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