The Parish Pastoral Council's role is to promote the Church's mission to live and communicate the love and values of Christ in the world around us. The Parish Pastoral Council shares in the responsibility for the ongoing life and development of the Parish, working together with parishioners to provide support for their efforts to live as followers of Christ.

The Parish Pastoral Council seeks to:

• Listen and respond to the hopes, ideas, needs and concerns of parishioners.
• Provide opportunities for parishioners
  -- to grow in their relationship with God and with each other
  -- to support and encourage them in their ongoing efforts to be a Christian influence in the wider community.
• Set long-term and short-term pastoral goals for the parish.
• Contribute towards making parish decisions that reflect the values of the Gospel and the teachings of the Church.
• Provide support for the pastor.

If the Parish Pastoral Council is to work collaboratively and function effectively, the number of members must not be too high. Even for a large community, a maximum of twelve (12) is strongly recommended. The twelve members would include the pastor, parishioners and perhaps one or two ex-officio members eg parish pastoral minister and school principal. Many pastoral councils are finding that a group of eight to ten members allows maximum participation and produces satisfying outcomes. For very small communities, a group of five or six members will be sufficient.

Pastoral councils are assisted in their functioning and outcomes if there is some continuity of membership. The most common trend is to have a two-year term of office with the option of a second two-year term. The advantage of this approach is that the team has two years to build mutual trust, a helpful understanding of the parish and efficient operating processes, before moving into a changeover phase. For the sake of continuity, the expectation is that at least three members will complete a second term. Also needed are: (a) a careful changeover process (b) regular reporting to the community, and (c) an efficient keeping of minutes.

Other options, which are used less frequently, include having a two-year term with half the membership changing each year, or having a three-year term with one third of the council changing annually. In either case, the parish pastoral council will have met eight times, or less, before beginning to seek new members. Also, parishioners often grow tired of responding to the request for recommending new members, if it occurs too frequently.

The new process of inviting parishioners to recommend rather than nominate new pastoral councillors is currently producing an increased range and number of prospective members.

This differs from the usual nomination process used by committees in general. When using the nomination process, the person to be nominated has to agree beforehand to having his/her name put forward as a nominee. The constant struggle by a large number of parishes to find new members in this way, suggests that another approach is needed.

The recommendation process has three steps:

1. Recommendations. Parishioners are invited to recommend one or more parish members for possible parish pastoral council membership. There is no need to approach the person beforehand. Also, the number of times a person is recommended has no bearing on the final outcome.
2. Invitations. All parishioners who have been recommended, are contacted and invited to an information session, at the end of which they will be invited to accept or decline nomination. Usually the current parish pastoral council members do the contacting by phone or face-to-face, if possible. The personal approach is the most fruitful. In the contact, the name of the person who did the recommending (if known) is not shared. Those recommended are invited to attend the session even if at this stage they would like to decline nomination. Many participants are encouraged and affirmed by the fact that someone considered they were worth recommending. The session provides current information about parish pastoral councils, their role, their function and the local outcomes. At the end of the information session, participants will be invited to accept or decline nomination.
3. Information Session. The content of this session would include:
   1. The current role and function of the Parish Pastoral Council
   2. An outline of the issues and projects of the outgoing Council.
   3. Answering questions relating to the practicalities of being a member eg time commitment, responsibilities, qualities needed.
   4. A brief sharing from the pastor of why he values having a council.
   5. A brief sharing from one or two members of what they have gained personally from being a member of the council.
   6. Time for reflection and prayer about the possibility of accepting or declining nomination, and then sharing that decision either in writing or orally.

Parish Pastoral Council

• You are invited to recommend as many parishioners as you wish.
• The number of times that any person is recommended will have no influence on the final membership of the Council.
• There is no need for you to ask the person whom you wish to recommend, to accept.

Every person recommended will be invited to an Information Session at the end of which they will be asked if they wish to accept or decline nomination.

I wish to recommend the following members of our parish
as possible members for our Parish Pastoral Council.

Recommended Candidate

Name ________________________________________Telephone (if known) ___________________

Address (if known) __________________________________________________________________

(Optional) I believe this person would bring to the Parish Pastoral Council the following qualities, talents and experience:

                _____________________________________________________________________

Recommended Candidate

Name ________________________________________Telephone (if known) ___________________

Address (if known) __________________________________________________________________

(Optional) I believe this person would bring to the Parish Pastoral Council the following qualities, talents and experience:

                _____________________________________________________________________

Recommendations Close:    (date)

This form can be returned to the:

• Collection plate at weekend Mass
• Recommendation Box provided at the entrance to the Church
• Parish Office School Office

1. Inform the parish, using a variety of approaches, that the term of office of the current council is coming to an end. Possibilities include using the parish newsletter, addressing the community at the end of the weekend Eucharist, preparing a poster, placing a notice on the parish website and in the school newsletter.
2. The following week provide an outline of the role of the council and a brief synopsis of the achievements of the outgoing council. Mention that the following week, parishioners will be invited to recommend possible members of the new council.
3. Provide one or two brief, constructive statements from current councillors relating to their experience of being a member of the council. Indicate how many new members are required. Invite each parishioner to recommend at least one person for possible membership of the new council. Be sure to proved a recommendation form for each parishioner.
4. Collate the recommendations and contact those parishioners who have been recommended, inviting them to an information session. The purpose of the session is to provide current information about pastoral councils. At the end of the session, parishioners will be invited to indicate whether they accept or decline nomination.
5. If numbers require it, hold a brief discernment session to finalise the membership.
6. Commission the new council at the Sunday Eucharist.
7. Organise an initial formation session prior to the first meeting.

