Congregational Survey: Your Participation is Essential
By Dr. Harvey Schipper, President.
It has been nearly seven years since you, the members of Holy Blossom Temple, were last asked to provide your views about our programs and services, about worship, about leadership, and about your relationship with the Temple community. With the passage of time, and with the developments and transitions of recent years, your Board of Directors believes it is the right moment to once again solicit your input.
Accordingly, we have begun the process of conducting a congregational survey, which will provide a clear sense of the direction the congregation would have us take as we address the Temple’s significant issues, challenges and opportunities. We hope all Temple members will participate in this important endeavour. We also want to hear from former members, as well as from individuals who currently engage in Temple activities but are not yet members, so we will be reaching out to them as well and hope they, too, will share their thoughts with us.
To assist us in managing this process, we have retained Measuring Success, a consulting firm which has worked with a broad range of synagogues in Canada and the US, and with significant experience and expertise conducting congregational surveys. Measuring Success has developed a questionnaire that addresses themes common to most synagogues, but which has been customized so that topics of particular interest to HBT may be canvassed as well.
The survey, which will be circulated via e-mail, will be relatively brief and informative. It will be user-friendly, using an online question and response format, and should take no more than 25 minutes to complete. Your responses will be completely anonymous. So that no one is excluded, we will make alternate arrangements for anyone who does not use e-mail and/or for whom online completion is not an option. Our goal is the broadest possible participation in the survey, so the results are representative of the entire congregation.
Shortly after Passover, you will receive an email from Measuring Success, which will include your personalized link to the survey as well as instructions. The survey will be “open” for three weeks. Measuring Success will then compile your responses, and during the summer will meet with HBT leadership to review the results and develop an action plan. All of this will be communicated to the congregation later this year, when the process is complete.
It is critical that Temple leadership, both lay and religious, remains carefully attuned to the needs of the congregation as a whole. As we work to develop strategic objectives around education, worship, social programs, and the relationship between leadership and member, we need your engagement and input. Now, with the larger transitional issues that require our attention, your views and guidance are more important than ever.
Please watch your inbox for your personalized link, and thank you in advance for your participation!
This blog seems to be particularly appropriate when considering the direction Holy Blossom congregation should take in the future.
http://livinglomed.blogspot.com/2013/03/surprisingly-easy-to-quit-my-synagogue.html?m=1