Parish Pastoral Council Leading the parish in discernment and expression of its mission Donna L. Ciangio, OP Church Leadership Consultation West Caldwell, NJ

What is a Parish Pastoral Council? Jesus must be the focus of the parish’s life

Areas of Consideration  Parish Pastoral Councils in the Diocese of Las Cruces  Mission  Function of the Council  Responsibilities of the Council  Vision  Types of Council Groups  What are you going to do next?

Parish Pastoral Councils in the Diocese of Las Cruces

Canon Law After the diocesan bishop has listened to the presbyteral council and if he judges it opportune, a pastoral council is to be established in each parish; The pastor presides over it, and through it the Christian faithful along with those who share in the pastoral care of the parish in virtue of their office give help in fostering pastoral activity. Canon

Diocese of Las Cruces It is the policy of the Diocese of Las Cruces that each parish shall establish and maintain a Parish Pastoral Council (Canon 536). Diocesan Pastoral Manual Section Policy 01-02

Mission

The Church The Parish Are to be reflecting on what the Spirit has been saying to the People of God We are a people on a pilgrimage are moving toward an intended goal with an intended purpose. Tertio Millenio Inuente

Discipleship and Mission For it is possible to be a disciple, to give a loving response to Christ's invitation to come follow him, only if we have truly met Jesus and responded to him in a personal way. Pastoral Activity

Mission of the Parish To help people understand that Jesus is truly present to them here and now, walking the path of discipleship along with them.

Creating a School of Discipleship

What is MISSION? Missio Dei - the activity of God Trinitarian: Father, Son, and Spirit at work in the world Father, Son, and Spirit sending the CHURCH into the world Participating in the sending of God Our mission has no life of its own – only through God who sends us Bosch, Transfoming Mission, p.390

Mission God is a missionary God Mission is seen as a movement by God into the world God calls and gathers “disciples - missionaries” A church does not have a mission, a mission has a church!

The Essential Elements of Parish Mission  Evangelization  Worship  Word  Community  Service  Leadership  Stewardship

Evangelization Encompasses the ways in which the parish intentionally spreads the Gospel. Worship Is the expression of the sacramental and prayer life of parishioners. Includes Sunday Eucharist and other ritual forms of sacred celebration. Word Proclaims, explains, informs, and forms parishioners of all ages in the Scriptures and tradition of the Church.

Community draws parishioners together with Jesus Christ and each other in mutual support, activity, ministry, and celebration marked by including and welcoming all. Service extends the resources of the parish to the needs of others - parish, local community, global community - and demonstrates a commitment to works of compassion and justice.

Leadership calls forth gifts of visioning, planning, empowering, and evaluating for the service of the community. Stewardship Challenges all parishioners to share their time, talent, and treasure for the fulfillment of the parish mission.

Each moment spent, each gift shared, each contribution made in service to the parish and to all whom we meet, is a real participation in and extension of the mission of Jesus. *From New Wine, New Wineskins Program of Diocese of Greensburg, PA. 

It is only when it is fully understood, that one's participation in the life of the parish can be transferred from a perfunctory fulfillment of a task and responsibility into an exciting, challenging and spirit- filled adventure that truly makes Jesus alive and present in our day.

Gospel values must be the ultimate norm and criterion by which decisions are made and against which its results are evaluated All pastoral leaders must constantly reflect on and emphasize how all of the parish's worship, faith- formation, ministries, and social services are related to the mission of Jesus

Discussion How central is your parish mission statement to everything you do in the parish? How have you determined what your mission is? How do you review and evaluate your accomplishments in building the kingdom?

Function of the Council

Praying Community The role of the council is ministerial not merely functional Must be prayerful Faith sharing Grow as a community

Any pastoral planning process must be a prayerful process. The process itself must lead people to holiness. Pastoral planning must be viewed as a means to holiness. The process must be designed with prayer and reflection as a constitutive element. Too often in pastoral meetings, prayer is treated as something ad hoc and perfunctory. If planning is truly pastoral, prayer, scripture reflection and faith sharing, are integral to the method.

Practical Using creative imagination Listening to the Holy Spirit  Coordinate Parish Activities  Policy Review and Recommendation  Problem Solving  Sounding Board for Pastor  Work with finance council so that the mission has the resources to accomplish the work of Christ

Pastoral Using creative imagination Listening to the Holy Spirit What does our parish want and need?  Addressing Major Pastoral Concerns  Assessing Current Ministries  Planning for new or needed ministries  Promoting Stewardship  Evangelization  Addressing Spiritual Needs of the Parish

Planning  Planning for New Ministries  Visioning  Mission development  Long Range Planning

Discussion How does your council pray and build community? What are some examples of how your council has planned practically and pastorally?

