What We Heard in the Hospitality Audit
Beloved friends of LaSalle -
I want to thank everyone who took part in a recent exercise we did as a church called the Hospitality Audit. The Audit was a space to listen well (from the Latin "audire" - which means, "to hear") to a wide variety of voices about how we as a body currently, and in the future, handle various aspects of hospitality. We had over 40 participants who took part in this process, rotating between tables to discuss 8 different topics that relate to the life of our church. The exercise itself, the responses, and our staff and Elder Board reflections on the Audit have been very helpful and illuminating - we heard some great feedback on our strengths, and also on places we can grow.
Overall, participants ranked LaSalle as very hospitable (8.5 / 10), with high points being newcomer and new member welcome, staff connection to congregants, sermons that weave in timely realities from the week, musical worship that is clearly multi-denominational and multi-ethnic, clear Communion directions, and a feeling that a variety of beliefs and practices can belong and be welcome. Thank God for the rich legacy of LaSalle being a church that makes room, that is currently growing and changing to meet its shifting community, and being a place that holds together diversity, questions, belief, and those healing from past difficult places!
We also heard some feedback on areas that could use some strengthening. One area with various comments was our snacks after church - the quality of food, the representation of what kind of food/drink we offer, and the overall feeling of connection happening during coffee hour were all points of note. We'll be addressing this with establishing a Snack Team in the coming weeks, thinking about how to serve a wider variety of foods that represent all of us better (chai tea for the win!), and shifting some of how we arrange and frame our coffee hour together.
Another area with multiple comments was the gap in belonging that some folks experience even after being at LaSalle for multiple years - whether being asked by others are they new, or not being sure where to plug in in activities, and the hope to connect with congregants not just staff outside of Sundays. We'll be addressing this area in a variety of ways in the coming months, including creating more small group conversation spaces, tightening up our communication online and in print, creating more clear avenues to volunteer/engage, and some teaching on centering, belonging, ethnic diversity, and leadership. We'll also be launching a Congregational Care team soon, meant to help empower and equip a team of gifted lay folks to extend pastoral care and connection in various ways throughout the church.
There were also a few very specific comments that are easy to implement now: we'll make more clear during Communion why we only serve juice not wine (to be in solidarity with all those who are in recovery); we will keep inviting folks to join choir and, based on interest and response, build out further that part of our worship; and we'll keep asking the church for ideas for music and for a wider range of musicians and singers (especially those who are bi-lingual) to help shape our musical worship each Sunday.
In the coming months you will keep hearing about these and other responses that we're working on, as we continue to grow in this area of welcoming well, creating belonging, and depending our identity as a generous community, of expansive faith, that's invested in God's justice together! Thank you again for speaking into this process, and know that we'll keep listening, and growing well, together!
- Rev Liz