OLA Strategic Goals
Mission Statement!
Our Lady of the Assumption welcomes all people to grow in the Catholic faith as we celebrate our diverse community, nurture the Gospel message, and exemplify our love of Christ by serving others.
We identified five Core Values which declare what matters most, shape the culture at OLA, clarify our expectations and guide our mission.
OLA’s Core Values are
- Spirituality
- Integrity
- Discipleship
- Life-long Learning
- Fellowship/Community
Spirituality places God at the center of our live and celebrates our Catholic identity in a commitment to prayer and communal worship, peace and lovingkindness. Integrity means being committed to the highest standards of accountability and transparency in our financial administration and leadership development. Discipleship is following Jesus in our commitment to the poor, ministry to families, and evangelization to the community through generous giving and a well-mobilized lay leadership. Life-long Learning means a commitment to the teaching of Catholic principles to all ages in a way that shapes their values and guides their actions. Fellowship/Community is placing a priority on hospitality, a welcoming environment and personal relationships within our culturally-diverse parish and school.
REPORT ON THE RECENT PARISH SURVEY
Our Parish Survey completed July 16 had a total of 1,172 respondents. It measured two primary areas: Spiritual Commitment and Member Engagement. How do members of OLA compare to other Catholic parishes, as well as other Christian faiths, in spirituality and engagement? What are our individual and personal spiritual attitudes and behaviors? How strongly do we feel a sense of belonging in our parish?
SPIRITUAL COMMITMENT
OLA is blessed by making the top 25% of all faith groups for spirituality. Overall, our members have a wonderful prayer life. But the obstacles noted are limited ways to find encouragement to progress in individual spiritual growth. A real goal for OLA is developing spiritually committed individuals.
MEMBER ENGAGEMENT
Compared with all faith groups (Catholic and other Christian churches), OLA reflects lesser engagement by our parishioners than 75% of all other faiths. Only 32% of our respondents are “actively engaged” in
parish life (more about this later). This may be disappointing, but we have a great opportunity to grow here. The good news for the parish is that the engagement items are the most actionable. Steps taken to improve on these items will have a positive impact on the spiritual commitment of our community. To drive spiritual commitment and individual spiritual growth, our parish must focus more on engaging our parishioners.
It is belonging (engagement) that leads to believing (commitment).
As the survey indicates, we need to feel a connection with our parish, receiving something of meaning in exchange for our time, talent and financial (treasure) contributions. We need clear expectations to lay the foundation for everything that we, as a community of God, are called to be and do.
There are many more details to dive into about our results. You may Email Deacon Jim with your comments, and watch upcoming bulletins for more information.
DIVING INTO THE DETAILS...
Here are copies of the original survey
Here are the documents and presentations related to the parish survey and strategic planning for parishioners interested in the details, and for those who want to participate in our process of developing new strategic goals (see You Are Invited at the top of the page):