Informative Forum
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Thank you to all who attended the Informative Forum on Tuesday, November 4, from 6:30pm - 8pm, at St. Conrad Social Hall in Butler, as we looked at data and trends to see not only where our community stands and parish as a whole with member, Mass, and Sacramental number, as well as our financial trends.
Please click on the option of your choice on this page to find the slide-show presentation, the slide in a PDF format, and the follow-up assessment.
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Informative Forum Slides - PDF
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Follow-up from the All Saints Parish Synodal Gathering held at Saint Conrad social hall on November 4, 2025.
*C/O/Q = Comment/Observation/Question
C/O/Q: There are fewer children altar servers, especially after COVID
Response: Deacon Mike hosts training sessions every few months (as recently as November 2025), along with training for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC) and readers. Those trained are to sign up on their own via Sign Up Genius. If anyone has any questions about Sign Up Genius, please contact Cheryl Ankrom.
Parish staff members, and parishioners have offered ideas about getting children excited about altar serving, and we will hopefully implement in the near future.
C/O/Q: Fewer Butler Catholic School (BCS) Families involved in the life of the parish; only 2 BCS families were present at the November 4 Parish Synod (many families of former BCS students were in attendance).
Response: This is an accurate observation, and this trend has been happening for a number of years. Both parish and school leadership continue to encourage BCS faculty, staff, and families to participate at parish Masses, and in parish activities.
C/O/Q: The various parish ministries and activities are not known to many of the parishioners; need more social interaction/activity.
Response: Ministry information is in the bulletin, and on the website; follow the parish on Instagram and Facebook; tell your family and friends about opportunities to encounter the living Christ through the parish. Throughout the year the parish hosts pancake and egg breakfasts, the fish fry, music ministry donut socials, the annual parish picnic, the annual parish 5K Fun Run/Walk; and various men’s and women’s groups.
Additionally, parish staff will look for more creative and new ways of promoting the ministries of the parish, i.e. short videos, bulletin articles.
C/O/Q: The lack of younger families in the parish; the number of funerals outpace baptisms and weddings significantly.
Response: The Butler area (and therefor the parish) is comprised of an older demographic (which we can break down and specify for future synod gatherings); however, there is an active youth program (6th – 8th grades; and 9th – 12th grades); and an active and growing young adult program. Evangelization efforts and activities have increased in the past 20 months, i.e. Theology on Tap, Coffee & Living Catholic (for faith formation families), The Way, Praise & Worship Holy Hours, Advent & Lenten Missions, Parish Podcasts. The 8:30am Mass, the 10am Mass, and the 11:30am Mass are the Masses that the younger families seem to attend most regularly.
C/O/Q: There is no longer a children’s liturgy at the 10am Mass.
Response: The 10am Mass had a children’s liturgy when the faith formation program was held at BCS on Sunday mornings. Since the merging of the 5 parishes in 2021, the parish faith formation program is held Sunday mornings and Monday evenings at Saint Conrad. As a result, many of the faith formation children and parents attend the 8:30am or 11:30am Mass at Saint Conrad.
C/O/Q: The parish offers very little adult Catholic education opportunities, including Catholic social teaching and outreach.
Response: Everyone is invited to participate in our weekly OCIA classes (we promote this in the bulletin); the parish has offered 3 cohorts of The Way within the past year; the men’s group offers adult education opportunities; there is a women’s Bible study/book club.
The parish podcasts offer interviews and perspectives inclusive of Catholic education and social teaching; the USCCB website, and Diocese of Pittsburgh website are good resources for continued education; Father Kevin occasionally promotes certain Catholic books and authors.
The parish hired a social outreach coordinator at the end of 2025 so that we can better serve our community as Christ taught, and at his command to comfort and bring his Good News to those who thirst for Him through loving service.
C/O/Q: We need more priests in this area of the country/world.
Response: The parish does have a vocation committee, begun in 2025 and led by Tom McConnell; Bishop Eckman wants every parish to be more intentional about praying for and promoting priestly vocations; this will be more visible in each parish during 2026.
C/O/Q: As fewer people attend Mass, fewer people are contributing financially. How sustainable is it to keep open 5 churches/campuses?
Response: This is a concern for the long-term future of the parish; currently, the parish is in stable financial shape, but questions arise regarding fiscal responsibility and the number of churches that remain open. The pastor, business staff, and finance & pastoral council members monitor this closely, and make recommendations to assist the decision-making based on the realities of the day, modern day trends, and future projections.
C/O/Q: Perhaps the parish can reach out to those people who no longer attend Mass, especially after the pandemic.
Response: Such evangelization efforts lie primarily with the laity, who can reach out to family members, friends, coworkers, etc. who no longer worship God regularly at Mass; invite them to Mass, invite them to parish activities, and live your faith with joy. A healthy faith life with Jesus individually and collectively requires commitment and cooperation, just like any other relationship that we have in our lives.
C/O/Q: Perhaps the parish needs additional fundraisers.
Response: The fish fry is the parish’s primary fundraiser, and it nets a profit of around $90,000 each year. Fundraising activities require significant numbers of volunteers, and volunteering hours. If you already volunteer for anything parish-related, encourage a friend or family member to obtain their safe environment clearances and join you the next time that your volunteer.
The newly established Endowment Fund for All Saints Parish will certainly help increase long-term financial stability for the parish; more information regarding this endowment endeavor will be available in the first quarter 2026.
Close:
Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in the parish synodal gathering in November 2025.
We plan on having either annual or biennial gatherings for further updates on community and parish trends, engaging in small group conversations and quality feedback from parishioners for the future betterment of the parish.
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