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Conversations in the Spirit – Summary Document. Three qualities were identified, warm inclusive Community, support for Spiritual development and Service to others. These elements were widely shared as important to the congregation. Community refers both to the internal welcoming group of parishioners along with the multiple targeted programs for people of all ages and stages. Support for spiritual development refers to the sacredness and thoughtfulness of the multiple liturgies that are performed from daily mass through major holidays and the sacraments. It also highlights a number of selected programs for faith formation and sacramental preparation. Service was often highlighted as the doorway to further integration in the community. Service is well supported both internally to the community of St Pius X as well as outreach to others in need. A core statement was drafted using the above input. The statement will be discussed with the parishioners to see how well it will support the future direction of St Pius X. Rooted in Christ, St. Pius X Parish is a welcoming community dedicated to worship, service, and discipleship, fostering spiritual growth and compassionate outreach for all generations. 2 Purpose and Process The Parish of St Pius X is moving through a discernment process to decide the future of the buildings that will support our parish activities and long-term vitality. In order to better understand the perspective of parishioners, focus groups were conducted with focused questions to better understand the values of parishioners and their experience of being a parishioner as well as what they would want in the future from a parish community perspective. Feedback opportunities were booked on January 30, February 1, 4, 6 and 8. Standardized questions were used. Overall, there were 12 groups of 8 to 10 individuals for a total of over 100 parishioners who were able to give feedback. We had 6 facilitators who worked with the groups as facilitators or recorders as they were needed. Each session lasted about 2 hours, and the process followed the protocol for ‘Conversations in the Spirit’ for the most part. Questions were focused on the qualities of the parish community that had attracted them to the parish, the ongoing support for their spiritual growth within the parish and their future aspirations for the parish and for themselves within the parish. All discussions were taken with the idea of finding the first step of reviewing and renewing our mission. A previous exercise about 20 years ago had determined that the mission of St Pius X was ‘To Restore all Things in Christ’. Questions were: 1 **Introduction: Please introduce yourself and your pathway to becoming a member of St Pius X Parish. What aspects of St Pius X Parish attracted you initially to the parish 2. **In what ways does our parish currently support your spiritual growth - Share how the parish has been meaningful to you. 3. **What specific improvements through ideas, resources or programs would help you deepen your relationship with Christ within our parish community? ** - Consider activities, ministries, or resources that could make a positive impact on your spiritual journey. 4. **What direction should St. Pius X take for the future of the parishioners and church? ** - Offer your ideas of what our mission or purpose should be. Consider our role in supporting your personal faith journey as well as the broader mandate of Christ’s mission Recorders attempted to record all thoughts in each category and identify words that were central to the parish community. A subgroup of the facilitators and recorders reviewed the recorded conversations and organized the thoughts into themes. 3 Themes from the Conversations There was overall understanding of the changing nature of our society and in particular our parish. Attendance is down over the past 10 years. We are a much older parish with many seniors. Of note, the 35 to 65 age group is quite small in comparison to other parishes. We also have a larger group of single people. A majority of people understand the need for a new hall. This has been a topic of conversation and many town halls over the past 10 years. There is a much lower understanding of a need for a new church building. The overall themes related to A. Community 1. A Welcoming, Inclusive Community St. Pius X Parish is known for its warmth, hospitality, and strong sense of belonging. Parishioners consistently highlight that they feel "at home" here. The small size of the parish fosters deep personal connections, distinguishing it from larger, more impersonal churches. Personal invitations and word-of-mouth have been key in attracting new members. The building and its physical space hold sentimental value, reinforcing a sense of spiritual comfort and history. Elements such as the wood arches, the stone walls which were built by original parishioners and the church furnishings hold special meaning and contribute to the warm atmosphere. The architecture and layout contribute to a home-like feeling, and many parishioners choose SPX over other churches despite not living in the immediate area. 2. Family Oriented with programs for children, teens, young adults and seniors Many people were initially attracted to the programs for specific areas of the age spectrum. Religious education classes for kids, pre school and school age programs for kids during mass, young adult programs, University and young adult community. As well as groups like scouts and others were prominent in the early days and maintained in many cases until recently. All the programs required additional space over and above what the church itself provided. The full use of the available space drove the addition of offices and small classes and the basement early in the life of the church. The hall was the early church and was not purpose built to support the programs but was used fully and people adapted to the reality of the physical space. 4 B Spiritual Development 1. Worship – Mass, sacraments, homilies, and music are essential elements in the faith journey of parishioners. Much effort has gone into creating meaningful and engaged experiences for parishioners in all the elements of worship. It was a common observation that an individual parishioner was invited to be a minister at mass as a first step to feeling involved. This parish has been in the forefront of many of the church liturgical changes. Examples are the introduction of girls as altar servers and communion under both species. Some of the specialized liturgical programs have been lost. Examples include a children’s mass, a mass for the hearing impaired and the university chaplaincy. 