Source: Orthodox Church in America
SPRINGFIELD, VA [OCA] The Orthodox Convert Survey, sponsored and managed by the Parish Development Forum, will close to respondents on May 29. The survey can be accessed from this link.
“The survey is open to any person who decided to embrace the Orthodox faith as an adult, regardless of the parish, diocese, or Orthodox jurisdiction. Their ‘conversion decision’ could have been recent or decades ago.” said Joseph Kormos, Forum lay co-chair of the Forum and Parish Development Ministry Leader for the Archdiocese of Western Pennsylvania.
“Objectives of the survey are to understand, in their own words, the motivations and aspirations of Orthodox converts, the obstacles they faced on their journey to the Orthodox faith, and what their experiences have been since becoming Orthodox. Results of the survey will be used to create content and context for the upcoming Parish Development Forum as it explores the theme Our Parish and the Future. We expect the insights gleaned from survey responses can help parishes to communicate well with those who may be active seekers, prepare parishioners to welcome them, and to help them to engage and integrate into parish life and ministry.”
Now in its tenth year, the Parish Development Forum is a clergy/laity conference that explores the challenges facing Orthodox parishes, delivers actionable ideas and good practices valuable to parish leaders, and builds mutually supportive relationships among participants.
Registration is open for the 2023 Forum which will be held from 1:00 PM EDT on Thursday, July 13 to noon on Saturday, July 15. The Forum is co-sponsored by the Orthodox Church in America’s Archdiocese of Western Pennsylvania, the Diocese of the Midwest, and the Bulgarian Diocese.
Questions and inquiries may be directed to Mr. Kormos at mailto:joekormos1@gmail.com.