Diocese of Gaylord

The Diocesan Pastoral Council of the Diocese of Gaylord is a community of servant leaders, ordained and lay, who are in touch with the life of the Church of Gaylord. The purpose of this body is to assist the Bishop in discerning, through prayer and study, how the diocese can best carry out the mission of the church. The council is a consultative body to the Bishop which:

Diocesan Pastoral Council

Parish Councils

Outline of a Charter for
Parish Councils

Resources

Selection Process for New
Membership

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Faith Formation of Adults

CONTACT PERSONS
Barbara Matievich, O.P.
Tammy Boylan

1) Receives and studies pastoral needs of the diocese.
2) Formulates recommendations concerning the pastoral needs of the diocese.
3) Plans for quinquennial meetings of the Diocese of Gaylord.
4) Evaluates the implementation of diocesan goals.

Parish Pastoral Councils
A pastoral council is to be established in all parishes of the Diocese. Pastors/pastoral administrators are to regard pastoral council development as a major parish priority. The pastoral council is a community of servant leaders whose purpose is to assist the pastor in discerning, through prayer and study, how the parish can best carry out the mission of the Church.

The pastoral council is the primary consultative body to the pastor/pastoral administrator in the parish, considering all matters of major pastoral concern. In such matters, through prayer and study, policy recommendations are carefully discerned by the pastoral council together with the pastor/pastoral administrator. Policy is implemented by the pastor/pastoral administrator, pastoral staff, and other members of the community who minister with them. The pastoral council's responsibilities include calling all to ministry, pastoral planning, stewardship and/or other pastoral concerns that the pastor/pastoral administrator designates.

Pastoral councils are called to model the unity of the Body of Christ. Councils should be representative of the diversity of the parish community, yet united in carrying out the one mission of the Church. Methods used to select pastoral council members should promote this unity in diversity. Pastoral councils may form various commissions to assist them in their consultative role. Pastoral councils bear the responsibility for forming their members to carry out their roles of servant leadership. Orientation, in-service education, and skills training should be provided to insure that members are able to fulfill their responsibility as Christian leaders.

The pastor's/pastoral administrator's role in this formation is of particular importance and should be clearly recognized. Meetings shape the way in which the pastoral council fulfills its mission. Each pastoral council is required to have a charter. The charter should reflect the guidelines and spell out how the pastoral council will achieve its purpose and fulfill its responsibilities. Once the pastoral council has recommended this charter and the pastor/pastoral administrator has approved it, the pastor/pastoral administrator is to forward it to the Bishop for his approval. The charter should be evaluated regularly by the parish and periodically by the diocese.

Parish Finance Councils
A parish finance council is to be established in all parishes of the Diocese. Pastors/Pastoral administrators are to regard finance council development as a major parish priority. The finance council is a community of servant leaders whose purpose is to assist the pastor in discerning, through prayer and study, how the goods of a parish can best be administered. The finance council is a consultative body to the pastor/pastoral administrator in the parish, considering all matters of major financial concern. In such matters, through prayer and study, policy recommendations are carefully discerned by the finance council together with the pastor/pastoral administrator in accord with the regulations of universal church law as well as norms issued by the diocesan bishop. Policy is implemented by the pastor/pastoral administrator, pastoral staff, and other members of the community who minister with them. The finance council's responsibilities include the careful stewardship of parish resources, the development of further resource, and the allocation of resources to carry out the goals and objectives established by the pastor/pastoral administrator with the pastoral council.

Members of the finance council should be committed to the mission of the Church and should possess experience or expertise in business and home finance, planning, administration, and law. Finance councils may form various commissions to assist them in their consultative role. Finance councils bear the responsibility for forming their members to carry out their roles of servant leadership. Orientation, in-service education and skills training should be provided to insure that members are able to fulfill their responsibility as Christian leaders. The pastor's/pastoral administrator's role in this formation is of particular importance and should be clearly recognized. Meetings shape the way in which the finance council fulfills its mission. Each finance council is required to have a charter. The charter should reflect the guidelines and spell out how the finance council will achieve its purpose and fulfill its responsibilities. Once the finance council has recommended this charter and the pastor/pastoral administrator has approved it, the pastor/pastoral administrator is to forward it to the Bishop for his approval. The charter should be evaluated regularly by the parish and periodically by the diocese.

1) The name of the organization:

The proper name of the parish should always be used.

2) The Parish Mission Statement:

A parish mission statement is the community's description of itself and its reason for exercising ministry in a particular manner. Each parish, simply because it is a distinct community of the Christian faithful, has its own sense or spirit of mission which needs to be articulated. The mission statement forms the underlying principle of ministry in the parish, which is the concern of the councils.

3) The purpose of the Council:

The focus of the charter for the Finance Council will be on the council's specific membership and expertise, and the counsel to be offered to the pastor on matters affecting the administration of parish goods.

4) Membership:

The charter should state explicitly how the membership is constituted and, if more than one means is used for establishing its membership, the proportion of elected members to appointed and/or ex officio members. It should express clearly the term of office of each member. It should make provision for vacancies by reason of death, resignation, inability to continue in office or other cause.

5) Officers:

The charter should designate the officers of the parish councils, the manner of their selection, term of office and responsibilities.

6) Meetings:

The charter should specify the number of meetings each year and their regularity, as well as the principles governing open meetings and executive sessions.

7) Commissions:

The charter should name any permanent commissions and outline their responsibilities.

8) Amendments to the Charter:

The charter should describe the process for amendment.

Conference for Pastoral Planning and Council Development

Each parish must determine the process to be used for the selection of new council members. In the selection process it is important to keep in mind that the parish councils are much different than many other groups with which we are familiar public school boards, city councils, corporate boards and other similar groups.

The role of the parish councils is to be engaged in ministry. They should therefore be concerned with the faith life of the parish and building up of the Kingdom. They should be good listeners, desire spiritual growth, and be open to study and reflection. In the case of the finance council, one who additionally possesses skills in finance and development would be most desirable.

The selection process should include the following four elements in some manner: nomination, screening and/or acceptance of nomination, orientation and selection.

Nominations to the councils may be made by individuals or self nominations. In some instances, present pastoral councils surface a list of potential candidates. While in other cases, the parish at large may be invited to surface names of candidates.

Screening of candidates may be necessary if large numbers of nominees surface. A process to determine whether the candidate would accept the nomination is a necessary second step in the process.

The orientation of the larger than needed group could take place, with the selection of the final council members built into this process. As the group learns what it means to serve on the council, and interacts with one another, a prayerful discernment process could lead to the final selection.

The selection could also take place before the orientation. In this format, only those who are already selected to the council would benefit from the training.

Emphasis in the selection process should be placed on "prayerful discernment" regardless of what form the final selection will take. Once this has happened, membership may be called forth in a form of election or appointment, or selection may be made by lot.

Each parish should establish a process by which the selection of council members takes place, according to the guidelines set in individual parish charters.
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