SPIRITUAL LIFE INVENTORY
QUESTIONNAIRE INSTRUCTIONS
As Kent communicated recently, St. Luke’s is asking for your feedback through an online questionnaire called the Spiritual Life Inventory, or SLI, as part of our spiritual journey together. Our hope is that everyone will thoughtfully complete this questionnaire. Regardless of where you are on your faith journey—satisfied or seeking a new direction—we want to hear from all members of our parish family!
Why
St. Luke’s wants to assure we’re doing as much as we can to focus on nurturing spiritual growth in our relationship with God and with others. The parish results will be reviewed in partnership with a focus group made up of a cross section of our fellow parishioners. They will attend four workshops from February through April. Their feedback, along with the parish’s SLI reports and idea exchanges with our senior leadership team, will be shared with the parish in May.
Who
Everyone, including teens, is asked to complete a confidential Spiritual Life Inventory questionnaire.
When
The SLI link is live as of January 27 at 12:01 a.m. and closes February 17 at midnight.
How
The SLI is available at https://www.research.net/r/RenewalWorks2165
Due to the reflection intended, it’s designed to be easily completed in one sitting and takes about 20 minutes to complete. Please make sure you hit “submit” at the end. If you stop midway, you will have to start again.
Results will only be available on an aggregate basis as a parish. No one receives individual results. Note that there are no right or wrong answers and this is NOT a test.
Arrangements can be made to use a computer at church if you need access. For those of you who prefer paper, please go to the Parish Office for a hard copy and one of our team will enter your information anonymously.
Thank you in advance for your time and contribution to St. Luke’s RenewalWorks initiative. Please do not hesitate to contact any of us if you have questions or comments.
Sincerely,
The RenewalWorks Team
Tiffany Elliott, Lindy Pratt, Barbara Noe, and Tom Mulhare
SPIRITUAL LIFE INVENTORY FAQ SHEET
What is the RenewalWorks Spiritual Life Inventory?
The Spiritual Life Inventory (SLI) is an in-depth assessment of an individual parishioner’s spiritual beliefs and practices, as well as the Church’s role and support for that person’s spiritual development. These individual findings, which are collected anonymously, are then aggregated to depict a parish-wide view. This allows an appointed Leadership Team, the Rector, and the Vestry to have an in-depth profile of the entire congregation. Since this survey was developed in 2004, it has been completed by more than 300,000 Christians, representing 15,000 congregations, including many Episcopal parishes. As a result, it is a very robust database with which we can compare and contrast St. Luke’s survey results to help us understand and measure our spiritual growth.
Who should take the inventory?
We are asking all parishioners age 16 and older to participate. It’s important that every adult member of a family take the survey, as beliefs and practices may be quite different from other family members. Also, parish members who attend infrequently or have just started attending are encouraged to participate.
How do I take it and when?
The SLI is designed to be an online survey—taken privately and anonymously. We hope as many parishioners as possible will complete the survey online to facilitate processing; however, the survey can be completed on paper, if needed, and mailed to the parish office.
The survey will be available over a three-week period, from January 27 to February 17.
How long does it take to complete?
Most respondents complete it in 20 to 30 minutes, although it may take a bit longer for those who find the survey prompts reflection on spirituality and spiritual formation. The online survey must be completed in one session.
What if I don’t understand some of the questions or am not familiar with some of the language used?
Answer as best you can. Given that the survey has been used with a variety of denominations, it’s likely you will encounter a phrase or description that may be different from what an Episcopalian may use.
When do I get my results?
Individual results are anonymous. No one but you will know how you have responded. There are no correct or incorrect answers, so just be honest.
When will the church-wide results be available, and what will be done with them?
After the survey is completed, the St. Luke’s RenewalWorks Leadership Team will participate in a series of workshops that will help us process the parish data as a whole. Results of the survey will inform the committee’s recommendations to the Vestry.
What if I have additional questions?
If you have questions about the SLI, please contact the parish office and a member of the St. Luke’s RenewalWorks Leadership Team will be in touch as soon as possible.
