Parish Councils

[princessgianna]

What is your opinion of parish councils and what have been your personal experiences?

Is this something that really accomplishes needs of the parish?
And therefore be encouraged?

Or is this just another group with fake authority and useless meetings.
And therefore it should be looked as a huge misunderstanding of Vatican II.

thanks

[CatherineM]

A lot of it depends on the pastor. Some pastors are more comfortable sharing control than others, and sometimes it really depends on the work that the particular parish does.

I'll give two examples. My church in Oklahoma was a suburban, middle class, 300 families. All the various ministries were going along pretty good, no real problems. The main discussions were about how to spend money. Our pastor wanted to spend $10,000 for a big lighted sign out front with a memo board that could change. The church was on a boulevard that many commuters took to work, and he wanted to use it as an outreach. He had parish council meetings on the night before his day off, and kept everyone there as late as it took for them to agree with what he wanted. At 3am when you have to get up for work the next morning, you'd agree to paint the church purple if it meant the meeting would be over.

My church here in Canada is totally different. Very poor, inner city, 50 families tops. We have no real ministries. RCIA is a joke. Lots of change needs to occur, but since we don't even know if the Archbishop is going to keep us open, it's hard to make long term decisions. Our pastor is a fill in from India who is back home right now begging his bishop to let him stay in India because he hates Canada. Our parish council talks about stuff, but can't really make any decisions. They mostly try to figure out how to find the money for this month's electric bill.

As for me, it is the only job in the church, open to lay women, that I haven't done yet. I have not intention of ever being elected, appointed, or roped into it either. No desire whatsoever. Because that is well known though, I am the first person people on the parish council call when they have trouble.

[Apotheoun]

It is my understanding that a parish council, which always must be headed by the pastor of the parish, has only a consultative vote, and that the final decision on matters touching the life of the parish remains solely with the pastor, i.e., according to the norms of the Latin Church's code of canons issued in 1983.

[princessgianna]

[quote name='Apotheoun' post='1873517' date='May 22 2009, 07:58 PM']It is my understanding that a parish council, which always must be headed by the pastor of the parish, has only a consultative vote, and that the final decision on matters touching the life of the parish remains solely with the pastor, i.e., according to the norms of the Latin Church's code of canons issued in 1983.[/quote]
yea that is how I understand it too! From my experiences it's a waste of time. If you need to get something done you go to the pastor [i]anyway[/i]!

[Nihil Obstat]

I'd be willing to bet that many parish councils claim more authority than they have... but I have no experience in the matter yet.

[princessgianna]

well I was on this past year and seriously except for once quoting a bible verse (which got many odd looks) I made no impact because you just need the Pastors A OK and PC can't stand in the way!

[Nihil Obstat]

When I have spare time... as in after I finish my degree in five years or so, I hope to join something like the liturgy committee at my parish. I think that would be really cool, maybe having the chance to make a noticeable difference, even a more reverent Mass.....

[princessgianna]

It was interesting though unnecessary.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='princessgianna' post='1873661' date='May 22 2009, 10:49 PM']It was interesting though unnecessary.[/quote]
Definitely must depend on the people there. For instance, if you stayed in the parish council for the next twenty years or so, you'd end up as the chairperson, or whatever they call themselves. Even before then you'd have some significant influence, so you'd be able to change it to be more worthwhile.

[princessgianna]

Admittedly some people wanted to do a liturgical dance with a procession of banners of all the groups that is at our parish before Mass! I said a firm voice NO! Mass is sacred don't cheapen it with political banners! A lady got ticked off with me! Earlier to that she and I had a discussion of "women priest". I mean our pastor is really good so all this stuff he wouldn't allow even if I wasn't there!

[homeschoolmom]

I am on our parish council-- just finished year two of a three year position. Our parish is huge. Our pastor cannot be expected to come up with all the creative ideas, form committees etc to meet the needs of all the ministries AND meet the sacramental life of the parish. He DOES attend all of our meetings and he certainly does have veto power over everything we discuss. Our associate pastor also attends the meetings. I don't think anyone on the council (there are nine three-year members and two trustees) believes that we would ever move forward with anything without Father's a-okay. Even the agenda is largely set by the pastor. We are not even officially called a parish council, but rather a "parish pastoral council"

[inunionwithrome]

A lot of parish councils need to be dissolved.

[CatherineM]

I think as long as people understand their true function, as advisers to the pastor, not as a ruling council, then they serve a useful purpose. Most places I have gone to church, they were elected. Here they are nominated, and voted on/appointed by the pastoral council. After seeing how that works because at first I wasn't sure about it, it's a great idea for a simple reason. It keeps the parish from thinking that the church is a democracy. Sometimes with elections, we begin to see them as a parliament, and they aren't.

[Callidius]

Me being an altar server, Fr. Kelleher always deals with the school (Resurrection Catholic Elementary School, A part of the Parish) Taking over Mass and setting stuff up that Father knows is not right, but sadly he has no voice. 1 Example is the end of the Mass on a Friday children's Mass they do a claping song thing as the priest and altar servers walk up the aisle to get to the sacristy that's really the only Bad thing they do at the children's Mass, The only thing I was impressed to see is that they do part of the litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary right before Communion at the Children's Mass

[elizabeth09]

I think that if the parish is so big and no one is coming to anything, then they should put some people on the parish councils.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' post='1873653' date='May 23 2009, 12:43 AM']When I have spare time... as in after I finish my degree in five years or so, I hope to join something like the liturgy committee at my parish. I think that would be really cool, maybe having the chance to make a noticeable difference, even a more reverent Mass.....[/quote]
If you have a big parish a council is a necessity, but I see no use whatsoever for a liturgy committee. That is the job of the priest with help from the organist.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1873971' date='May 23 2009, 02:31 PM']If you have a big parish a council is a necessity, but I see no use whatsoever for a liturgy committee. That is the job of the priest with help from the organist.[/quote]
We've got and organ (a very nice one, actually), but not organist.

I actually have no idea what they do, but I'd like to at least attend a few meetings to see if there's good that could be done from within the group.

[Spence06]

Spending a lot of time with many priests, I think a parish council is almost always needed as well as liturgy committees or at least a few people to help set up liturgy sheets. Having to do them myself at school, it is very time consuming and a pain sometimes. The days of three or four priests in a rectory are over in a wide majority of places. A good council is only as good as the priest makes it. I also think more important then that is a good finance council. Proper teaching can help the parish become a dynamic and strong parish with all these people working together under the priest.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Spence06' post='1875509' date='May 26 2009, 03:03 AM']Spending a lot of time with many priests, I think a parish council is almost always needed as well as liturgy committees or at least a few people to help set up liturgy sheets. Having to do them myself at school, it is very time consuming and a pain sometimes. The days of three or four priests in a rectory are over in a wide majority of places. A good council is only as good as the priest makes it. I also think more important then that is a good finance council. Proper teaching can help the parish become a dynamic and strong parish with all these people working together under the priest.[/quote]
You don't need liturgy sheets, you need the organist to pick the music and the priest to fill them in on any special details of the particular Mass.

[CatherineM]

Our liturgy committee basically changes the banners and such when the color of the year changes. When I was younger, that was a sacristan's job.