Anyone who had attended an event tied to the Centre or who had been part of our past research had opportunity to complete the survey. Below are some of the highlights.

To read a more complete summary of the findings, click here.

What You Had to Say About...

Staying connected to us

You were most interested in staying connected to the Centre through -
e-mail updates (79.5%), the website (54.2%), attending one-time events (42.2%),
online learning (25.3%), forming an ongoing support network (25.3%)
and attending a series of events (20.5%).

You requested website or e-mail updates on -
retreat and event dates (43.9%), information on self-care (18.9%),
creative/non-traditional continuing education opportunities (13.5%),
reading resources and reviews (13.5%), lectures/seminars/courses (8.1%)
and retreat centres, support opportunities and worship all got 5.4%.

Centre event considerations

When events were offered mattered most to you, followed by distance, type of site, cost and, finally, length of event.

Centre Event Content - 5 top ranked areas:
1. a topic of strong interest
2. a solid speaker
3. excellent resources available
4. community and dialogue with peers
5. an emphasis on content for optimum learning

Top 5 topics of interest to you:
Encouraging change in congregations – 74.47%
Signs of healthy congregations – 67.5%
Nurturing congregational leaders – 63.9%
Exploring spiritual disciplines – 60.5%
Finding balance in areas of my life – 54.2%

Open questions about the Church in Canada and the Centre's role

Current needs of leaders in the church (top 4 mentioned)
• tools for being an effective leader
• self-care and well-being
• support
• managing change and transition

The Canadian context of ministry needs research on (top 5 mentioned):
• the need to share the relevance of church and community
• rural and small churches, particularly on the prairies
• to help people realize the need of God/religion in their lives
• cross-cultural ministry and regional and cultural differences
• distinctives of our Canadian context

My biggest concerns about the future of the church are (top 5 mentioned) :
• attitude of survival and mediocrity rather than vision and thriving
• demographic shifts/aging population/meeting the needs of or engaging aging population
• managing change and the unwillingness to change
• relevance in society where other options compete and people don’t feel a need for God
• materialism and numeric growth vs. spiritual growth and Jesus’ message

Current success stories around me in the church in Canada (top 5 responses):
• faithful people doing the day in and day out work of ministry and pastoral care
• finding a relevant mission and being faithful to it
• don’t know any
• churches who are inclusive, lively, multi-generational, transcend age
• empowerment of laity and church leadership, and of women

The Centre for Clergy Care and Congregational Health currently fills the role of (top 5 responses):
• not too sure or still finding out
• resource for support
• forum for dialogue and research about the church/clergy, focus on Canadian context
• resource for skills and con ed events
• nurturing and encouragement, affirmation and hope

The Centre needs to fill the role of (top 5):
• place to connect clergy for mutual support/networking
• source of current research in our Canadian context, need to act on research
• don’t know
• teacher, resource person, training, push use of study leave time
• source of vital resources/information, central clearing house for con ed

As the Centre Advisory Board continues to hone its renewed vision for the Centre, these comments are being taken into consideration.

Thank you to all who took part and reminded us of why the Centre needs to play an important role in the Canadian church's landscape!