(October, 2023)

Introduction
When Jesus ascended into heaven, he entrusted his Church with the mission of evangelization (Matthew 28:19-20).1 This mission was given first to the Apostles—to the bishops, and by extension to priests. But from the start, God willed that the whole community of believers dedicate themselves to the evangelical mission together, in a communion of one heart and mind (Acts 4:32). Today it is the parish that serves as the beating heart of the Church’s evangelical vocation. As our Holy Father Pope Francis reminds us,
 

In all its activities the parish encourages and trains its members to be evangelizers. It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a center of constant missionary outreach

If the parish is to become a center of evangelism in actuality and not just in theory, it must articulate a vision for this transformation and implement it through practical means. This is the work of pastoral planning, and it is carried out by the parish pastoral council. In short, the parish pastoral council is about evangelization.

Canon Law
According to diocesan policy, each individual parish is required to have its own parish pastoral council. The nature of the council is envisioned by canon law:
 

Can. 536 §1. If the diocesan bishop judges it opportune after he has heard the presbyteral council, a pastoral council is to be established in each parish, over which the pastor presides and in which the Christian faithful, together with those who share in pastoral care by virtue of their office in the parish, assist in fostering pastoral activity.

§2. A pastoral council possesses a consultative vote only and is governed by the norms established by the diocesan bishop.

The parish pastoral council is presided over by the pastor, who must take the responsibility of leading the council through the work of pastoral planning. The purpose of the council is specifically to foster pastoral activity—to open the parish to the shepherding work of Christ. Therefore, the council’s work must always be done on the plane of faith, resisting the temptation to become merely an administrative or executive committee. Finally, the council possesses only a consultative vote, since the duty of decision-making lies with the pastor.

Pastoral Planning Process
The Church’s mission is evangelization. Our goal is given to us, but how do we arrive at that goal? Answering this question requires planning and goal setting. The parish pastoral council exists for this work, assisting the priest in his leadership of the parish to form a common vision of pastoral life at the service of mission.

What Pastoral Planning Is Not
The parish pastoral council exists for the sake of pastoral planning, not administrative decisions, or oversight of parish finances. Administrative decisions dealing with the day-to-day operation of the parish are generally the responsibility of the pastor and his staff, while parish finances are overseen by the pastor with the assistance of the parish finance council, as described in canon law.4 A parish pastoral council that becomes involved in administration loses its focus and its energy for the important work of pastoral planning. The council’s role is unique and necessary: it deals with complex problems and forms long-term goals that will have a wider effect on the parish.

Pastoral planning answers the question, “What is needed to make the parish an evangelized and evangelizing community?” Too often, we tend to think that the answer to this question lies in increasing our parish programming. Yet it is important to remember that the mission of evangelization can never be reduced to a program. In The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis explains the real character of evangelization:
 

[I]t would be insufficient to envisage a plan of evangelization to be carried out by professionals while the rest of the faithful would simply be passive recipients...indeed, anyone who has truly experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love.

Therefore, evangelization is misunderstood when it is taken merely as a series of new parish initiatives, a responsibility of the parish staff. True evangelization springs from the witness of personal holiness in the lives of all the faithful. This holiness is not an unattainable ideal, but a reality that can be seen in the men and women who, even today, choose to live from a relationship with Jesus Christ and eagerly share this friendship with others. A parish exists to foster this relationship in all its activities—in its worship, in its moments of fellowship, in its administration of its goods, in its charitable service, and in its opportunities for formation in the faith. A pastoral plan will consider all these areas, not just an increase in programming. It strives to foster faith, not mere activity. “How can we do this better?” is often a more fruitful question than “What are some new things we can do?”

The Parish Mission Statement - Laying A Foundation
While God has given the whole Church the task of evangelization, each parish must appropriate this mission according to its own identity. This is the purpose of the parish mission statement, which lays a foundation for the pastoral planning efforts that follow. If a council finds that its goals do not resonate with the parish mission statement, one of two problems have occurred. Either the goals themselves need to be reworked as they do not coincide with the parish’s understanding of itself and its own purpose, or the parish mission statement is lacking and needs to provide a broader foundation for the efforts of the parish’s pastoral planning process.

Writing the parish mission statement, or revising one that needs updating, should be the first task of the parish pastoral council. This statement should answer three basic questions:

1. Who are we?
2. What do we value?
3. What has God called us to do?
 

Answering these questions thoughtfully and listening sincerely to the input of all involved are key to the mission statement’s success. If members of the parish council do not feel ownership of the statement, then they will be unlikely to support it. The goal is not to integrate every insight of every council member. Rather, under the direction of the pastor, the writing of a mission statement is a process of discernment and reflection that distills what is essential to the parish’s identity, values, and purpose. It should be short and include only what is truly relevant. It ought to be imbued with the spirit of the Gospel, the supreme standard of Christian mission. Once written, the mission statement should be communicated to the parish—displayed prominently in the parish bulletin, on the parish website, or in parish facilities—keeping in mind that a message can be learned and absorbed only when it has been communicated again and again and in various contexts.

