Parish Councils

[Brother_John]

Based on posts on another thread, here goes…

Just what IS a “Parish Council”? What does it do? What is it supposed to do, and how should it function? Does the Church have guidelines/rules for Parish Councils?

ready…set…go

 

[puzzleannie]

yes each diocese has rules and definitions for what constitutes a parish council. each parish is required to have a finance commission, which assists with financial accountability and decision making, but cannot act independently of the pastor or bishop. It is recommended but not required that each parish have a parish council made up of parishioners who represent the parish community and the principle ministries and apostolates of the parish, to act in an advisory capacity to the pastor in matters that affect parish life. Their composition, method of election, term of service, frequency of meeting may be set by the diocese or left to the discretion of the pastor.

 

[TMGallyon85]

My local parish seems to have a council for EVERYTHING. They also have Ministries for everything. I remember going to a parish meeting where we were deciding on things involving the parish and it was a definate poltical party moment. Of course alot of the Liberals got their say in The only couple that brought up the latin mass were told to go up to harrisburg to attend it. So maybe somebody else here might answer this because i sure dont know what Councils do.

 

[elvisman]

Based on posts on another thread, here goes…

Just what IS a “Parish Council”? What does it do? What is it supposed to do, and how should it function? Does the Church have guidelines/rules for Parish Councils?

ready…set…go

Parish Councils are usually set up to alleviate some of the load of the business of running a parish off of the priests.
The pastor might find it more efficient to have a council helping him with the various committees within the parish, thereby leaving him more time for pastoral duties such as visiting the sick and infirmed, annointing of the sick, homilies, pre-Cana counseling, and parish emergencies.
**That is what I have witnessed. As for Church guidelines, I don’t know about that. **

 

[Joannm]

Our Pastoral Council is an advisory council only and has no power. I sit on the council as a non voting member, being part of the parish staff. The council recommened a few years ago that we conduct a parish wide survey, which we did with the help of CARA. The results helped us make future plans and to see which areas in the parish needed attention. The council is basicially looking at long range planning. One of our biggest concerns is loosing parishioners to the non-denominational Evangelical church down the road. The council also made suggestions regarding traffic flow around the complex, which is a mess at school release and during CCD and mass times. They are also the eyes and ears of the parish and bring to the pastor and staff any concerns that parishioners may bring to them. Our members are not voted in but are nominated by staff and parishioners. The pastor then invites them to an interview and then may ask them to sit on the council for three years. We have a wide range of people, men, women, elderly, parents, singles and a teen.

 

[markadm]

Ours seems to have a problem meeting.

Hoping this’ll get righted over the coming year.

 

[NetNuncio]

Our Pastoral Council is an advisory council only and has no power. I sit on the council as a non voting member, being part of the parish staff. The council recommened a few years ago that we conduct a parish wide survey, which we did with the help of CARA. The results helped us make future plans and to see which areas in the parish needed attention. The council is basicially looking at long range planning. One of our biggest concerns is loosing parishioners to the non-denominational Evangelical church down the road. The council also made suggestions regarding traffic flow around the complex, which is a mess at school release and during CCD and mass times. They are also the eyes and ears of the parish and bring to the pastor and staff any concerns that parishioners may bring to them. Our members are not voted in but are nominated by staff and parishioners. The pastor then invites them to an interview and then may ask them to sit on the council for three years. We have a wide range of people, men, women, elderly, parents, singles and a teen.

Joan hits the nail on the head. Pastoral councils are advisory and have no authority. Unfortunately, some pastors have given a lot of the authority that is canonically theirs to these councils. This can be dangerous. It relegates pastoral authority to those who may well not have the training for it. Pastoral councils can be a good way to bounce ideas off representatives of the parish, so they certainly can be good. It’s just when pastors try to dodge extra work or get out of making tough decisions when they can become dangerous.

Parish Finance Councils are another matter. As it was said, they are canonically required. The reasons for that are obvious. Priests are pastors of souls. They are trained in theology, not business. While the pastor is the ultimate authority on financial matters, he often relies (and should rely) on the advice of the finance council, which often has business people, accountants and others who specialize in the world of business.

Adam