Opportunities and Challenges Appendix

Parish Family #2 - Whatcom Catholic

“Opportunities & Challenges”

Supplemental Disclosure

Our Opportunities & Challenges Synthesis Report summarized most common themes shared during the listening sessions. However, all themes shared are important. The below lists reflects, to the best of our ability, all themes heard during the listening sessions. We look forward to continued parishioner input in our next segment – “Who do we want to become?”

Whatcom County Challenges

• Abortion • Homelessness

• Addiction • Housing availability

• Aging seniors • Immigrant legal status

• Bible study • Immigrant support

• Catholic Stigma • Jobs

• Christian community • Marginalized

• City vs County living • Mass times

• Climate change • Mental Illness

• Cost of living • Money

• County unchurched • Need longer term focus

• Distance to churches & services • Politics

• Domestic violence • Public transportation

• Elderly needs • Racial disparity

• Evangelization • Secular environment

• Fallen away Catholics • Social media influence

• Family dynamics & challenges raising kids • Substance abuse

• Food insecurity • Whatcom is expensive

• Gender identity

Parish Family Challenges

• Aging population • Ownership

• Better understandable homilies • Parish retreats

• Belonging • Perception that decisions are already made

• Building conditions • Priest shortage

• Catholic men involvement • Resistance to new ideas

• Choir support and resources • Safety and Security

• Choir volunteers, lack of • Sound systems

• Church size • Staff availability

• Communication • St. Anne is the only church without a Sunday Mass

• Confession times/wait • Support for elderly parishioners

• County calendar • Unsure of volunteer opportunities

• Cry rooms at church • Welcome atmosphere

• Decline in attendance and participation • Welcome atmosphere, especially newcomers, families with

small kids, converts, young adults

• Different expectations at Mass, depending on who the priest is

• Distance between locations • Young adult engagement

• “Domestic Church” • Youth engagement

• Evangelization • Youth Mass

• Faith formation

• Family distractions or priorities conflict with Mass

• Family participation in church

• Fellowship

• Financial challenges – family

• Financial challenges – parish

• Holy week Mass times were difficult

• Individual church identity

• Lack of daily Masses

• Lack of trust

• Lack of uniformity at Mass

• Length of time to unite

• Liturgical support

• Mass times

• More Spanish Masses

• Music autonomy by location

• No “family feeling”

• No parish priests

• Not enough or aging volunteers

• One huge church for Whatcom County

Opportunities

• “Instructional Mass” • Online presence/marketing/advertising

• Adoration • Support Newman Center at WWU

• Avenue for collecting new ideas • Parish Calendar/Events

• Build a community • Parish transportation services

• Catechism in a year • Pilot program for resource sharing

• Catholic Trivia Night • Pool resources

• Children’s Mass • Priest interaction

• Communication • Printed bulletin accessibility

• Community events • Resources for music catalogs and choir support

• County-wide engagement • Spanish Mass in Ferndale

• County-wide parish directory • Staff organization and training

• Cross-cultural participation • Tithing

• Distance • Unsure how to serve

• Elderly outreach and resources • Unsure who to contact

• Engagement with 18-30 year-olds • Volunteer fair

• Establish small groups o Bible study, Women connect, • Volunteer opportunities

parents with small kids, small group outreach, life groups, family groups, etc

• Evangelization • Website improvement

• Faith formation • Whatcom Catholic apparel/swag

• Fellowship • Widow support

• Financial plan • Youth groups

• Formed.org membership

• Foster close community ties

• Fundraising

• Greeters needed

• Grief support group

• Hospitality

• Identify/replicate individual strengths

• Liturgy committee

• Mass intentions/Personal Masses

• Mentorship

• More active parish councils

• Music variety and options, traditional and contemporary

• Name Tag Sundays

• Need missionaries back

• One Catholic Church

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Synthesis compiled by: Charlotte Pros, Bill Zang, Andrea Smith, Gordon Plotts, Dennis Doyle, Tiffany McDonald, Hilary Padilla, Sonja Wolf, and Chris Craven

Listening Sessions held April-May, 2026 (5 sessions in English, 1 in Spanish) 282 Participants