1. Our Lady of Good Counsel Preliminary Parish Survey Results November 2013

2. Geographic boundaries of OLGC

3. OLGC and neighboring parishes

4. Sunday Liturgy • The message of the homily needs to be clear, direct and to the point. • Turn the readings into something the parishioners can relate to and actively engaging them. • At the 9:30 Family Mass bring the children up on the altar. • Mass needs to start on time.

5. RCIA • Several parishioners want to know what RCIA is and how it works.

6. Sacrament of Penance • Several parishioners suggest more opportunities to receive the sacrament, that is, an increased schedule. For example, right before the 5 PM Mass.

7. First Eucharist and Penance • Have the school more involved for the OLGC students receiving. • Improved child and parental decorum during rehearsals, the retreat, and the Mass.

8. Funerals • Establishment of a bereavement ministry. • Homilies are always appropriate.

9. Weddings • Expanded pre-Cana scheduling opportunities. • Improved rehearsal directions for the different parts of the ceremony. • Revise the couples brochure and make it look professional.

10. Confirmation • OLGC school students should be receiving the bulk of their Confirmation preparation during school hours. • Favorable comments abound for Confirmation returning to the 8th grade.

11. Sacrament of the Sick • Healing Masses / Services expansion. • Nursing homes are underserved.

12. Infant Baptism • Needs to start on time. • More flexible schedule for pre-Baptism meetings.

13. Devotions • Daily morning prayer is good. • More exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is requested. • Encourage more children / family involvement. • More devotions that integrate the entire church.

14. Sacramental Ministry Training • Ongoing training and interaction would be positively received by extraordinary ministers.

15. Music • Improved parishioner involvement during the Mass. • More current, livelier hymns. • Choir is excellent.

16. Other • Ushers are excellent. • Renew program is excellent. • Establishment of a dialogue between English and Spanish speaking parishioners. • Expanded communication modalities (e-mail, Facebook, website, etc.) to deepen the connection between the parish and the community.

17. Sacramental Life Subsection (Q1-Q13)

18. Evangelization Vision • Parishioners want to know what the term evangelization means. • What the church’s vision of evangelization is. • Spanish speaking parishioners feel left on their own.

19. Warm & Welcoming Parish • Parishioners are proud to be an Augustinian Parish and the core values associated with being one. • Parishioners enjoy the hospitality service (beverages and breakfast treats) following the 9:30 AM Family Liturgy and expressed a desire for expansion to other Sunday Masses.

20. Catechetical Program for All Ages • Need more programs like Father Robert Barron’s Catholicism series held at OLGC during 2012. • Find programs that sustain parishioner interest.

21. Youth and Adult Needs Addressed • Address “special needs children” more actively in the CCD program and in parish life. • Continue and expand the youth ministry formulated recently by Father Terranova. For example, have a Movie Night.

22. Strong Parental Programs • Establish a couple retreat. • Parental involvement is mainly through the school (OLGC Home/School Association, OLGC Sports Association ). • More Bible study groups need to be established or more information about existing ones need to be conveyed to parishioners.

23. Parish Supports Catholic Schools • Seems to be a perceived disconnect between the school and parish. • Loose track of children once they reach high school. Interest in success stories of alumni.

24. Integrated Vocation Awareness • Both Augustinian and ArchNY vocations are showcased.

25. Evangelization, Catechesis, Catholic Education Subsection (Q14-Q20)

26. Parishioners Educated & Formed in Stewardship • Parishioners sometimes need to be asked personally join because they do not know they are needed in a certain area. A bulletin notice is too easy to ignore or put off.

27. Active Parish Stewardship Committee • Several parishioners were unclear about the definition of stewardship. • Social Action Committee, Parish Council, and Financial Council were identified as active stewardship committees.

28. Parish Social Issue Involvement • Parishioners would like to see social justice dialogues take place. • Parishioners not well educated on justice issues. • Need for guest speakers on social justice issues.

29. Parish Serves Needy People • Food Pantry received great compliments from parishioners. • Need to recruit more Food Pantry volunteers. • The Social Action Committee is dedicated and consistently serves those in need.

30. Stewardship and Outreach(Q21-Q24)

31. Overall Parish Satisfaction (Q1-Q24)