First Parish Bedford UU

From March 18 through April 19, those who attend First Parish had an opportunity to comment on the two services model that has been in place this last year. 143 people completed the survey designed to gather opinions, suggestions, and specific comments about the model.

There was almost an even split between those who liked the model in some way and those who did not ( 40.6% vs 36.2% - and 23% with no preference).  Some common reasons for liking the model were flexibility, smaller coffee hour groups, a more intimate sanctuary experience, and easier opportunities to connect to new people. Some reasons for not liking the model included the lack of critical mass at services, the loss of the whole community, missing seeing people, and the awkwardness of scheduling attending Lyceum.

In addition to the survey, all staff and volunteers for major ongoing activities, like Lyceum and sound management, were interviewed by a member of the Taking the Pulse group. We learned that for most staff and regular volunteers, the new model has worked well, demanding a little more planning and a little more commitment of time. The biggest challenge has been space related, when earlier activities don’t clear out of space in time for the next set of activities to begin on time. We also heard that while some additional equipment - like a laptop/projector dedicated to Lyceum, or a better way to copy DVDs of services - would help, what would be most helpful were more people involved with some of the regular volunteer tasks.

The Taking the Pulse group has prepared a comprehensive report for the Parish Board, along with a summary of data from the surveys, reports of the interviews, and an example of some data filtering to see if subsets of FP’s attendees - like parents in RE - have different opinions from the whole sample. 

Click here to download a PDF of the report

Lee Vorderer, Merc Kane, and Brown Pulliam