Section 2 Pastoral Council

Minutes of last meeting

OLM Pastoral Council Mission

 

To serve the community by being leaders of the Parish; to advise and reach consensus with the Pastor in all matters of the parish - spiritual, educational, social, and financial; and to develop, revise and monitor the implementation of the Pastoral Plan.

  Vision

Our Lady of the Meadows Parish is a Christian Community bound together by the Evangelical call found in the Gospel reading of Matthew, 25:31-40. The Pastoral Council strives to accomplish this mission by forming community, leadership, and awareness within the parish through preaching, teaching and coming together in prayer and fellowship. The Council reviews the spiritual and earthly needs of the greater community and world to determine the parish’s ability to be involved and applies its resources to accomplish the ends demanded by the Gospel. As the decision making body of the parish community, the Pastoral Council coordinates all social events and serves as a channel of constructive communication of all committees, to lead, direct, educate, encourage, and spiritually develop all, that we may form a truly Eucharistic community

 

Council is the policy and planning committee of the Parish. It is responsible for accomplishing, reviewing and revising the Pastoral Plan. Council consists of eight adult and three youth members called from the community, the Pastoral Staff and the Business Manager. It operates on consensus, meaning that every member must be able to live with a decision before it becomes parish policy. There are no titled positions on council except for the person responsible for conducting the meetings, who is called the president and appointed annually. Council meets once a month, on the first Thursday at 7 PM..

 

A primary purpose of Council is to ensure that committees and ministries have the resources and support to accomplish their mission and the Pastoral Plan. To this end, each Council member is a liaison to one or more committees or ministries in the Parish. The liaison meets with committees and carries back to Council needs and concerns. This method relieves committee heads from attending more meetings and diverting their attention from their work.

Members:

Youth Representatives

Pastoral Council Guidelines and By-Laws

 

Diocesan General Information: http://www.dioceseofpueblo.com/

• Parish pastoral councils are to be advisory in all matters of the parish - spiritual, educational, social, financial — except where specifically limited by Church laws, diocesan policy or the documents of Vatican II.
• The pastor must approve all recommendations of the parish pastoral council (power of veto)
• If the pastor feels he cannot approve a recommendation, the parish pastoral council ... may have recourse to the Bishop
• The pastor ... supervises all pastoral staff/parish employees.
• Pastoral staff can be a support to the parish pastoral council. Thus, their participation is essential to parish pastoral planning and goal setting. The implementation of the parish pastoral plan and goals is then carried out by pastor and parish pastoral staff.

Role of Pastoral Council:

• To serve as a permanent channel for constructive dialogue among the pastor, pastoral staff and laity in the parish.
• To provide leadership, direction, education, resources and encouragement in the apostolic and spiritual development of all parishioners.
• To provide an annual assessment of parish concerns and to help discern the needs of the parish.
• To be sensitive to the needs surfaced, both spiritual and temporal, of the parish and the community and develop and prioritize parish goals.
• To serve as a coordinating body for all organizations and group apostolic activities.
• To provide the parish with a means of communication and participation with the larger Church.
• To serve as a means of communication in the secular and religious activities of the community.
  1. To promote and encourage all parishioners to participate in an active parish social program.
  2. To develop and implement the Pastoral Plan (Planning and Goal setting).

Responsibilities:

• Meet at least ten times per year. Meeting times and places will be set with the consensus of the council.
• Reach consensus with the pastor in all aspects of parish finances, fundraising, property maintenance, fund disbursement and administration.
• Have a mission statement and bylaws
• Determine the number of standing committees that are necessary to accomplish parish goals. A member of the parish pastoral council should be appointed to serve as a liaison between each committee and the parish pastoral council. Establish a parish pastoral council standing committee entitled “finance committee.” All standing committees are to make reports to the parish pastoral council.
• To participate with the pastor in the selection of potential parish employees.
• Participate in the evaluation of parish programs and parish personnel.
• To offer periodic reports to the parish on:
  1. The progress of goal implementation (three times a year):
  2. Parish financial statements (quarterly):
  3. Summary of the minutes of parish pastoral council meetings (after every regular meeting).
  4. Prepare a report on the progress of parish goal implementation to the Bishop at the time of his Pastoral Visit

  Procedures:

Normally, all meetings are to be open to parishioners. At the discretion of the parish pastoral council executive committee, some meetings of the parish pastoral council may be closed.

• Consensus will be used for decision-making. Consensus has been found to be the most Christian manner of problem solving. Consensus has been achieved when all members can live with the final decision.
• Each year the parish pastoral council is to plan and budget for itself: 1) an annual day of recollection; 2) an education workshop; and 3) conduct a self-evaluation biannually.

Membership:

• Membership eligibility and nomination processes will follow Diocesan guidelines and is at the pleasure of the Pastor.
• Council will have 8 members.
• Terms begin January 1 each year
• Selection for vacancies on the council will be by drawing.
• Membership tenure will be 3 years. More than one consecutive term can be served without going through the nomination process. Terms will be staggered to maintain continuity on council.
• The Deacon, Business Manager and Pastoral Associate are invited to all meetings.

Officers:

• The only officer to bear a title will be the President. He/she shall conduct meetings and represent the Pastoral Council as required.
• The President shall be selected each year and must have served at least one year on council prior to selection.
• The job of secretary will be assigned at each meeting. The secretary will ensure that meeting notes and committee reports are published in accord with council practices.

 

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