St. Joseph Catholic Church
Placentia, California
Pastoral Council Covenant

We, the Catholic community of St. Joseph, Placentia,
with the guidance of the Holy Spirit
live the message of Jesus Christ.
As a welcoming, inclusive community,
we provide and support strong faith formation through
Eucharist, sacraments, education,
Stewardship and service.

1. Introduction
The documents of the Second Vatican Council recommended the establishment of Pastoral Councils. The Bishop of the Diocese of Orange directed every parish to establish a Pastoral Council. Recognizing that sound pastoral decisions are informed by the wisdom of the People of God, the Pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church established the Pastoral Council of St. Joseph Catholic Church on March 12, 2004.

2. Purpose
The purpose of the parish Pastoral Council is to assist the Pastor as an advisory, consultative body, acting in a participative manner. The Council's tasks are:

  1. to study those matters brought to its attention and shed light on them,

  2. to reflect on them thoroughly, to discern their true nature, to evaluate them, and

  3. to draw sound conclusions.

The Council presents these conclusions to the Pastor in the form of recommendations.

The role of the Council is pastoral planning. The Council sets long range goals for the parish through a prayerful discernment process. After the Pastor has accepted the recommendations of the Council, he directs their implementation. Council members may assist him, but strictly speaking, implementation is the responsibility of the Pastor and those he designates, not the responsibility of the Council.

3. Scope
The scope of the Council is pastoral matters. Pastoral matters can be divided into seven elements of parish life:

  1. evangelization

  2. worship

  3. Word

  4. community

  5. service

  6. stewardship, and

  7. leadership.

The scope includes all the spiritual matters of parish life. The Pastor may consult the Council on all matters apart from faith, orthodoxy, moral principles or laws of the universal Church.

4. Criteria for Membership
Pastoral Council members are chosen, above all, for their ability to accomplish the main task of the Council—to examine pastoral matters, to consider them thoroughly, and to propose practical recommendations about them. Members are chosen for the gifts they have to enable the Council to do their main work.
They are baptized, practicing Catholics who embrace the teachings of Vatican II. They are team players who are able to study, reflect prayerfully, and able to commit to a three-year term. They reflect the parish's various neighborhoods, social and professional groups, and ministries.

5. Selection of Members
The Pastoral Council will consist of twelve members; each member will serve a three-year term. After the initial year of existence of the Pastoral Council, four of the positions will be open for replacement each year. Former Pastoral Council members may serve on the Pastoral Council after a three-year absence.

Pastoral Council members are selected by the Pastor. In April, a general meeting open to all interested parishioners will be held in the Parish Center to explain the Pastoral Council, its purpose and scope, as well as criteria for membership. The Officers of the Pastoral Council are to be present at the meeting to support the Pastor and to assist him in presentation as well as answering questions. At the conclusion of the general meeting, the Pastor will invite those interested to submit a letter of interest to the Pastor within one week following the general meeting. By the end of May, after consultation with the Officers, the Pastor selects four new members. The new members will be required to attend the June Pastoral Council meeting with the current members and will also have orientation/training session(s) as needed. The new members will assume full membership at the July Pastoral Council meeting.

6. Officers
The Pastor presides at every meeting of the Council. He consults, accepts or rejects recommendations, and he develops the agenda with the Council officers.

The Pastor and Councilors select three officers from among their number. They are the Chairperson, Vice-chairperson, and Secretary. Together they assist the Pastor in setting the Council agenda.

  1. The Chairperson facilitates Council discussions, making sure everyone speaks and is heard. The Chairperson also monitors the work of the Council between regular meetings.

  2. The Vice-chairperson assists the chairperson and facilitates meetings in the chair's absence.

  3. The Secretary keeps the minutes, sends the agenda and supporting documents to each Councilor at least one week before every meeting.

7. Operation
The Pastoral Council participates with the Pastor in pastoral planning. Planning may include a variety of activities such as

  1. clarifying the parish’s mission,

  2. assessing needs,

  3. dialoguing with ministry leaders,

  4. reflecting on the movement of the Holy Spirit in the community,

  5. recommending goals for the parish, and

  6. monitoring progress on those goals.

The parish pastoral planning process involves

  1. discernment and assessment,

  2. decision-making by consensus,

  3. goal setting,

  4. developing objectives,

  5. implement oversight, and

  6. evaluation.

A pastoral plan is a “living” document. Three components of a pastoral plan are:

  1. the parish mission statement,

  2. goals, and

  3. objectives.

In addition, the Pastoral Council is likely to be involved in communicating with parishioners; and in working with the pastoral staff and Finance Council to determine how parish resources can best be used for the good of the parish.

8. Agenda
The Pastor develops the agenda with the Council officers. The agenda guides the meeting and includes starting the meeting with prayer and time for reflection. The minutes of the previous meeting are reviewed. The meeting concludes with a brief evaluation. When the Pastor is satisfied with the consultation, he formally accepts the Council's recommendations. He may then ask the parish staff or other parishioners to implement them.

9. Relation to the Staff and Finance Council
The Pastor consults others besides the Pastoral Council. He relies upon the parish staff for their expertise and consults them regularly about the management of parish operations. Indeed, he may occasionally ask parish staff members to attend Council meetings in order to put their knowledge at the service of the Pastoral Council.

Moreover, the Pastor relies on the Finance Council to develop, monitor, and report on the parish budget. Finance Council members are chosen for their technical skill in realms of accounting and finance.

10. Meetings
The Pastoral Council meets monthly at least ten times per year. The Council year is from July to June. Meetings are no longer than two hours in length. Between the monthly meetings, Council members are expected to follow up the previous meeting and prepare for the next. This usually entails work in ad hoc committees. A simple majority of the Council members constitutes a quorum (e.g., 7 of 12).

An orientation meeting of the Pastoral Council is dedicated to the call and mission of the new members.

The Pastoral Council holds at least one parish assembly a year. After each assembly, the Council assimilates the assembly results.

During the final Council meeting of each year, Council members adjust and modify the long-range plan based on the progress of the planning cycle.

11. Amendments to the Covenant
The Pastoral Council will review this Covenant annually and update it, if needed.

This Covenant was reviewed and approved by the Pastor, Father Tim Ramaekers and the Pastoral Council on December 8, 2004.