As follow up to the Gallup Parish Engagement Survey (Spring 2008), Father Frank asked the CTK Pastoral Council to initiate and execute a series of ten focus group sessions to obtain additional insights from you, our Christ the King (CTK) parishioners. The Focus Groups were intended to be subjective and open ended to elicit deeper insights about what and how CTK could improve as a parish and increase the engagement and spirituality of you, our parishioners.

The sessions were held during March and April 2009, ranged in size from 15-55 participants and were facilitated by members of the Pastoral Council along with other volunteers. The sessions were conducted in both English and Spanish (7 English, 3 Spanish). The results were 232 responses from th e English language sessions, and 80 from the Spanish language sessions.

A special thanks to the members of the Pastoral Council and other volunteers for facilitation of the focus group sessions.

The results of the focus groups feedback indicate that you feel very strongly that your individual spiritual needs are being met through the quality of sacraments provided. Worship is of key importance. You feel the adult education opportunities also enrich individual spiritual lives. You indicated high levels of satisfaction with the number of Masses and other sacraments, as well as the many opportunities to serve both the church community and the broader outreach opportunities as strengths of our parish.

When asked how the parish can enhance your spiritual lives, the new weekday evening Masses and additional reconciliation times were noted as desired improvements.

Several types of “Mass distractions” interfere with individual worship, including worshippers arriving late and leaving early, talking during Mass, and children crying and moving about without parental guidance. You also noted that succinct homilies based on Catholic doctrine which can be heard and understood will drive the fulfillment of your individual spiritual needs.

Finally, in response to “what would make you feel better about being a parishioner”, you identified additional fellowship opportunities, better communication and recruitment for church ministries, a closer relationship with the priests, and a stronger sense of welcoming as important factors. In answer to welcoming, the parish has assembled a welcoming committee, and it has begun to evaluate practices to help CTK be a warmer, more inviting place of worship.

Next Steps

After a review of the findings by Fr. Frank and the Pastoral Council, recommendations for both a Communications Plan and an Action Plan will be developed.