The Angelus – January 2012 – Church of St. Michael Parish Ministry Results

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

Church of St. Michael Parish Ministry Survey Summary of Results – November/December 2011

Thank you for participating in the recent parish ministry survey. Our efforts in the areas of worship, formation and pastoral outreach will help the Church of St. Michael to “actively spread God’s Truth and live our Catholic faith in the world”.  Information from the survey will help Fr. Sieg, parish staff and volunteer leaders to effectively set parish priorities for the next 3-5 years.  313 parishioners took the survey.  65% have been parishioners for more than 10 years; 6% have been members for less than two years.

The survey results suggest that you have a very positive view of the Church of St. Michael and that parish leaders have been focused on many of the priorities that matter most to parishioners.  For example, over 95% of parishioners agreed* with the following statements:

• I feel welcome at the Church of St. Michael.
• The Church of St. Michael has a clear vision and direction for the future.
• Our parish staff responds well to my needs.
• The parish shares information timely and effectively.
• I feel a moral and spiritual responsibility to financially support the parish.

Over 90% agreed* with these statements:

• I have a strong sense of belonging at the Church of St. Michael.
• Catholic schools are an essential part of the Church’s educational mission.
• Our parish mission is clearly communicated.
• The parish does a good job communicating financial information.
• I’m satisfied with the parish’s management of money.

At the same time, the survey identified several areas in which our parish can improve. See the key observations section for information on these improvement opportunities. Fr. Sieg and parish leaders will address the opportunity areas and will communicate specific initiatives and actions in the coming months.

By a seven-to-one margin, parishioners overwhelming support paying off the parish mortgage over the next five years.  If we pay off the mortgage, we can invest in our ministries and do more of God’s work in our parish and community.

* Of those responding “Agree” or “Disagree”.

Some key observations regarding  Liturgy and Worship:

• Parishioners love our music ministry, as it was the most appreciated area of liturgy and worship – and the least frequently cited as needing improvement.
• “Homilies that help me to grow in my faith” is clearly one of your top priorities.  While over 50% of respondents listed it in their top two most appreciated areas, it was also the top focus area within liturgy and worship.
• Encouragement of religious vocations” and “Programs that promote spiritual growth” (with Eucharistic Adoration mentioned most frequently) were identified as areas of need by nearly 20% of respondents.
• In the comments, some parishioners suggested that we look at ways to shorten the Mass, while others called for quiet and reverence before and during Mass.

Some key observations regarding  Youth and Adult Formation:

• The most appreciated areas of youth and adult formation are “The quality of education at St. Michael Catholic School and Little Angels Preschool” and our high school faith formation program.
• Top improvement areas include “Reaching out to specific groups of parishioners” (with young adults cited most often), “Evangelization and reaching out to those who don’t attend Mass” and increasing the number of students at our school.
• Some respondents suggested expanding adult faith formation opportunities, while others commented on our school program and faith formation costs.

Some key observations regarding  Pastoral Care and Outreach:

• Over 60% of respondents appreciate the opportunity to serve the needy, while over 40% value what our parish does in three other areas: providing practical care for parishioners in time of need, supporting the needs of our sister parish, and promoting respect for human life and upholding family values.
• Top focus areas are: increasing the number of new parishioners and welcoming them into our parish family, increasing the level of volunteer participation (especially since 88% of respondents are willing and able to volunteer), and having more fellowship and social activities in order to meet with other parishioners.

Thanks again for taking the time to complete the survey…and for all that you do to serve God and to help others.

Posted in News | Comments Off

Parish Calendar/Program Guide January-February 2012

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

Please see our Parish Calendar/Program Guide for January- February 2012

Posted in News, Uncategorized | Comments Off

The Angelus – September 2011 – Mike Laughery’s Article

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

Your Generosity Inspires Me!

By Mike  Laughery

God has truly blessed my family— great wife, four kids, free country, awesome church, good job, full stomach—one look at my belly gives that away.  With those blessings in mind, I ask myself how is my family doing at putting those gifts to work to build the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. My wife, Renee and I have been committed to the concept of “giving back to God what He has given us” for many years now but we can learn a lot from the generosity of other parishioners. While working here these past two years as your Business Administrator I have seen the immense generosity of the parishioners of the Church of St. Michael.

When I worked in the for profit world (I worked for America’s Pork Producers “Pork, the Other White Meat”) before serving as your Business Administrator I witnessed much generosity. Now that I work for Church of St. Michael I have gotten to see the immense generosity and compassion this faith community has for its fellow man.

For instance, I have witnessed more generosity on the part of volunteers here @ St. Michael than you can fathom. Parishioners: putting up tents for our annual Springfest celebration; making lunch for a family who has just lost a loved one; clearing snow off the roof of the Holy Family room at church when it is frigid outside even by Minnesota standards; volunteering to babysitting for our kids while we participate in Mass; visiting the sick and homebound; praying for babies and their parents as they consider the unthinkable at an abortion clinic; counting money after Mass; mission trips to serve those in need and this list goes on and on. These unselfish gifts of time and talent have made me truly appreciate what an amazing church family we have! You do great work.

