Spirit Map Congregational Survey Update

An Update on the Spirit Map Survey

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Spirit Map survey last spring. We now have a report that summarizes the results and you can read it yourself to learn more. The survey offers us insights about what our members view as their spiritual strengths and possible areas of improvement as well as an evaluation of experiences here at UCE.

The Board wanted to gauge how members feel UCE is doing with attaining our Ends. These Ends statements are guiding principles that help us remember who we would like to be in the world and the impact that we’d like to have in our community. The majority of respondents felt that we are doing quite well working toward our Ends. The End that received the highest rating was: We act for peace and for social, economic, and environmental justice through study, advocacy and outreach. The End that in most people’s minds could use a little more attention is this:  We are a people of diverse beliefs united in covenant. We develop relationships that open us to the lives of people in our congregation, community and world.  Please feel free to read more about members’ assessments of the Ends in the report, starting on p. 54.

Another aspect of the report summarizes how respondents reacted to several statements about their spiritual well-being. Of 44 possible statements that were rated, our congregants valued these statements very highly and felt that they were doing well at them:

• I act with integrity.
• I seek opportunities to learn and grow.
• I believe it matters what I do.
• I take responsibility for the consequences of my actions, even those that are unintended.
• I act in an authentic manner.

These are called “signature strengths” by the consulting group that created the survey and they help to describe our congregation’s spiritual identity or who we are at our core.

These strengths are contrasted with the following Key Opportunities. Key Opportunities are statements that we also value very highly, but ones where we indicate there’s room for improvement:

• I make good decisions about when to act.
• I have a clear purpose to my life and am able to articulate that purpose to both myself and others.
• I see beauty all around me.
• I am able to adapt when things do no turn out the way I want.
• I delight in experiences both great and small.
• I give to others fully and generously.

The consultants share that some churches have taken these insights and used them to enhance programming or to guide strategic planning. These insights can help us as we engage in broader conversations within the church about who we are and who we want to be. Board members and staff will be reading through the report and trying to make sense of what it might mean for us at UCE. We’ll be discussing this at our board retreat in August, but also throughout the year. Our new interim minister may also find ideas that are helpful as he gets to know us better. We encourage you to spend some time with this rich resource to see if it sparks any ideas for you. Many thanks to the anonymous donor who sponsored the survey.

Jeanne Kerl
she/her/hers