Are you are on an effective committee at your parish?

[leonie]

I just came home from a committee meeting. Only one other lady and I showed up. This committee meets every other month. In the past year that I’ve been on it, it has done nothing. In the first meeting, our parish was going to embrace the whole church catechesis concept, but then at the next meeting it was dropped. Then, we were going to review all the sacramental prep programs in hopes of unifying and improving them all. Then the youth director told us to back off his confirmation program. Then, we were to write a sacramental prep. book that outlined each sacrament and the archdiocese and parish guidelines. Then, after we submitted it, the committee decided not to do anything with it.

I can’t believe I was so excited about making a difference at a program level.

Is this the nature of committees? Are committees a waste of time?

 

[Catholic90]

Are committees a waste of time?

Almost always, yes.

I have found they are a way to keep people busy while very minimally effecting change.

I have been on a few commitees that were actually effective, but those were definitely the exception!

 

[Joe_Kelley]

When all is said and done Much more’s been said than done.

 

[puzzleannie]

I just came home from a committee meeting. Only one other lady and I showed up. This committee meets every other month. In the past year that I’ve been on it, it has done nothing. In the first meeting, our parish was going to embrace the whole church catechesis concept, but then at the next meeting it was dropped. Then, we were going to review all the sacramental prep programs in hopes of unifying and improving them all. Then the youth director told us to back off his confirmation program. Then, we were to write a sacramental prep. book that outlined each sacrament and the archdiocese and parish guidelines. Then, after we submitted it, the committee decided not to do anything with it.

I can’t believe I was so excited about making a difference at a program level.

Is this the nature of committees? Are committees a waste of time?

what is the committee?
who authorized it?
who chose the members?
who decided the agenda of the committee
what is the stated purpose and mission of the committee?
how does that purpose and mission fit in with the stated purpose and mission of the parish?
who is the committee accountable to?

It sounds like you were asked to join the Education and Formation Commission (not committee) of Parish Council, which is usually supposed to represent the parishioners in supporting, advising and assisting the RE program and the directors of the program. Often th EFC does real good work in setting up, promoting and choosing adult ed programs and other areas that don’t fall under the RE director’s mandate.

In many parishes even if this EFC does exist it is a joke, seldom meets, seldom attracts reliable committed knowledgeable participants and if it does operate does so in opposition to rather than in support of the RE program and the DRE.

As far as designing and implementing and RE program and curriculum, recruiting and training catechists, and choosing texts and resources, that is the job of the DRE or “catechetical leader” and the person hired for that job should have that competence. the role of the EFC should be to help the DRE know the mind of the parish, to be a source for recruiting catechists since presumably these parishioners know more good people, assisting in tasks like reviewing texts and giving (name removed by moderator)ut, educating the parish about program changes such as whole community catechesis etc.

The EFC is most effective when it is a functional contributing part of parish council, has the backing of the pastor, and cooperates with the RE program and director.

 

[leonie]

It sounds like you were asked to join the Education and Formation Commission (not committee) of Parish Council, which is usually supposed to represent the parishioners in supporting, advising and assisting the RE program and the directors of the program. Often th EFC does real good work in setting up, promoting and choosing adult ed programs and other areas that don’t fall under the RE director’s mandate.

The EFC is most effective when it is a functional contributing part of parish council, has the backing of the pastor, and cooperates with the RE program and director.

Yep, that’s it.

All the RE staff is on the commission. The youth director in particular treats it like it’s just a pain in the neck.

My friends that are on the parish council say that it is also a joke.

From what I can tell the only effective committees are those that have a specific purpose outside of staff control–the pro-life committee, the Our Lady of Guadelupe Mass committee, the Stop Planned Parenthood Committee.

I think I should drop it and put my energy somewhere else. The only useful work I’ve done is to defend homeschooling to the youth director who is offended that homeschoolers think his confirmation prep program is too fluffy.

I guess I should pray about it. The very orthodox Catholic president of the commission is dropping off. So, if a liberal member takes leadership, should I stay to help balance it. Or, should I count on the ineffectual nature of committees to thwart any actions?

We have a great Pastor, a superior RE director, a great principal. So, maybe the commission is unneeded at this time anyway.

If only the youth director was better formed in his Catholic faith…

 

[puzzleannie]

Yep, that’s it.
If only the youth director was better formed in his Catholic faith…

by the way, one way the EFC contributes is to interview potential candidates for DRE and YM and make recommendations to the pastor.

 

[Michael_Welter]

I head up the Audio/Visual Ministry at my parish, and as a result, I get invited to attend the Liturgy Committee meetings. I went for a while, but usually found that the meeting was a waste of my time. Yes, I need to know what is decided at those meetings, but I don’t need to be there.

I usually found that the “decisions” that needed to be made were mostly made behind the scenes prior to the meeting, such as what Mass times should be for the Christmas Mass schedule, and what music groups will lead music at each Mass, and so on. The meetings seemed to be for the purpose of informing everyone what had already been decided. So, I quit going. They send me the results after the meeting, and I schedule a technician for each Mass. I’m much happier this way.