ÿþ<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> <head> <meta name="Description" content="St. Therese Little Flower, Catholic Church, Cincinnati OH." /> <meta name="Keywords" content="your, keywords" /> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <meta name="Distribution" content="Global" /> <meta name="Author" content="Erwin Aligam - ealigam@gmail.com" /> <meta name="Robots" content="index,follow" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="lfcStyle.css" type="text/css" /> <title>St. Therese Little Flower Catholic Church, Cincinnati, OH</title> </head> <body> <!-- wrap starts here --> <div id="wrap"> <!-- Page Header --> <script src="includes/header.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <div id="header-photo"><img src="images/header-photo.jpg" width="670" height="206" alt="header-photo" /></div> <!-- Page Navigation --> <script src="includes/nav_Home.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <!-- content-wrap starts --> <div id="content-wrap"> <div id="main"> <img src="images/EmbracingTheFuture.jpg" width="100%" alt="Embracing the Future logo" /> <h3>Embracing the Future: Next Steps</h3> <p>The number one priority of our Embracing the Future Pastoral Plan is the reestablishment of a Pastoral Council at Little Flower. One of Fr. Goebel s last actions, before leaving on sabbatical, was to establish an ad-hoc committee charged with the task of recommending possible models of Pastoral Councils. Its report is due in January. Fr. Goebel will then choose from among the models presented. Members of this committee are:</p> <ul> <li>Jim Brown, Facilitator</li> <li>Debbie and Mark Albert</li> <li>Anita Bechtold</li> <li>Danny and Debbie Otero</li> <li>Don Weinkam</li> </ul> <p>The committee began its work by studying the booklet I Like Being in Parish Ministry: Pastoral Council, by Mark Fisher and by reading the Archdiocesan manual, Called to be Church: A guide for Parish Pastoral Councils. We have also read and discussed selected chapters in the on-line book Pastoral Councils in Today s Catholic Parish, by Mark Fisher.</p> <p>We have learned that the role and function of Parish Councils have evolved over the years. In this Focus article, we will share some of the ways that PCs have evolved and give some indication of the range of options open to us.</p> <h5>Name: Parish Council vs. Pastoral Council</h5> <p>Parish councils were first established in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1966. In the last 40 years, pastors and their parishioners have had a wide range of experiences as they have matured in their understanding of church leadership and shared responsibility. Current Archdiocesan guidelines state: </p> <p>The name  Pastoral Council is recommended for three reasons:</p> <ul> <li>It reflects more accurately in name its chief task of assisting the pastor  in fostering pastoral activity. (Can.537)</li> <li>It helps clarify how distinct the role of the Parish Pastoral Council is compared to the role and work of the Finance Council. The Parish Pastoral Council is charged with assisting the pastor in parish renewal and pastoring; while the Financial Council is responsible to  aid the pastor in the administration of parish goods. (Can.537)</li> <li>The Parish Pastoral Council is not a governing board, nor does it make decisions as boards of trustees, civic and/or business councils often do. Parishioners who bring such expectations to their participation of a Parish Pastoral Council may experience conflict about its role. The title of  Pastoral Council can have a significant effect in orienting both the parish community and potential council members to the more proper and effective purpose of the Parish Pastoral Council.</li> </ul> <h5>The Purpose of a Pastoral Council in a Parish</h5> <p>The two most common types of Councils in the U.S. are the Coordinating Council and the Planning Council. The Coordinating Council is composed of representatives of the parish s various ministerial commissions  the worship commission, the education commission, and so forth  it ensures their cooperation and keeps council members informed about what is happening in all the areas of parish life. This style of council is a common one. It illustrates one purpose of councils, namely the coordination of parish commissions. But this is not the only style of council. The Planning Council s main purpose is to assist the Pastor in Pastoral Planning  assessing parish needs, visioning, establishing pastoral priorities. The two are not mutually exclusive. But the council that focuses on coordinating may find that it has little time for planning and vice versa.</p> <h5>Choosing Council members</h5> <p>In the past most parishes throughout the Archdiocese selected Parish Council members by way of an annual nomination-election process. This process usually produces a good mix of dedicated and effective council members who serve their parishes well. In theory, the election process allows for participation of the parish community, and usually produces a fairly representative group of men and women, old and young people to provide a &quot;voice of the people.&quot;</p> <p>In practice, elections sometimes fall flat. This happens when we parishioners know little about the council ministry and less about the people we are voting for. As councils evolved from Parish Councils to Pastoral Councils; as their role evolved from &quot;Coordinating&quot; to &quot;Pastoral Planning&quot;, the qualities asked of the councilor also evolved. If the council is to be a group of patient investigators, thorough reflectors, and searchers for practical wisdom, a different kind of councilor is preferable. </p> <p>For these reasons some diocesan guidelines call for selection of council members by methods other than elections. The two most common methods are:</p> <ul> <li> <p><b>Discernment:</b> The discernment option is based on the belief that for today s parishes to find good councilors two things are necessary: first, parishioners have to know about the work of the council and about the gifts the good councilor needs; and second, parishioners have to see one another put their gifts into action. This can best happen in a meeting or a series of meetings with broad participation.</p> <p>There are a variety of possible discernment models, but each endeavors to educate nominees about council membership, to help them discover the extent of their gifts and their willingness to serve, and to encourage nominees to decline council membership if others are better qualified. That is the essence of discernment: to unlock the depth of a nominee s ability and desire, based on real knowledge of the nominee and of the council ministry.</p> </li> <li><p><b>Pastor Appointment:</b> Many pastoral council guidelines include a provision for Pastors to appoint members. This provision is usually a supplement to elections and allows the pastor to appoint a small number of council members in order to make the council representative of the parish itself. Thus the council can better help make present the wisdom of the people.</p></li> </ul> <p>The Archdiocesan guidelines encourage parishes to consider either Discernment process or Pastor Appointment in addition to parish wide elections.</p> <p>View the <a href="PDF/Future/EtFBooklet.pdf" target="_blank">Embracing the Future Booklet</a>.</p> <p>View the <a href="PDF/Future/EmbracingTheFuturePastoralPlan.pdf" target="_blank">Embracing the Future Pastoral Plan</a>.</p> <!-- main ends --> </div> <div id="sidebar"> <!-- Additional Info --> <img src="images/lfcChurch.jpg" width="144" alt="Front view of church" class="float-left" /> <h3>Embracing the Future</h3> <ul class="sidemenu"> <li><a target="_blank" href="PDF/Future/IntroductoryLetter.pdf" >Introduction</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href="PDF/Future/CommitteeMembers.pdf" >Committee Members</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href="PDF/Future/Report Insert 062809.pdf" >Summary of the Parishioners' Input</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href="PDF/Future/EtFBooklet.pdf" >Embracing the Future Booklet</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href="PDF/Future/EmbracingTheFuturePastoralPlan.pdf" >Embracing the Future Pastoral Plan</a></li> </ul> <!-- Links --> <script src="includes/Links.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <!-- sidebar ends --> </div> <!-- content-wrap ends--> </div> <!-- Page Footer --> <script src="includes/footer.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <!-- wrap ends here --> </div> </body> </html>