House Group Results

I want to thank everyone who participated in a house group in September.  About 130 people participated in the nine groups held in our parishioner’s homes.  The results of the discussions were informative and encouraging.

  I found it particularly interesting how people responded to the question:  why do you come to St. Paul’s?  The answers to that question fell into 4 main categories (thank you to Bill Krossner for compiling the results).

 The majority of responses (45%) spoke of the “open”, “warm”, “inclusive”, “inviting” and “welcoming” atmosphere at St. Paul’s.  It also included comments about our “openness of theology,” “progressivity” and “lay empowerment”.  Open communion and an openness to questions were also highlighted.  We are a “big tent” church, and people notice it.

 Liturgy was the next most popular reason that people came to St. Paul’s.  32% of the responses spoke of our liturgy, music, architecture and beauty.  People spoke of the “dignity” of our service and their “good feelings”.  These responses speak to our rich tradition of liturgy and music.

 In my opinion, these two sets of responses are the Episcopal Church at its best.  On the one hand, it is progressive, open and forward-looking.  On the other hand, it has an appreciation for the past.  It honors tradition and beauty.  These two elements, the progressive and the historic, are held in balance.  A “dynamic tension” exists.

The other two most common reasons that people come to St. Paul’s are family history (15%) and the personalities of the clergy (8%).  Overall, these responses point to a healthy parish community.  Another thing that comes through is that we are not currently fighting over an issue.  There seems to be no major controversy consuming our energies.  We are poised to move forward together with most people feeling good about what’s going on.

Read the entire article