For further reading see:
Anning,C, Handbook for Parish Pastoral Councils 3rd Ed (2007).
An outline of the content of the text can be viewed on this website under “Handbook”. Also, an order form for the book is available there.

When a new Pastoral Council is established, or when there is a change of membership, significant advantages are gained by including an initial formation/orientation session at the beginning of each new term of office. The benefits include: a clearer focus on the Pastoral Council's role and function, the development of mutual respect and teamwork, increased efficiency of operations and specific pastoral outcomes.

The time allotted might vary from a few hours to a full day. Some Pastoral Councils have even managed to schedule a section of a weekend for the purpose e.g. Friday evening and Saturday. It can be an advantage to engage the assistance of a facilitator to assist the process, provided he/she has an understanding of the role and purpose of a Pastoral Council.

Important aspects to include in an initial formation and orientation session:

• Building of trust and teamwork
• Focus on the context of Pastoral Councils within the Mission of the Church
• Exploration of the Pastoral Council's role and function as outlined in the Pastoral Council Guidelines
• Importance of prayer and ongoing formation for the focus provided and the faith development that results.
• Pastoral Planning development and review
• Consensus approach to contributing to decision-making
• General operations
• Practicalities - agendas, minutes, meeting-times
• Selection of office bearers.

An ongoing formation segment at each Pastoral Council meeting is strongly encouraged.

As well, individual members may wish to undertake further study and faith-enrichment opportunities whenever possible.

During Pastoral Council Meetings

In addition to the prayer at Pastoral Council meetings, the inclusion of an ongoing formation segment (perhaps for ten minutes) aims to contribute towards at least one of the following:

• continued faith enrichment
• greater knowledge of Church teaching
• personal growth
• development of group skills to work as an effective team.

Whether the focus of ongoing formation is faith development or team building, they go together as two parts of a single reality. In placing such a strong emphasis on ongoing formation the expectation is that the Pastoral Councillors become better equipped to respond to their role of service and are enriched in their living of the Christian life.

A practical approach to ongoing formation is to include a brief article or book section reference with the agenda and minutes. The circulation of material prior to the meeting allows Councillors to study and reflect on the topic in preparation. The use of questions to focus the discussion is recommended e.g.

What did you find interesting, helpful or surprising?
What comments or questions does it raise?

At the Pastoral Council meeting, the process of speaking first in small groups of two or three, and then perhaps sharing with the total group, facilitates maximum participation.

Resources for Formation at Pastoral Council Meetings

• Formation material in the areas of theology, spirituality, skills-development and current issues can be found in publications to which the parish subscribes.
• Handbook for Parish Pastoral Councils (3rd Edition) contains many sections suitable for formation.
• Articles and resources are available from the workplace, diocesan resource centres, members own professional and personal situations.
• Councillors, parishioners or diocesan employees, who have specific expertise in a required area, may contribute material.

Individual Ongoing Formation

Systematic study courses that are available locally include the following:

Beginning Theology, Foundations, Foundations Two.
Open Learning Courses - email: ife@bne.catholic.net.au

Serving God's People
Cert III & IV in Christian Ministry - email: mcl.fl@bne.catholic.net.au

Degree Courses in Theology and Christian Ministry
Brisbane College of Theology - www.bct.edu.au

Periodic evaluation and review are useful tools for assisting the Pastoral Council to develop and maintain ongoing effectiveness. The expectation is that a regular review of efforts, outcomes and operational processes, will contribute to continued learning and development. Commitment to a process of review will assist the Pastoral Council to function as a vital organism rather than one that is inflexible and unresponsive. If there happens to be even one unhelpful meeting, it is recommended that action be taken immediately to change the situation by looking at ways to improve.

The key to using a process of review in a fruitful way is simplicity. The following basic questions are recommended:

What was effective? Why?
What difficulties did we encounter?
What have we learned?
What alternative approach might we take in future to improve outcomes?

Within Meetings
Invite councillors to indicate their evaluation of one of the following aspects of the current meeting: focus, time management, agenda content, outcomes, mutual respect, attentive listening, openness, energy. Perhaps invite councillors to indicate by a show of hands, using a score ranging from 1 (not effective) to 4 (very effective), how they experienced one of the above named categories. Be sure to accept each person's evaluation with respect.
The next question might be: What are some suggestions for ways to improve our operations?

After Each Meeting:
The executive can review each meeting using such questions as: What went well? What could we do better? It is recommended that individual members are encouraged to do the same.

Each year
Invite all councillors to record their answers to the following and then share and collate the outcomes:

1. Issues and projects which we have considered/acted on in the last year include:
2. Apart from projects undertaken, three (3) things we have done well as a Council are:
3. In the process of functioning as a Pastoral Council, three (3) aspects we might modify or further develop are:
4. What I have gained from the experience of being a Pastoral Councillor is: