Census

As we continue our synodal mission to involve all parishioners in the life and work of St. Francis Xavier College Church, our parish is taking one key step: conducting a “census” of our members in the SFX community. Simply put, the more we know and understand about our current parishioners and extended parish family, the stronger and more inclusive we will be.

The Fall 2025 SFX Census is being administered via a survey that is easy to complete and takes approximately from 8 to 15 minutes to complete. We’re asking one member from each household to complete the survey on behalf of their family. The survey questions cover a range of topics including contact and general background information; current parish involvement; interests, experience, and talents; reasons for joining the parish; priorities and needs; and optional open-ended opportunities to share thoughts or ask questions.

Simply put, the information will be used to help grow our relationship with you, better engage our community, and support the work of St. Francis Xavier College Church. More specifically, it will help us in the following ways:

First, it will update our contact information so that we can more accurately communicate with our community. Many of our family’s records haven’t been updated in years. We probably don’t need your fax numbers anymore! 

Second, the data will help inform our decision making for the future of our parish. Our ongoing goal is that our liturgies and programs meet the needs of our community. This data will help us better understand what those needs and desires are. It will also enable us to extend personal invitations to people based on their desired interests and level of involvement. 

Third, it will provide an accurate and current reflection of the size, composition, talents, and needs and priorities of our parishioners. Since our community is so vast, it will be helpful for us to understand the demographics of who attends SFX. More accurate information on our community will help us in our work with the Archdiocese, partnerships with other organizations, and soliciting grant funding. As we have always done, limited family data will continue to be shared with the Archdiocese. The remaining data is for our own internal use as a parish.

We completely understand and respect your desire for privacy. The questions marked with a red asterisk (*) are required on the form. However, if there is a required question you don’t feel comfortable answering, then we encourage you to reach out to Meg Beugg, our Director of Parish Engagement. She will be happy to assist you and record the answers you are willing to share.

Everyone! You do not need to be a registered parishioner. In fact, we want to hear from more than just registered parishioners. We invite all those who consider themselves a part of the College Church family to participate – visitor, friend, parishioner, Youth Faith Formation family, SLU student, volunteer, or whatever your affiliation. If you have an interest in the work and future of our community, we want to hear from you.

​We ask that every adult who considers themselves a part of the SFX community complete the survey. If you're in a relationship where both people are active members of our community, we encourage each of you to submit your own separate responses, but at a minimum, we need at least one response per family. 

We’re aiming for 100% participation!

Yes. There is more to the survey than just contact information. There are questions and information that we don’t ask on parish registration forms. Plus, so many of our parishioners registered a long time ago! Therefore, we are asking everyone to fill it out, regardless of when and if you have registered.

We will try to make the link to the survey form prevalent and easy to find! Everyone who subscribes to the weekly newsletter will receive an email on Sunday, September 14 that contains a link to the survey. For several weeks afterwards, it will be included in the weekly newsletter, on the SFX website, in the bulletin, and via a QR code on posters in the back of church. Please feel free to share with people you know who are a part of our community. We appreciate your help in getting the word out!

Of course! There will be census stations, staffed by volunteers, on Donut Sunday (Sept. 14), the Festival of Ministries (Oct. 5), and the State of the Parish Meeting (Oct. 12). The volunteers are happy to help you access and fill out the digital survey. If you would prefer a paper copy of the survey, one of the volunteers can print off a copy for you. Or, if you need assistance at any other point, feel free to contact our Director of Parish Engagement, Meg Beugg, at meg@sfxstl.org or 314-977-7304.

The four-week survey window will run from Sunday, September 14 to Sunday, October 12. We are hoping for a fast start so that the recording and analyzing of data can begin as soon as possible. The quicker you can fill it out, the better!

Our parish tends to be a last-minute parish…so we want to reward early action! As a thank you and incentive for early completion, everyone who fills out the survey in the first two weeks (by the end of the day September 28) will be entered into a drawing to win a prize, such as reserved parking, homemade cookies by Fr. Tim, and College Church merchandise!

After the census period, we will transition this survey to create a new parish registration form so that we get a lot of this same information from new members that join. Going forward, our goal is to ask all households to review their information on file every three years, as part of a parish-wide campaign to keep the data current and complete. Additionally, we will make it easy to update your information at any point via a form on the website.

You are also welcome to reach out to our Director of Parish Engagement, Meg Beugg, at any time if you want to update or share additional information.

The easiest way is to share it with others. Talk to some of your SFX friends, send a text to people to remind them to fill it out, share it on social media, or volunteer to work a census station at one of the upcoming events. We appreciate your help in engaging our entire community!