Dear Charles,
Thank you for your participation in the Daily Meditation ministry survey in July. We are pleased to share the results with you!
We learned much from what you had to say. One thing that stands out is that most of you love the Daily Meditation just as it is! We are pleased to be providing a ministry that makes such an impact each day.
Over 3,200 people responded to the survey and provided wonderful and valuable input. Thank you for taking the time for this important work. You will enjoy reading what you told us. Happy reading!
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How does the ministry enrich your spiritual practice? The majority of people read the meditation daily as it provides a quiet moment to pray and give thanks. They also enjoy Henri's message and when relevant, share it with others by forwarding the email to them. Very few people use the meditation to structure their spiritual study or use it in small group. __________________________
What themes of Henri resonate most deeply with you? Many of Henri's themes seem to resonate with most of the survey participants. Here are the top themes listed by popularity in ascending order: Compassion
Prayer
Forgiveness
Hope
Trust
Living the Word |
The least popular theme was fundraising.
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How did you find the Daily Meditation ministry and what made you decide to subscribe? Close to half of the responses said they found out about the ministry and subscribed because a friend forwarded a daily meditation to them. A quarter of responses said they did an internet search on Henri Nouwen and found this ministry. 20% of folks had varied responses from seeing it posted on a friend's Facebook page, being told about it by friends, recommended by church members, and from reading his books. There were a handful of those who simply don't remember how or when they became a part of the Daily Meditation ministry because they signed up long ago!
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What would you like to see more of in the Daily Meditation email ministry? Over 1,000 people shared their ideas and suggestions. This information is extremely valuable and is already being used to help structure future value for you. A large number of you let us know that you love the ministry just as it is.
What you love about it:
- it's based on Henri's writings
- it's length is just right (but please don't make it any longer!)
- the addition of scripture last year is well received (and a direct connection between the scripture and the message would be even better)
- some of you learn something new each year with the Bread For The Journey passages (and many of you would like to see new material based on his other works)
What you would like to see in the content: - to be more applicable to daily life, life struggles and what's happening in the world
- to consider writing in everyday language
- to be possibly connected to Church calendars
- possible topic or themed-based meditations*
*The request for topic or themed-based meditations was quite popular. Many of you made recommendations on what type of topics and themes you would like to see. Suggestions range from daily life matters with family, individual struggles and enlightenment to community work and interaction to exploring and living the Word of God. The Society will be taking these recommendations seriously when considering future programs and services such as the well received idea of the 30-Day Email Mediation series. Although this is not presently an active program, it will be given serious consideration in the new year.
What you recommend to help make it more impactful:
- adding a prayer, single sentence comment or quote for a takeaway
- include further references to Henri's readings or other books
- testimonials from subscribers on how this ministry has impacted your life
- practical hints for daily living out of the gospel message
- message from HNS and other leaders
- ability to easily share on Facebook and Twitter
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Are you or have you been a past financial supporter of the Society? Approximately 80% of respondents are not or haven't had the opportunity to support the Society in this way.
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What new programs would interest you as a person familiar with the work (or writing) of Henri Nouwen?
By far the most popular response is the 30-Day Email Meditation series. The remaining program ideas are listed by popularity in ascending order: - Small group resources to promote faith sharing groups
- E-Workshops, multi-hour course-based on Nouwen's writings and teachings
- Electronic newsletter
- Spiritual support for caregivers
- Enhanced E-Book that combines text/audio/video to explore Henri's writings
Other recommendations included retreats and/or retreat resources, support for church leaders, and a possible study course on the Bible and Henri's writings. Some of you told us that time is a precious commodity and that any new program would be evaluated on relevance, interest and time commitment. There is even a group of you who are ready to sign as soon as they become available.
We are also pleased to see that 85% of respondents would like to receive more information on the new programs, information and developments happening at the Henri Nouwen Society.
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What's next?
As stated above, we have taken your input and have been incorporating it into our current developments.
We are excited to highlight some of those features on our new website. - The Daily Meditation features predominantly on the homepage.
- You will be able to leave a comment and/or engage in discussion with others.
- The addition of an engaging question, comment or prayer at the end of each meditation.
- You can easily share the meditation on Facebook and Twitter.
- The length will remain the same.
During 2016, we will be working towards archiving the ministry by topic and/or theme. Lastly, we will be exploring new spin-off program ideas based on what you have told us.
We are very grateful fro your feedback.
Faithfully, Karen Pascal, Executive Director
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