The Parish Pastoral Council, in keeping with guidelines provided by the Diocese of San Jose, is a consultative body to the pastor who receives from our Bishop the responsibility to be his local presence and to share the shepherding roles of teaching, sanctifying, and governing in our parish. 

PURPOSE:
The purpose of the pastoral council is to act as stewards of the parish mission and to
advise the pastor on practical matters of parish life. The council studies matters brought
to its attention, reflects on them thoroughly, evaluates them and draws sound conclusions.
The council presents these conclusions to the pastor in the form of recommendations.
This threefold task of the council – investigating, considering and recommending
conclusions – is called pastoral planning.

The Pastoral Council:

•  Develops, if one does not already exist, and communicates the parish mission.
• Develops goals and prioritizes them based on the needs of the parish, the Gospel and the teachings of the Church.
• Chooses the highest priority goals to focus on for a particular period of time.
• Works collaboratively with parish groups to develop specific plans to achieve the goals.
• Publishes and communicates about the plan to the parish on a regular basis.
• Assists parish organizations to implement these plans.
• Regularly evaluates results and measures success.

For gathering input and establishing priorities, the council reaches out and listens to
parishioners on an ongoing basis, e.g., by holding periodic town hall meetings.

MEMBERS:
It is recommended that pastoral councils have 8-12 members. Council
members should be Catholic, committed to the Eucharist and the Word of God. They
should be good listeners, be able to envision the future, be good at negotiation and
building consensus, and be attentive to details.
Council members serve the parish for a term of 2-3 years and can serve a maximum of 2
terms. Terms are staggered so that one-third to one-half of the members is rotated each
year.
A nominating committee formed by the pastor/Minister of Parish Life (MPL), consisting
of both council members and parishioners at large, will discern a list of people to fill
upcoming vacancies, giving consideration to the gifts needed by the council, the person’s
ability to serve the parish, reflective of the overall composition of the parish, and the key
goals the council has identified as priorities.
Council members are selected by a process of prayer and listening known as discernment.
It is strongly recommended that any current pastoral council member wishing to serve a
second consecutive term participate in the discernment process with the other candidates.

COUNCIL MEETINGS:
Council meetings are held approximately monthly. The calendar and
agenda of council meetings will be readily available.
Council meetings are either 1.5 or 2 hours in length and begin with a 15-20 minute period
of prayer, for example, reading and reflecting on scripture.
Each year a chairperson will be chosen to facilitate the meetings and another council
member will be chosen to serve as the recorder. The chairperson is responsible for the
agenda, both its development and its implementation. The recorder’s role is to generate
an accurate representation of the discussion and the decisions made. It is possible that
someone other than a Council member could serve in these roles.
Decisions of the council are reached by consensus. Consensus is a process of decisionmaking
through which a group strives to come to a common understanding and
agreement on matters of overall direction and policy which can be supported by all.
Meetings are open for parishioners to attend. With at least a week’s notice, a parishioner
may request to have an item placed on the agenda (time permitting). Notes of the meeting
should be published afterwards.
Please Join Us
All are welcome at any meeting, usually the last Monday of the month, at 7:00pm in Conference Room #1, located inside the Church.

Membership
In forming community, council members are challenged to ongoing renewal through prayer, study, listening, and dialogue. In developing priorities and directions for the parish, the council is to become the means of achieving full participation by the whole parish community in its mission by giving all a voice in guiding and directing parish life.  If you want to learn more or express interest in serving on the Parish Council please call the parish office.