A word from Pastor DJ
There were 35 responses. The top three choices are listed below. The remaining were categorized by counting all votes each suggestion received in people selecting their top three and are listed below the top three.
Top Three Choices
Monthly intergenerational service project
Have Sunday School scheduled twice a month. Easier on teachers and parents
Coffee for parents and anyone else who is here during Sunday School or Forum so they can get together; rotate coffee among parents
Remaining Suggestions Ranked by Total Votes
4. Make Sunday School more interactive with crafts and talks
5. (tie) Teachers sign up to teach on a rotating schedule (monthly, bi-monthly)
5. (tie) Service based learning for all ages (break up ages differently)
6. (tie) Activities kids will want to do
6. (tie) Return to Social Activities
7. Online platform as a main way to deliver Sunday School, then schedule meetings for activities in-person (on Sundays; volunteer staff)
8. Once per month whole Sunday School activities together
9. (tie) Time: Sunday night for middle & high school; Friday night: Elementary
9. (tie) Change time of main service to earlier and have Sunday School later during or including fellowship hour
10. Sunday afternoons for youth classes & gatherings. One adult gathering during.
11. Dedicated time to use playground (recess & snack)
In 2026 these suggestions will be discussed by staff people involving those active in C&YFF at COHS, families, and Vestry members.
Additional suggestions were received from each table writing down all the suggestions they discussed as well as people watching online who submitted suggestions by email. These are being scanned and posted in the Vestry Dropbox for Vestry members to review. Vestry members will add any of the suggestions they would like the Vestry to discuss in 2026 onto this list of sixteen.
Thank you to Everyone who participated in one of the surveys. This is very beneficial in helping the leadership hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to you regarding the ministries of Church of the Holy Spirit.
Blessings and Love, DJ
Dear Friends,
You’ll recall at our September Congregational Meeting about our Children & Youth Faith Formation ministry, in which 92 people attended in person, 16 suggestions were made from our table conversations. Two suggestions received many votes and obviously needed to be considered.
The first was hiring a full-time Christian Education staff person. Hopefully you have heard in recent weeks how we are working on restructuring staff resources to provide staff support to this important ministry in a way that lets us be good stewards of our finances. The second was gathering data from the families before putting resources into a big change, so we prevent burnout and are strategic. This will be done once we have staff resources to give dedicated time and we have checked with larger local churches to see what is working for them, so we will have alternative ideas to discuss with our families.
The remaining 14 suggestions didn’t receive significant votes because folks were asked to identify only their top choice. To rate them, a second survey was sent out in which people were asked to pick their top three choices, numbering them as such.
If you would like to listen to a past Sunday’s sermon, click the button which will take you to a playlist. This will be the sermon only - not the entire service. The most recent Sunday will be at the top, and they will go back in chronological order.
Below is the link to schedule an appointment with me online without contacting me. This link can also be found by going to the bottom of any page at our website, clicking on “Directory”, entering the password, and then clicking on the left button to schedule a meeting with me. The link is in the membership section of the website so only parishioners of Church of the Holy Spirit can use this method. It is preferable for people not connected with the Church to schedule through the church office.