Overview of Parish Pastoral Council and the parish governance:
In developing our governance model, a design committee was set up to focus on the values and principles of the parish and then construct various models for Parish Council review. Parishioners were then invited to provide their input into the proposed model. The resulting model is based on parishioners input and was initiated in the fall of 2012. The new model comprises a Parish Pastoral Council and Finance Committee. The Finance Committee provides financial advice to the Council and the Council appoints their members, since they require financial expertise. The Finance Committee appoints both a Chair of their committee and a Treasurer who sits on Parish Pastoral Council.
The Parish Pastoral Council is responsible for overseeing the Parish and ensuring that we carry out the mission and activities of our Parish. The new Parish Council is a decision-making body, similar to a Board of Directors. Under our new model, the membership of the Parish Pastoral Council comprises the following: Parish Priest, Parish Council Chair, Parish Treasurer (appointed by Finance Committee), 1 representative from each mass 1 representative from each ministry cluster and the Executive Director (non-voting)
A ministry cluster is a gathering of ministries and activities that work collaboratively by focusing on a particular sphere of parish life. Clusters capture the complexity and scope of our parish and can be revised to best mirror the experience of collaboration. Each ministry cluster determines a Parish Council representative and a Cluster Facilitator. The Cluster Facilitator is responsible for coordinating the various ministries that form their cluster.
Our new structure also involves a “Core Leadership Team”, which integrates the planning and management functions with pastoral life while coordinating weekly/monthly Parish activities. The Core Leadership Team comprises the Parish Council Chair, Pastor, and Executive Director. Essentially they are responsible for overseeing the mission and vision of Parish.
