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St. Michael Parish Pastoral Council
Mission and Purpose
The Parish Council is a gathering of a representative body of the members of St. Michael Parish. In concern for the ministry of the parish in living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the members of this council pray together and discuss and decide matters of parish ministerial policy and parish activities. The Pastoral Council shares responsibility for these matters, and each member responds in a way that embraces concern for the good of the entire parish.
The purpose of the Pastoral Council is to be the visionary, consultative, planning and evaluative voice of St. Michael’s Parish by making recommendations to the Pastor. It is to counsel the Pastor in developing goals and programs that carry out an ongoing strategic plan and to make recommendations for achieving effective parish services, thereby improving parish life.
The functions of the Pastoral Council include: to prayerfully discern the spiritual and temporal needs of the parish community; assist the Pastor in developing broad direction for the parish and its staff and commissions; develop a yearly plan which would incrementally achieve the long range vision; establish the appropriate Commissions to carry on the daily operational activities of the parish; periodically evaluate progress toward the agreed parish goals and objectives and update the plan; share in decision making for the parish by evaluating issues and making recommendations on matters of pastoral importance; and, provide for effective communication, coordination and cooperation among the Commissions of the Council, the organizations in the parish and the parishioners.
Parish assemblies, surveys, focus groups and periodic reports from the Commissions and other parish organizations are some of the principal methodologies employed to accomplish the above.
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