Living Stones

Parish Pastoral Councils Are Taking Hold by Terry Ginther

Did you know that according to a USCCB survey 65% of dioceses and eparchies have mandated the establishment of parish pastoral councils in their diocese or eparchy and another 32% have encouraged parishes to establish them?  It is reported that nationally an average of 85% of parishes had in fact established a parish pastoral council.

This statistic is cited in the 2010 book, Best Practices of Catholic Pastoral and Finance Councils by Charles E. Zech, Mary L. Gautier, Robert J. Miller, and Mary E. Bendyna, RSM, published by Our Sunday Visitor Press. 

Since the Fourth Synod of the Diocese of Trenton in 1992, pastors have been directed to establish a Parish Pastoral Council unless permission to delay doing so is sought and given by the Bishop.  More recently, the Diocesan Pastoral Plan "Led by the Spirit" aimed to have a Pastoral Council in place in every parish of the diocese by November 2010.   About 80% of our parishes have established a Parish Pastoral Council.  The number fluctuates all the time.

Each time a pastor changes, the Parish Pastoral Council that worked with that  pastor ceases.  A new pastor is expected to establish a new a Pastoral Council within a year of his arrival.  This means somewhere in the Diocese there is always a parish in the process of establishing a new council, and/or selecting new members to serve.  The diocesan Department of Pastoral Planning dedicates considerable time to assisting Pastors with this important work, and offering initial and ongoing formation for Council members.

Our neighbors in the Diocese of Metuchen have invited Charles E. Zech, co-author of book mentioned above and professor at Villanova University, to give a presentation entitled "Partners in Ministry: Best Practices Among Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils."  The event will be held on September 29, 2012 at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center in Piscataway from 8:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at a cost of $10 per person.  We thank Jeff Korgen, Executive Director for Planning in Metuchen Diocese, for the invitation for about 25 participants from the Diocese of Trenton to register.  More information to follow. 

 

Does One Size Fit All? by Terry Ginther

The newsletter of the Parish Evaluation Project this month featured some of the insights of John Roberto describing the need for different approaches to four broad segments of a Catholic congregation:

• Active Parishioners - "come to church regularly and practice their faith in the world"; volunteers and financially supports parish ministry
• Participating but Uncommitted - come to church but not involved or interested in other parish activities
• Spiritual but not Religious - "high on the hunger for God scale, but just don't come to church"
• Unaffiliated and Uninterested - "plugged into their active and demanding world, leaving little room for reflection and spiritual growth." 

It's worth taking a look at this free monthly newsletter and discussing it with your Parish Staff, Pastoral Council or other parish ministry group (http://www.pepparish.org/newsletter/).

It seems to me that Jesus was adept at knowing his audiences, their needs, and the things that concerned or motivated them.  He met people in the midst of their lives and touched upon their deepest desires.  Jesus taught and prayed with people; but he also healed, forgave, gathered and ate with people too.

In the earliest days of the Church, the disciples of Christ were inspired to place the "Good News" in context so it would have maximum meaning in the lives of those who heard it.  Each of the four Gospels addresses a particular group--Jews or Gentiles, those living in Jerusalem or elsewhere in the Roman Empire--that they might come to believe in the Christ.  If one Gospel was not sufficient, can one approach be enough?  

When you think about how your parish invites and involves, does your parish take a "one size fits all" approach?  How do you, or how could you, use different approaches to purposefully engage each of the different groups?