The Parish of The Risen Lord Preston

The 2010 Survey

At the beginning of the summer holidays we carried out a questionnaire on New Hall Lane near St Matthew and on Avenham Lane near St James. Over 100 questionnaires were filled in by members of the public. We asked people a few simple questions:

• What is the church here for?
  Many said the church was for prayer and/or worship. A smaller number said it was for baptisms, weddings and funerals, while quite a significant number said they didn't know or didn't care what the church was for. Some said it was to push religion, while interestingly, some said it was for the community.
• Would you ever go to the church?
  Many said, yes - but most only said for baptisms, weddings and funerals; many used to go as children or in the past; and quite a large number did not go at all.
• What would you like us (the church) to do for the community?
  Many people thought the church should be working with children and young people. Others added that the church can provide help for the elderly or those in need, or provide things for people to do, such as trips out, clubs, etc. A smaller number thought the church should be helping build community, making the environment better, helping fight crime, etc.
• If there was one question you could ask God what would it be?
  There were many different answers to the final question. Some asked the question, why? Why war, suffering, evil, why do bad things happen to good people? There were also many religious questions like: what is the meaning of life? Is God real? Why do we have to die? How can I go to heaven? Is there forgiveness.? Can I start my life over again?

There's certainly a great deal of information here to help us in developing our mission to the people of our parish - and alot of thought and hard work that we need to do to achieve our vision "To grow a community of Christian believers to worship God and to share the love of Christ with others."