In last weekend’s bulletin, I wrote about the PPC. The Parish, Vicariate and Archdiocesan Council Handbook says: “Councils are the primary consultative bodies to the parish pastor; working directly with him in the areas of pastoral planning and financial matters…The Pastoral Council is the primary visioning body of the parish, assisting the pastor in determining the overall mission of the parish. The Finance Council assists the pastor in the proper administration of the finances and material assets of the parish.” We are regularly meeting with the finance councils and commissions, but PPC is going to look a little different in the future. I want to make sure that everyone reads what was printed; therefore, I am reprinting last week’s blurb:
What Happened to Parish Council?
Very good question! Normally, we would be well into our second Parish Pastoral Council meeting by now. Why haven’t we met yet? With careful attention to the Archbishop’s pastoral letter “Unleash the Gospel”, the Amazing Parish recommendations, and the distinctive history and current needs of our Clustered Parishes, our Parish Leadership Team has been considering how to best implement an even more effective Parish Pastoral Council! PPC will be looking very different from what we have seen in the past. We have consulted other parishes, had numerous long meetings, and now have some good ideas on paper! Our next step is to gather with several leaders from the parishes to firmly set the unique vision and methodology of our re-imagined parish council. This will most likely include “Unleash the Gospel” formation and “Called and Gifted” Training. We expect the full process to take up the rest of the school year and to involve everyone (No bystanders!) in some way; the whole new plan should then fully launch in September of 2018. We will continue to fill you in about the progress the parish leaders and staff are making.
In regard to progress this week: the PPC Chairpersons and co-chairpersons from both parishes have been contacted and all of us (priests, leadership team, and chairpersons) are meeting in a couple weeks to design a logical structure for the next several months to help us accomplish all that is mentioned above. Please pray for us and we will continue to update you!
God Bless,
Fr. J.J.