Parish Pastoral Council

Thinking of Joining the Pastoral Council? Read This!

What is the Parish Pastoral Council? What is its purpose?
According to Canon Law, the Parish Pastoral Council (“Pastoral Council” for short) is comprised of members of the parish who together work with the pastor to “foster pastoral activity.” The Diocese of Dallas elaborates further upon this saying the Pastoral Council “focuses upon how the ministries and the activities of the parish foster the spiritual development of the whole parish and enable its outward mission to the world.” Our own 2012 Pastoral Council Charter elaborates even further that the job of the Pastoral Council is “to discern through study and prayer how the parish community can best carry out its mission.” Its task is to consult and collaborate with staff and faculty in the parish and the school, with other ministries, and individuals to support the “overall objectives and mission of the parish.” It is also charged with “identifying, and bringing to the Pastor’s attention, the needs, desires, and concerns of the parishioners.”

What does the Pastoral Council do? What are some of its recent accomplishments?
The Pastoral Council is “consultative.” That is, we talk a lot! We gather usually for a few hours once a month, following an agenda, to pray and talk and discern what the Lord is doing in our community. We may also occasionally meet at other times for retreat or to help with certain projects as needed. Growing as disciples of the Lord together, and as friends in the Lord, what we do is seek God’s will for our community, seeking ways to fulfill faithfully the mission and vision of the Church and the parish. Our mission is Catholic and biblical: to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Serving that mission, our parish’s vision is to Gather, Worship, Serve, and Renew.

Which, by the way, is one of our Pastoral Council’s recent accomplishments. Our parish’s simple but powerful vision statement—Gather, Worship, Serve, Renew—is the fruit of our Pastoral Council, born of a great deal of prayer and discussion. Not just a few words, our vision statement works to help the rest of the parish and the school to conceive, debate, and carry out ministries. Whatever we conceive, whatever we undertake must serve our vision: Does it Gather? Does it somehow draw us to Worship? Does it inspire us and empower us to Serve? Does it Renew our neighbor, our Church, our city, our country, ourselves? Our parish’s vision statement is vital to our discernment and decision-making process. Evidence of how this works can be seen in other Pastoral Council accomplishments like Wednesdays at St. Rita, which began as an idea first conceived in a Pastoral Council meeting. That’s the sort of work the Pastoral Council does.

What does an ideal candidate for the Pastoral Council look like?
A personal relationship with Jesus Christ is essential. What is required of each member of the Pastoral Council is what the bishops call a “living faith.” That is, it’s essential a member of the Pastoral Council live a “life of intimate union with Christ in the Church,” which is manifest in a person who actively participates in the Church’s liturgical life, who frequently reads, studies, and meditates upon the Scripture and other writings of the tradition and the Church, who is intentional about personal prayer, who is actively involved in the life of the parish, who participates in “works of justice and service to the poor,” and who fulfills his or her “obligations in family and society through the active practice of love for God and neighbor,” obedient to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Thus, an ideal candidate for the Pastoral Council is a person who faithfully goes to Mass on Sunday, making use of the other Sacraments of the Church (particularly the Sacrament of Reconciliation), who is active in the life and ministries of St. Rita, and who demonstrates a commitment to the parish in sharing their time, talent, and treasure.

None of this can be mere lip service; it must be genuine. And that’s because of the importance of what the Pastoral Council does, the broad significance of its impact. Again, our task is to discern how we can be faithful to the mission of the Church and the vision of the parish. And that mission and vision is spiritual; it’s given by the Lord. Thus, an ideal candidate for the Pastoral Council must be a spiritual person who intentionally seeks Christ within the communion of the Church. He or she must be a committed and active Catholic disciple of Jesus. Ideally, a member of the Pastoral Council serves a term lasting three years.

 Fr. Joshua Whitfield, Pastoral Administrator
Rob Harshaw, Chair
 Phil Doephner, Secretary

Maureen Blase, Brad Christensen, John Garrett, Carter Hopkins, Amanda Horton, Brenda Mendez, Lisa Merino, Samuel Solis and Chris Tarantino