchurched and the formerly churched; to improve the quality of the liturgy and preaching; and to rethink our approach to religious education and religious formation. In the report that we received, the responses from Assumption were compared with other parishes our size, with the other parishes in the Archdiocese, with the three parishes that “led the league” in positive responses nationally, and with the results from 2023. Over the next few months in these columns, I will be sharing some of the findings.

First, some basics. Who took the time to respond to the survey and how does that compare with other parishes?  In 2023, 89 people completed the survey. This year 105 did. The Catholic Leadership Institute which oversees the operation notes that anything above 10% is statistically significant. Since our weekend attendance fluctuates between 650 and 725 people, we are well above the 10% mark (and also above the participation level in the Archdiocese as a whole). Among those responding this year, only 20% were under 35 and in 2023 only 14% were under 35. How long had the respondents been members of Assumption? 64% had been part of the Assumption family for ten years or more. In 2023, it was 60%. None of this is particularly surprising. The people who have the longest tenure tend to be the people most invested, but these percentages do not fairly represent the demographics of the people who actually come to Mass, especially our late morning Masses and our evening Mass on Sunday. Our young adults tend to be with us for a shorter period of time, but they are very present in our faith community. It is important that we keep that demographic in mind when we consider some of the content statements. For example, one survey question was: “My parish helps me connect with the Catholic community by making me feel welcomed and accepted.”  In 2023, 65% of us marked “strongly agree” and 27% marked “agree.” In 2026, 64% strongly agreed and 29% agreed (virtually the same) and well above the national average. This sounds great and completely in line with the aims of Renew My Church; but we have to remember that the people who responded to this question are most likely “welcomers” and not “welcomees.” We may feel we have a strong community spirit and a welcoming attitude; a newcomer might find Assumption clannish or cliquish. It is an area that we have to keep working at and being deliberate about—getting more “greeters”, yes, but also just being conscious of people who look to be new to the church or new to Catholic worship (They can usually be identified by the way they stare at the ceiling). Being welcoming is everyone’s job.

Another really basic question covered by the survey is, “To what degree do you think your parish needs to change in order to best fulfill its mission in the next five years?” In 2023 20% chose “In a really good place right now and need to do more of what is working.”  50% chose “On the right track and need 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.” In 2026, 59% said “In a really good place right now and need to do more of what is working.” 28% said, “On the right trace and need some minor tweaks.” 13% said, “Getting a little complacent. Time to look toward the future.” And no one responded “Need to shake things up significantly now.”   Is this a sign of progress, or are we just getting more complacent?

There is a lot of good news in these findings, but also areas where we need to grow.  I want to say thank you again to all those who participated. While it was advertised as taking about fifteen or twenty minutes, many of you said it took much longer to respond thoughtfully. This information will be of help to our Pastoral Council as we begin a new year.

                                                                 Fr. Joe