The 2007 Membership SurveyAt the 2007 Conference at Kings’ College in Auckland, those who attended were asked to complete a questionnaire which stated that “Your National Steering Committee thinks it is important at this time that we discover what you think about your Sea of Faith Network, so we can better plan for the future.” Following Conference, the questionnaire was also distributed to those in Local Groups who had not attended Conference. In all 238 questionnaires were returned. The questionnaire included two types of questions; the first required answers along a given scale, and the second required open-ended responses. The summary of responses to the first group were presented by Ralph Pannett at the 2008 Conference at Blenheim and at that time Ralph made suggestions for consideration by the Steering Committee about the future activities of the Network. Some of that material will be referred to again to give a fuller account members thoughts and ideas. Since then I have reviewed of the second group of questions and categorized the responses with a view to giving us a summary of members subjective opinions on the subjects which had been introduced. The aim of this analysis has been to look at the range of opinion or ideas expressed, and rather than seeking a majority view (as did the first group of questions) to acknowledge all responses including diverse opinion, and recognise that often innovative ideas arise in a minority. Although at times I have indicated the numbers who have made a particular response, they can only be indicative of a general opinion, as they are based on my interpretation of what individuals intended in what they wrote. In summary the subjects explored were: Spirituality; Faith; Local Groups; Conference; Changes to the Network; Publicity. Summaries of each of these topics will appear in the next Newsletters — though not necessarily in that order. In this first paper, I include a summary of the responses to the question Natali Allen |
