The CAT Scan is here!

Thank you to the over 200 members who participated in the Congregational Assessment Tool this past spring.  The Congregational Assessment Tool, or CAT, is a congregation-wide survey to take the temperature of the congregation, highlight where we hope to go and where our opportunities lie.

The results are attached in this blog.  Scott Crispell, a former bishop’s warden of the cathedral and a diocesan CAT interpreter, presented the results to the congregation at the forum last week.  You can find the video of that presentation here:

Several reports are available to you now:

1) An executive summary of the findings (one page) which gives a high-level overview of the results.
2) The full results of the core survey (many pages).
3) Supplemental Questions – a few pages containing answers to questions that we worded specifically for our congregation.

The results of the survey were very strong: we have an energized and vital congregation with strengths related to inclusion and advocacy.

Please review these findings and bring your questions, comments, hopes and concerns to the forum this Sunday as the Dean leads us in a town hall conversation to discuss the results.  We will journey into conversation together to discuss things like: why did we answer the way we answered?  What is behind the data?  Where is the opportunity for us to do something with what the data tells us?

Join us Sunday at 9:00 in the Great Hall.  This forum will also be recorded and available on the web site.

CAT analysis: please do one more survey

Last fall, we had a terrific response to our parish survey. (The data, which were presented at the Annual Meeting, will also soon be posted on the website and the blog.) Now, our Interim Dean, the Very Rev. Rebecca McClain, asks us to complete one more survey! This is a standardized questionnaire, called the Church Assessment Tool (CAT) , which is

a simple instrument that provides profound insight into our common life. The CAT generates what might be called "witness data" - the perspectives, experiences and aspirations of the members of the Body of Christ, allowing us to see the underlying patterns that manifest the health of the whole community. Like a CT scan, the CAT provides a whole body image of our community.

We know you're asking, How does the CAT differ from our Parish Survey?
Our survey asked your opinion on very specific questions, and provided room for your comments (all of which were read very carefully!). Significantly, it was characterized by specifics: both in the types of questions, and in seeking your precise, individual opinion.

The CAT analysis is complementary. Although it's a multiple choice survey, it actually provides a more nuanced response with open-ended questions about who we are and how we view ourselves, spiritually and otherwise.  There is a little bit of overlap in the demographic questions, but overall the questions in the CAT will ask you to prioritize in ways that the survey did not.

This tool will reveal underlying patterns that are not apparent in the more concrete responses of the parish survey.  The additional data will be tremendously helpful to your search committee moving forward. Importantly, this tool also compares our responses to other Episcopal churches.

And most significantly, this is designed to  allow us a sense of where we are as a community --not just where we THINK we are.

Will you help us out one more time?  Members 16 and over are asked to take the survey;  paper copies will also be provided for those who prefer non-digital.  It will take about 10-15 minutes.

TAKE THE CAT SURVEY HERE!

Our thanks!

--Susan Forsburg, for the Profile Committee

Help us call a new Dean: take the Cathedral Survey

Hi Everyone,

If you are part of the St Paul's Community aged 16 or over,  please  be sure to take the Cathedral Survey before 31 October. This is an essential part of the process of calling a new Dean that allows us to define who we are as a people, and what we see as the critical issues facing the Cathedral.  This helps to identify the kind of person whom we need to call.

It's also an integral part of the Stewardship Campaign, "Cornerstones".   We will talk about the survey results at stewardship receptions as we consider our values and our aspirations as a community.  More about the receptions and survey here.  A list of "Frequently Asked Questions" about the process of calling a new Dean can be found here.

 You can also reach the form by clicking the "Survey" tab at the top of this page.

 Thanks!

Should the Hymnal be revised?

Do you enjoy singing? Does music enhance your experience of worship? Whether you sit in the pews, in the chancel, or in the choir, your opinion is being sought! A survey is being conducted to see whether a revision of The Hymnal 1982 is needed and wanted by the Episcopal Church.

From the survey page: "Congregations, music directors, and clergy are invited to participate in the Hymnal Revision Feasibility Study, a landmark research study being conducted via online surveys and focus groups from October 2010 to March 2011. "

Although it's a long survey, reports are that it's actually rather enjoyable! Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

• Have your favorite hymnal(s) at hand.
• Before you start the survey, think of what are your three favorite hymns.
• Consider this question: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what eight songs (religious or secular) would you want to have with you?

Click here to take the survey.