Pastoral Council Covenant
We,
as members of the St. Vincent de Paul Parish Pastoral Council (PPC), freely
accept the call of responsibility to serve the many voices of this parish. We
are committed to the strengthening and nurturing of our faith and to serving
the Pastor/Pastoral Administrator as an advisory council. It is our mission
to communicate with parishioners, assess the needs of the parish and develop
plans of action.
To be effective members we need to possess:
Membership:
The PPC will be made up of our Pastor/Pastoral Administrator, 10 non-staff adult
members of the community (18 or over), 1 youth (high school/college) representative
and at least one staff member. All members should be actively involved in the
life of the faith community of St. Vincent de Paul Parish.
The selection process will begin in April when the PPC will determine vacancies.
All parishioners will be invited to nominate candidates. Personal contact will
be made with these people to make sure they are aware of the responsibilities
of a council member. Parishioners will also be able to volunteer to be a candidate.
Needed members will then be chosen by a lottery selection in May, two of which
may be appointed by the Pastor/Pastoral Administrator in an effort to make the
PPC demographically fair.
Term: The term of non-staff adult members will be 2 years with
the option of serving additional terms. The youth representative will serve
a one-year term and may be nominated to serve additional terms. The staff member
will be selected by the staff each year. Other staff members may serve on an
ex officio basis.
Meetings: Members will be responsible to attend regular meetings,
normally ten times a year. The PPC meetings take place on Saturday mornings
at 8:00 AM. Meeting structure of the PPC will also consist of an agenda meeting
two weeks prior to the regular PPC meeting.
Meeting times may be adjusted to meet the needs of the members of the PPC.
Meetings will be open to the parish. Those wishing to be heard should let the
Pastor/Pastoral Administrator know of their intention to be included in the
agenda prior to the agenda meeting.
Subcommittees will be formed as needed
.
Attendance: We understand our responsibility to notify the
Pastor/Pastoral Administrator or the chairperson if we cannot attend a meeting.
As a small group we must rely on full participation of all the members of the
PPC. We also recognize the need to withdraw our membership if we cannot regularly
attend scheduled meetings.
Leadership: The chairperson, note taker and prayer leader of
the council will rotate on a volunteer basis. Ex officio members are not eligible
to serve in these roles.
The agenda committee will be made up of the Pastor/Pastoral Administrator, chairperson,
prayer leader, previous month’s note taker and one additional member of
the PPC.
Communication: Copies of the minutes of a meeting will be sent
to all members after the next agenda meeting. Copies will also be available
at the parish office and at the church exits.
The PPC will also put highlights of meetings in the bulletin, Council’s
Corner. At the end of each PPC meeting, the council, will make a decision on
what highlights should be included in the bulletin. It will the responsibility
of the notetaker, to make sure that this is to the Pastor/Pastoral Administrator
by the following Monday.
Vacancies: In the event of a vacancy during the year, the PPC,
as a whole, will determine whether the vacancy needs to be filled immediately
or should wait for the yearly process. If the vacancy is to be filled immediately
the Pastor/Pastoral Administrator will choose from the candidates remaining
from the last selection process. They will satisfy the term of the person they
are replacing with an option of serving an additional full term.
This covenant will be reviewed and updated as needed.
Signed: Dated: December 14, 2002
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Last updated: October 30, 2005