Pastors Pastors are to listen more widely to the entire People of God. (45) The pastoral planning process provides a forum for a high degree of lay participation in advising the pastor on the goals of the parish It also brings out and utilizes the gifts and talents of the Pastoral Council for the benefit of the parish community. Tertio Millenio Inuente

Examples:  Utilizing the parish mission statement  Helping parish ministries to develop their own mission statement and yearly goals  Simple parish survey to know what is needed  Helping people know their gifts  Help develop new or needed ministries e.g., welcome packet; welcome event; “This is OLC”

Planning means… To prayerfully consider how God is calling the parish to fulfill its mission in this particular time and place. To serve as a vehicle of dialogue, communication, coordination, and cooperation with all the parish ministries and committees. To gather data through a survey or an annual parish assembly. To use the process of consensus in coming to agreement on recommended courses of action. To empower the implementation of parish goals and objectives with the various parish ministries and commissions.

Pastoral Planning  Where are we now? Identify your MISSION  Where do we want to be? What is the VISION? Parish and Diocesan  How do we get there? Bridging the gap between MISSION and VISION and needs ASSESSMENT

Discussion What is your style of prayer and community building? Is it successful? How often have you done needs assessment? Has that helped in your planning?

Responsibilities of the Council

ROLE OF THE PPC 1. Prayer and faith sharing 2. Participates in pastoral planning, supports and implements 3. Determines basic policy (values) 4. Serves as advisory board for pastor and pastoral staff 5. Works with finance council to assure goal orientation of budget 6. Develops the parish mission statement

7. To annually develop and evaluate progress toward agreed parish goals and objectives and update the plan. 8. To communicate to the parish at large the decisions and thinking of the council. 9. To attend to the prayer and continuing education necessary for council action and the spiritual development of members. 10. The staff acts as a resource and attends council meetings as needed.

New Model FROMTO Parish Council  Parish Pastoral Council A body of leaders  A leadership body Coordinating  Articulating the Ministries Mission Crisis Management  Pastoral planning Doing Activities  Empowerment and Oversight Business  Prayer and and politics discernment Competition  Collaboration Voting  Consensus

Discussion How does your council see it’s role? Practical? Pastoral What would you like it to be?

Vision

Where there is no vision the people perish. Proverbs 29:18 Without prophecy – the people become demoralized. New American Bible Where there is no vision – the people get out of hand. New Jerusalem Bible

What is your Vision of Pastoral Leadership?

First, think about your parish… A church’s vision generally grows from the VISION of the PASTOR PARISH STAFF and COUNCILS

The Pastor, Parish Staff and Council vision grows from the VISION OF THE GOSPEL, Church Teaching and articulated by the bishop, the diocesan pastoral council and other collaborative bodies

THE PASTOR needs to be clear about his vision in the light of the larger Mission of Jesus Christ, the Church’s Vision, and the diocesan vision and goals

What is Your Vision of Your Ministry? at Your Parish Mission Statement

The process of writing a mission statement involves reflecting on a series of questions:

Questions  What things are important to us about ministry?  What are our values?  What are our goals?  What do we feel we have to give?  What are the qualities of character we would like to emulate?  What legacy do we want to leave? What is the Holy Spirit saying to us?

Evaluate You need to review, reflect on and evaluate your mission statement each year… Have a retreat planning day or day of reflection - give some ample time to review and evaluation of all you have accomplished during the pastoral year. (Ministries should review this also) For example:  Do we feel that we have lived up to this mission statement?  How has Jesus been a part of our mission, vision and ministry this year?

Essential Elements Prayer Support Reflection Participation Learning Mission 

Types of Groups and Councils

Go forth and bear fruit that will last

If we have truly contemplated the face of Christ, our pastoral planning will necessarily be inspired by the "new commandment" which Jesus gave us: Love one another, as I have loved you John 13:34 Tertio Millenio Inuente

What are you going to do next: Meet between now and __________ Decide what you most need For example; Start a Parish Pastoral Council Mission statement Start working on your mission statement and create a draft Brainstorm and finish up by July PPC Membership Make sure the right people are “added” Discernment Retreat To assess needs To plan

Discussion How has this presentation and discussion been helpful to you? What are the steps you need to take to make the PPC strong?