Surveying parishioners in Bromsgrove.

Churchgoers across Bromsgrove have received a survey to gather their views on what they’d like to see from local churches post COVID19. The questionnaire was put together by the Team Rector, the Revd David Ford who had come across a similar idea used in the Diocese of Leeds.

David said: “The idea was suggested in a clergy Facebook group that I’m part of and it seemed like a really sensible thing to do. It seems to me to be an interesting time with many things having changed significantly from a few months ago. I didn’t want to simply slip back into the way things were before without asking people what they felt.”

The questionnaire is in two parts, with the first asking more open questions about those elements of church that currently aren’t possible as well as a general look at things that have started in lockdown. It asks what people do and don’t miss and what might continue or not after lockdown. The second part asks very specifically about different things currently happening in the Bromsgrove team and what people think about these. The survey has been emailed out to as many church members as possible, as well as hand delivered to those without internet access.

“We wanted to listen to our congregations and understand how they’re feeling about things which have changed over the past few weeks,” said David. “As we start to think about reopening churches, this point is a wonderful moment in the life of the Church. We can either grasp the opportunity for change or miss it and if we’re going to change, we need to carry people with us.”

Like all parishes, the Bromsgrove team has started a number of different opportunities for their congregations to engage during the pandemic, including joint worship on Facebook and Zoom, pastoral calls via telephone and a mid-week online bible study. DCC meetings have moved online and the worship committees across David’s two churches are also meeting together via Zoom. “It’s important that we understand which of these new elements people really value as well finding out what they’ve missed over the last few months. We need to ask the right questions and be prepared to have the courage to act on the answers,” continued David.

The survey results are just starting to come in but there has already been some interesting feedback with people enjoying meeting new people as worship is combined across David’s congregations. Some people have said that they feel much more pastorally supported through online worship and have found the increased use of visual imagery helpful. “We definitely won’t stop worshipping in church, but also want to continue enabling people to join in from home. It’s also interesting that we haven’t yet had people saying that they have missed the participation in communion.”

“I would encourage others to consider putting together a similar questionnaire for their churches. We’re in exciting times at the moment. It’s a great opportunity to make plans and decisions and I really feel that PCCs need to be well informed before those decisions are made,” concluded David.

Read the questionnaire being distributed in Bromsgrove.