October 9, 2018
NEW YORK – As announced at the recent Clergy Laity Congress in Boston, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, has recently engaged the consulting services of CapinCrouse and the Barna Group as part of a review of the effectiveness of the various departments, programs and ministries of the national Church. To that end, the Archdiocese is currently working closely with the Barna firm, which is a full-service research company that has been working with churches and ministries for over 30 years, to design a survey which will be distributed in the coming months to clergy and lay leaders across the country to gather their feedback. All steps will be taken to ensure the validity of the study and the anonymity and confidentiality of responses.
The ultimate goal of this survey is to gauge the efficacy of resources committed to the National Ministries, and to determine how to best optimize investment in, and use of, the financial resources which are provided for the most part by the parishes of the Archdiocese through the total commitment program.
Once finalized, the survey will be forwarded to the Direct Archdiocese District and Metropolises for distribution. Survey results will be collected and analyzed by the Barna Group to be shared with the Archdiocese in Her consideration of National Ministry commitments in the future.
“Like many religious groups in the current American landscape, the Greek Orthodox Church is dealing with changes in cultural norms and worldview, economic shifts and the need for budgetary adjustments due to overall giving,” stated Mr. George Tsandikos, Vice President of the Archdiocesan Council. “In light of this, it is not only appropriate but imperative that the Archdiocese canvass Her parishes and faithful to see how She can better respond to their needs, and determine whether or not, that which the Church is currently doing on a national level is of substantial use and support to those on the local level,” he concluded.
The Chancellery has applied for a grant to underwrite the cost of the entire project so as not to burden the budget of the Archdiocese.
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