All Saints’ Central Texas Interfaith Core Team Conversation Circles Results from Oct. 13

All Saints’ Central Texas Interfaith Core Team reports on parish input in September and October, concerning the Conversational Circles conducted on October 13, 2024

On the 8^th of September, at the Ministries Fair, the All Saints’ CTI Core Team conducted a survey, asking members of our congregation to identify the current issues in our public life that concern them the most. Some sixty participants responded to the questionnaire.

On the 13^th of October the Core Team conducted conversational circles with about twenty-five participants. Two questions were posed: (1) What are you most concerned about, and what do you most appreciate about life together in our congregation? And (2)

What are you most concerned about, and what do you most appreciate about life together in our civic community?

This report summarizes the responses to both inquiries.

What members appreciate about All Saints’

Many responses noted typical aspects of Episcopal tradition, such as the historic liturgy, conducted in a reverent manner, in the compact space of our neo-Gothic building, accompanied by well-performed music in variety of traditional styles. (Some would like to expand our repertoire of “toe-tapping” gospel hymns.) In addition, participants noted the feeling of intimacy created by the relatively small size of the congregation, opportunities for fellowship (e.g., the potlucks) and for meaningful conversation (e.g., the conversational circles), the support for Loaves and Fishes, the variety of topics explored in the Adult Forum, and the members’ care for one another.

What concerns members have for All Saints’

With regard to parishioners’ concerns about our congregational life, there was little consensus. Most of the things that were mentioned resonate with concerns that have surfaced in conversational circles on previous occasions.

For example, one person expressed a desire for a Rite I service with music, and another person voiced a desire for programing with greater sensitivity to the demands of a full-time work week and school schedule. These can be seen as aspects of a scheduling puzzle that continues to be problematic—what combination of liturgical and formation options to offer and at what times?

Similarly, some expressed frustration with our impersonal mode of publicity for programs and events, an issue that has also come up previously. This time it was expressed with the additional observation that ineffective publicity may be part of the reason for the generally low level of participation that leaves many uninvolved while too few others carry too many burdens. Newly emerging concerns include wishes for more funding for Loaves and Fishes and for a young-adults group (which has been initiated in the meantime).

There was no groundswell of interest in either the old or the new concerns, nor any persons animated enough to take the lead in exploring them. If the same concerns keep surfacing in future conversational circles but without any willingness to take action on them, perhaps some IAF-style agitation could be made part of the group dynamic.

Our appreciation and concern for our civic life

The participants’ appreciation for and concerns about our civic life can be treated together, because they are two sides of the same coin. On the one hand, folks were grateful for living in a vibrant and increasingly cosmopolitan area, where there is much creativity in business, the arts, and education, good recreational and cultural amenities are widely available, and local government aspires to work for the common good. On the other hand, our civic life is undermined by a huge problem that might be summarily called affordability. This problem has many interrelated aspects, including living wages, low-cost housing, food insecurity, gentrification, homelessness, and unequal provision of services and resources.

In addition to affordability, participants in the conversational circles identified gun safety and the environmental crisis as major concerns. The same three issues also topped the list of concerns of the much larger group of respondents to the survey on September 8^th, a fact which suggests that the participants in the conversational circles were representative of the congregation in general.*

We will share with other members of Central Texas Interfaith the issues that we have identified as important for All Saints, and they will share theirs with us. Together we will develop the CTI agenda of issues that we will work for in the coming session of the Legislature and the 2026 electoral cycle.

The role of conversational circles in parish life

These conversations help us to view ourselves from a distinctive ground-level perspective, and from this perspective to discern the things we care most deeply about. The conversations are a necessary prelude to whatever action we may take for the betterment of our common life. We hope that this report shows the potential benefits of participating in conversational circles and incorporating them into the regular rhythm of congregational life.

Respectfully submitted,

* The results of the survey were: (1) Affordable Housing & Homelessness—31; (2) Gun Safety—28; (3) Environment—27; (4) Public School Funding—26; (5) Healthcare—24; (6) Living Wages—16; (7) Vote Suppression and Election Security—12; (8) Police oversight—3.