When I consider the hard earned money donated to various causes such as:

• Franciscan Brothers of Peace in July–$4,990
• Donation to Global Solidarity–$421
• Peter’s Pence Collection for the Holy Father–$1,510
• Tornado disaster relief–$1,472
• Sister Parish annual contribution–$37,400
• Baby bottle drive for Alpha Pregnancy Resource Center–$7,000
• Vanloads of clothing/toys/presents to the homeless (see the picture)

It is probably easy to see why I love doing my job. Parishioners have so many things we could do with the money God has blessed us with and yet we choose to give some to the work of our Lord through the Church of St. Michael. Over 1700 families gave to our church this past year and they donated over 1.7 Million dollars to be used to build the kingdom here on earth. I guess it is easy to see why I would rather talk about what our faith community does to serve God. What you do is enormous. Let me take this opportunity to thank you for your generosity on behalf of our faithful family! May God Bless your generosity!

So many of you give so much and yet I know many always want to know what else they can be doing to serve others. Therefore, The Church of St. Michael will be hosting several activities the first three weekends of October while we celebrate Stewardship as a way of life. Please mark you calendars and join us for events including a guest speaker on October 1^st and 2^nd at all the masses and a ministry fair/speakers the following two weekends. I look forward to seeing you there!

Posted in News, Uncategorized | Comments Off

September-October, 2011 Parish Calendar

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

Our September-October, 2011 Parish Calendar (Program Guide) is now available online.

Parish Calendar Sept-October2011

Posted in Events, News, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Choir Calendars 2011-2012

Friday, July 29th, 2011

Our Music Ministry Calendars for the Adult Choir, Teen Choir, Joyful Light Choir and Radiant Light Choir are available at our Liturgy & Music page.

Posted in Events, News | Comments Off

Committee & Ministry Meeting Dates for 2011-12

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

It’s time to schedule your recurring meeting dates for 2011-12 and update your ministry chairperson’s name/phone/email. Please contact the Parish Office at 952-447-2491 or email your information to Jane Keough at jkeough@stmichael-pl.org.

Posted in News | Comments Off

Building Maintenance Improvement Fund Update

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

Thank you for generously donating to the Building/Maintenance Improvement Fund. We told you about the generous matching fund opportunity for our Building Maintenance and Improvement Fund. A parishioner pledged to match every dollar we raised through June 30, up to $25,000. By June 30 we had received donations of $26,000 giving us a fund of $51,000 as we begin our new fiscal year. Thank you for your generosity!. Donations are still needed. Please prayerfully consider giving to this fund, which will be used for things like replacing the carpet in the church (which is 25 years old this year). To give, send a check to the Parish Office or donate online now.

For more information about financial giving, please see our financial giving page.

Posted in News | Comments Off

Vacation Bible School – August 1-5

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Registration forms are available at the church entryways, at Faith Formation and school classes, and online. Program runs from August 1-5 from 9:30 a.m.-12 noon for 4 year olds–current 4th graders. For those currently in 5th grade and above, volunteer forms are available.

For more information and registration forms, visit our Vacation Bible School page. Registration deadline is June 22.

Posted in News | Comments Off

The Angelus – January 2012 – The Ultimate Volunteer – Kathy Poepping

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

Volunteers share a very special place in the heart of the parish of St. Michael church.  Each month, people give their valuable time to serve our families at events, fundraising activities, visits to those in need, prayers for our families, and many other “gifts” to those in need. As you can see, we truly could not function without the selfless acts of our volunteers.

This holiday season demonstrated these kinds of selfless acts in ways that words can’t begin to describe.  Suffice it to say, God has truly blessed St. Michael with the “ultimate” in what volunteering really means.  Several families/volunteers came forward and offered their time, talent and treasure, to “adopt” those families in need, and make their holidays a true example of the Reason for the Season.  As God would have us remember, “Give onto others, as I have given”.  This could not have been demonstrated more actively and completely during these past few months.  And to all of you who “donated”, God bless and we thank you for your amazing generosity.

In addition to the wonderful St. Michael parishioner volunteers,  I want to share with you a story about a very special volunteer. This volunteer is the heart of our church and community.   His name is Jesus; the Son of God! Jesus is the ultimate volunteer.  He willingly came to earth to die on the cross to save us from our sins. He willingly gave Himself to us.  Jesus did it for one reason and that is because He loves us.  He died so we might live in freedom from our sins and spend eternity with Him.

In 1 Peter 2:24 it states, “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

What a wonderful thing that Jesus, the ultimate volunteer, did for us!  I pray that as we approach a new year, consider making it your resolution to receive this beautiful gift of salvation that Jesus offers and become more like Him.

God Bless You and Happy New Year!

Posted in News | Comments Off