Follow up…
First, let me say “Thanks” to one and all for your response to my annual ‘state of the union’ address on Stewardship Sunday. Though I don’t have the break-down on individual givers, I can say that October stewardship increased in three ways from September. First, people using regular envelopes increased their giving by a total of $2,735 for the month, or an average of $683 a week. Eileen also reported an increase of the offering amounts of people giving electronically, but I do not have those figures with me as I type this column. In addition, we had 10 people join the “21 club”, started by Terry Gannon, who kept their normal giving steady, but made one-time donations in various amounts. Those 10 people donated a total of $5,950 (which breaks down to $114/week) for a total increase of just under $800 a week of extra income to help keep our school and parish the vibrant community of faith it is. Thanks to one and all for your amazing generosity. You make this pastor truly grateful.
Secondly, the Stewardship committee continues to work with the data you have given to us. Of the 423 parish families on the master list, we identified 261 email addresses representing 189 families, who were sent the online survey. Of those 189, we received 108 responses. That is the good news. The challenging news is how to get the information into useable data. Apparently when you go to export the data entered, Survey Monkey exports it in a format called CSV’s – Comma Separated Values. And it produces a LOT of those values (my unprofessional guess is somewhere between 25 to 35 THOUSAND values.) Those, apparently are not easily transformed into a more usable excel or access data format. So we are now figuring out how to transform the data we have into useable profiles for individuals and families. (So those 10 people who said they have gifts in computer programming, WE NEED YOU!) Minimally, we are now in a position to get information out to people who submitted those emails with ‘breaking news’ when important. (For example, I will inform you of entrance closures to the parish property due to the construction on Natural Bridge.)
Finally, on a separate note, it has been a while since we did a photo directory. The last one was for our jubilee year in 2006. Jeanine Bennett, Bridget Tierney and Meg Naes have agreed to spearhead the next iteration of the directory. As first steps in that process, you will be receiving a partially automated phone message from us beginning Nov. 20th, with information about the program, signing up for the photo appointments, etc. Stay tuned for further information…