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Community of Faith COVID-19 Staff Survey

  • Record the date of conversation
    MM slash DD slash YYYY

  • Hi my name is ______ and I'm calling from Shining Waters Regional Council. Do you have about 10 or 15 minutes to talk about how your Community of Faith is doing?

    If not, ask when a good time to call back might be.

  • In this extraordinary time of crisis, Shining Waters wants to know how all our Communities of Faith are doing. We have heard news of many of them, but we want to make sure that every CoF is contacted. We want to create as complete a picture as possible of how CoFs are coping in this crisis in areas such as staffing, worship, and so forth

  • Has your CoF been able to find alternative ways to worship together? (e.g., streaming their own service, sending out worship services by email, linking in to other streaming services) If so, what has the experience been like?
  • Has the CoF retained all their staff since the start of the crisis, or have they had to reduce hours or lay off? If so, which staff? If not, try to get a sense of where discussions are in the CoF around this. Is it imminent? A month off?
  • Has the CoF been able to create ways for congregants to stay connected with each other? If so, how? And how is it working?
  • Does the CoF have any community ministries? (e.g., Food Bank, Drop In program, etc.) Has the CoF been able to continue those ministries or not. In what way have they changed if continuing?

  • Finances

    What has been, or what does the CoF anticipate will be, the amount of decline in revenue from pre-crisis?

    How much from donations, from fundraisers (are these cancelled or postponed), from rental income?

    How long does the CoF anticipate being able to carry on financially in the current status quo (whatever that might be for the CoF)?

    What plans have been made or talked about to cope financially?

    If the congregation appears to be in – or approaching – financial distress, please ask: What local resources are you able to use – CanadaHelps, line of credit, restricted funds (Jody can approve one time use up to $25,000).

    Will the congregation be able to make use of the wage subsidy and any other economic measures offered by the government?

    What are the salary expenses for the congregation and what are the expenses beyond salary? Are you able to defer payment on any expenses?

  • You can make notes here but also do the rating below.

  • Make some notes, but in the response form, also give a rating of 1 – 5:

    1 = Losing minor revenue, no immediate need to cut spending

    2 = Losing some revenue, will need to make some spending adjustments

    3 = Losing significant revenue, will need to make significant spending cuts

    4 = Losing most revenue, will need to make drastic spending cuts

    5 = In dire straits, will need to reduce almost all spending or close

  • What is the greatest need of the CoF at this time? (try to push this out beyond just money! Do they need certain kinds of expertise or advice? Is it in a particular area like pastoral care, congregational life, worship?)
  • What might the CoF be able to offer to the wider community of our UCC family? This could include new creative ideas they have come up with; innovative fundraising strategies; liturgies; shared personnel, etc.)
  • Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. The information you have provided today will allow the region to respond more strategically to this crisis.
  • Any other notes from the conversation go here.
  • In your conversation, did you sense that the minister is in particular need or personal or other support? Please indicate which staff person would be best to follow up:

  • If CoF needs follow up, please indicate the urgency. If no follow up is needed just skip.

    1 - this is a congregation that may not make payroll for April 15 – need a call in the next week

    2 - this is a congregation that may struggle if Covid-19 lasts more than 3 months – need a call in the next month

    3 - this is a congregation that will likely survive COVID-19 but will need long term support around mission and/or viability – need a call in the next couple of months