Emmanuel Episcopal Church · Search Committee
What We Heard
A summary of the parish survey, shared with the parish
Responses received September 24 – October 12, 2026
About the survey
Thank you for sharing your voice
38
parishioners completed the survey
Most responses came from members who are active in parish life, and about half came from members 55 and older. Round-table conversations in October helped us hear additional feedback from members of the parish.
Nearly 80% of respondents gave the search committee the highest confidence rating.
How we report results
Percentages are rounded to the nearest 5.
Nothing chosen or mentioned by fewer than five people is reported.
No quotes are used, and written answers are summarized as themes.
Individual responses are not shared publicly. All responses were collected anonymously.
Emmanuel Parish Survey Summary
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Who we are
“Welcoming” is how we see ourselves
Word cloud of the words parishioners used most to describe Emmanuel: welcoming, love, community, inclusive, open, history, acceptance, care, warm, friendly, diverse, spirit, family
About 80% described Emmanuel as welcoming, inclusive, accepting or open.
Our close community, history and downtown home were also named often.
Emmanuel Parish Survey Summary
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What matters most
Fellowship, service and worship lead the way
Most important parts of parish life
Bar chart: fellowship and community about 75%, outreach and service about 65%, worship and liturgy about 65%, preaching and teaching about 40%, Eucharist and sacraments about 30%
Strengths we named
  • Our people and close community
  • Welcome and diversity
  • Strong lay leadership
  • Music and outreach
  • Our historic downtown home
Emmanuel Parish Survey Summary
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Where we hope to go
Young families, youth and our neighbors
Top priorities for the next five years
Bar chart: attracting younger families about 70%, ministry with children and youth about 60%, involvement in our local community about 60%, outreach and service about 55%, worship and spiritual life about 55%
The growth we want
  • A healthier, more active congregation
  • Greater ethnic and cultural diversity
  • More young families
  • Deeper spiritual life
  • More of our neighbors
Many hope Emmanuel becomes a known and trusted presence in Opelika, growing without losing its warmth.
Emmanuel Parish Survey Summary
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Challenges we named
Honest about where we need to grow
Our neighbors don’t know us
The most common answer to what keeps people away: they don’t know we’re here, or what the Episcopal Church is.
From visitor to member
We welcome visitors well. Helping them find a real place in parish life takes more intention.
Sharing the load
Much of our ministry rests on a faithful few. More hands would keep it strong.
Ready for families
Our hopes for children and youth will need the ministries to match.
Formation
Many want deeper Christian education and spiritual formation beyond Sunday.
Resources and momentum
Sustaining our finances, and our recent growth, through this time of transition.
Emmanuel Parish Survey Summary
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The priest we’re seeking
Warm, a strong preacher, a builder of others
Most important qualities (each person chose five)
Bar chart: warm, approachable and relational about 75%; strong preaching and teaching about 65%; develops and empowers lay leaders about 55%; emotionally mature and collaborative about 55%; strong pastoral care about 45%
From a sermon, we want
  • Practical help for daily life
  • A challenge to grow spiritually
  • Depth in scripture and theology
Above all: a priest who listens first and learns who we are, then leads with confidence.
Emmanuel Parish Survey Summary
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Either-or questions
We want balance, with two clear leanings
75–85%
chose a balance on tradition and change, newcomers and members, and priest and lay roles
About 65%
would choose a gifted preacher over a strong administrator
About 50%
favor a priest with energy and vision for change over one who would change less
The preacher and energy questions offered no middle option. Views were most evenly divided on Episcopal tradition versus a broader, ecumenical outlook.
Emmanuel Parish Survey Summary
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Leadership & pastoral care
Know our names, and share the work
Shared leadership
About half want the priest to lead spiritually while lay members carry much of the administration and ministry. Many others want leadership shared equally.
Excellent care
Knows our names and lives, listens deeply, and makes sure care happens, with help from the congregation.
Healthy boundaries
Many want the priest to protect family and personal time, and to be reachable in a true emergency.
Pastoral priorities chosen most: spiritual direction, follow-up with new members, and visiting those who can’t attend worship.
Emmanuel Parish Survey Summary
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Common threads
What we heard again and again
What we value and hope for
We want to grow our welcoming nature into a true sense of belonging.
We are a close, caring community, and we want to stay that way as we grow.
Worship and music are at the heart of our life together.
We hope to grow with young families and children.
We want preaching and formation that deepen our faith.
We want a priest who listens first, then leads.
Where we need to grow
Many of our neighbors don’t know we’re here.
We need to spread the load of ministry across more hands.
We need to be ready to serve new families during worship.
We must sustain our resources and momentum through this transition.
Emmanuel Parish Survey Summary
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Thank you
Your voice is shaping our search.
Questions anytime: opiscopalsearch@gmail.com
Updates: opiscopal.org/search_updates.php