2. Faith Formation Faith formation through Bible studies, retreats, and small group programs is highly valued. The role of priests and deacons is consistently mentioned as a crucial element in fostering spiritual engagement. Music ministry is highlighted as an essential part of worship and healing. Specific programs such as Alpha, Formed, retreats and bible studies were often mentioned as being important for both faith formation and community enrichment. C Service 1. Internal service to the St Pius X community Ministry within the parish community is a strong part of the community ethic. Liturgical ministries at mass, support of faith formation activities, support of the sacramental preparation programs and bringing the eucharist to our shut ins are all programs that are well supported. 2. Outreach Service Ministries such as St. Vincent de Paul (SSVP), RCIA, CWL, and St Rita’s have significantly shaped faith formation. Outreach programs and social justice initiatives are central to parish life, helping parishioners grow spiritually while serving others. There is strong support from the parishioners for any service outreach program that is managed by the parish. The role of the community in engaging the members of the congregation in the above areas of activity and spiritual growth is highlighted often. People commented on being invited to participate and finding the experience helpful to them in creating their spiritual home community. 5 Adequacy of the current church buildings The church building supports most but not all of the liturgical activities. This particular building has many of the aspects that contribute to this feeling of engagement. The balcony allows line of sight for children and others, the pews permit a feeling of togetherness with all areas of the church visible to each other. Architectural features of wooden arches and the textured stone also create a feeling of warmth. Access to the altar has been an ongoing issue for those who require mobility assists. Support of the many activities has changed over time. Each ministry requires significant space and storage specifications. Over the years we have lost some functions because of the changing world. Preparing food now requires a commercial kitchen. St Vincent de Paul support has new requirements. We have added the North of 60 support program. Meeting rooms of many sizes, and a large gathering area for the ongoing social and faith formation and educational events are required. Many of the current spaces are not accessible. There has been a reduction of social events since Covid and the changing public health requirements for food preparation. The hall is old, with difficulty to access the washrooms. Future Considerations: Community It is essential to retain these aspects of community within St Pius X There is fear that this will be lost if the church is , and the congregation needs to have an alternate place to worship for a couple of years. There is openness and encouragement to grow the congregation, and several ideas were presented with ways to do this. Social events like the weekly coffee after mass and other events are critical to maintain the community. There are many events and socials which took place in the past which parishioners would like to re institute.  Maintaining the parish identity while adapting for the future—preserving the welcoming atmosphere, spiritual depth, and sense of belonging.  Stronger Community Ties—encouraging fellowship through social events, coffee Sundays, and potlucks. 6 In recent years lack of a commercial kitchen has reduced the number and type of events that can be held on site. Renting other facilities is very expensive and requires significant transportation logistics. Access for those who require mobility aids was noted as a problem with the current structures. Also, washrooms are not wheelchair accessible in either the hall or the church.  Rebuilding youth and family engagement—revitalizing children’s programs, youth ministry (ages 13-18), and outreach to young parents.  Strengthening university and school connections—bringing back U of C Mass, engaging Newman College, and fostering stronger ties with Catholic schools  Preserving the Parish’s Identity—concerns about redevelopment and the risk of losing the warmth and community spirit that defines SPX.  Growth & Sustainability—ensuring financial and community longevity while adapting to modern challenges. Spiritual Support Spiritual Growth through liturgy, and faith formation The history of programs within the parish was supported by paid pastoral assistants with a mandate of leading the organization of programs. The parish has a strong history of volunteerism but benefits from an organizational lead for these programs. The position was lost during COVID and has not been replaced with the same scope. Currently sacramental preparation for children is supported but the broader range of programs is not. Our Deacon has provided many faith formation programs, but he also would benefit from the organizational support for these. Outreach to various groups is mentioned frequently. Work with the University and Young Adult Community has begun. Rebuilding the children’s liturgy program would benefit. Given the changing demographics of our parish, there were several suggestions of ways to support our seniors in an enhanced way.  Developing leadership and support—hiring a paid Pastoral Assistant to coordinate ministries and ensure sustainability.  Expanding faith formation and educational opportunities—more Bible studies, retreats, guest speakers, and discussions on Catholic teachings. Service There is a recognition within the community of the role that service both within the community and for outreach has played a major role in developing the community ties. 7 Parishioners maintain significant interest in each of these areas. As a parish we provide significant social outreach. St Vincent de Paul could be enhanced with additional food storage areas to take advantage of sales. At this time there is a hesitancy to take on more with the smaller and aging congregation. Although in the past we have always stepped up to support the need, we are beginning to see areas of concern for ongoing volunteer work. We have trouble finding altar servers. Several programs were stopped during COVID and are only now beginning again. Only now our pool of volunteers is smaller. One of the desired outcomes of the consultative conversations in the spirit process was to begin a process of potentially revising our mission to reflect the shifting demographics and current situation of our parish. We have a previous mission developed about 20 years ago. Based on the outcomes of the conversation, a potential mission statement has been developed. Overall Core Statement Previous mission To restore all things in Christ Core Message from consultation Rooted in Christ, St. Pius X Parish is a welcoming community dedicated to worship, service, and discipleship, fostering spiritual growth and compassionate outreach for all generations.