The Pastoral Planning Cycle
Formulation and implementation of a pastoral plan takes time, but it need not be overwhelming. Limiting a plan to a specified timeframe helps ensure that its goals are achievable and motivates the parish.

Of course, the work of evangelization does not end when a pastoral plan’s timeline has concluded. A parish that successfully implements a pastoral plan must continue its work by beginning the process again, reassessing the parish’s needs and putting a new plan in place. This cycle of assessment, envisioning, and implementation becomes a source of renewal for the parish and keeps its mission alive. Some parish pastoral councils may find it useful to keep themselves to a continuous one-year cycle of pastoral planning, while others may value greater flexibility.

Councils may also consider pursuing one longer-range cycle of pastoral planning, such as a five-year plan, which can be broken up into five smaller cycles.
A pastoral planning cycle consists of these six essential activities:
 

1. Identifying pastoral needs
2. Formulating goals
3. Setting objectives
4. Implementing objectives
5. Evaluating effectiveness
6. Communicating results

1. Identifying pastoral needs
With the vocation of evangelization and the particular mission statement of the parish in mind, the parish pastoral council must then work to determine the parish’s pastoral needs. Identifying pastoral needs is the most general part of pastoral planning. It is an opportunity to dream of the “big picture” that the parish hopes to attain for itself. The council should pinpoint areas of weakness in the life of the parish, including programs or ways of doing things that do not serve the parish’s mission as laid out in its mission statement. This reflection on the parish’s pastoral needs should also be extended to parishioners. Their feedback can be collected individually, through a parish survey, or by other means.

In beginning its evaluation of a parish’s pastoral needs, a parish pastoral council may reflect on Bishop Bonnar’s two Pastoral Letters—Testify to the Light, which lays out prayer, healing, communication, service, and joyful witness as five priorities for the diocesan church as a whole, and Practicing Faith, Hope, and Love, which identifies these virtues as the source of our perseverance in Christ.67 Taken together, these eight criteria can serve as an effective starting point for pastoral planning.

2. Formulating goals
Once a parish pastoral council has determined the pastoral needs of the parish, it should set goals. Goals are specific desired outcomes that can be achieved in a finite amount of time. For example, if the parish pastoral council has surfaced a need for the parish to have a greater presence in the community, it may set the goal of expanding its social outreach ministry and increasing its visibility. Goals are the “middle step” between the pastoral plan itself and the objectives. They should be concrete and specific enough that one can recognize when the goal has been achieved, but broad enough to make a noticeable impact on parish life.

3. Setting objectives
An objective is the most practical component of pastoral planning. It puts forward a specific course of action to reach a measurable target. Basically, it shows how to reach a goal. For example, a goal such as “Expand our charitable outreach by October” might have an objective such as “Recruit 10 new volunteers for the parish food pantry by July.” Objectives should be realistic since they are more likely to be met when properly limited. These small victories create a sense of momentum that can carry a parish toward achieving greater goals. Council members who tend to think in practical terms will be especially helpful at this stage.

4. Implementing objectives
After a vision, goals, and objectives have been written, the parish pastoral council must begin to implement the pastoral plan. The first step is always to publish the plan by a variety of means so that it is widely available to the parish. The plan should be accessible on the parish website and on social media. Since the pastoral plan is the project of the entire parish and not just the pastor or the council, it is vital that parishioners see and understand it. The role of the council members at this stage is to draw on the gifts and skills that God has given to the whole community of the parish.

5. Evaluating effectiveness
Once objectives have been implemented, the council should assess how successfully the plan’s goals have been met. Some goals, such as increasing Mass attendance by a certain percent, will be based on objective criteria and easily evaluated. But other goals involving the spiritual health of the parish, for example, will require more discussion. An honest conversation about how effective the plan has been, which can include parishioner feedback, will help to clarify the picture. This step of the pastoral planning process is important for identifying weaknesses of the pastoral plan, elements that may have been overly ambitious, or ineffective methods of implementation. It will also identify successes and strengths, and in this way, it can help a parish to discern its own gifts. All of this information will aid the parish in formulating a new pastoral plan as the cycle of pastoral planning moves forward.

6. Communicating results
The final step of the pastoral planning process is publicizing the results of the plan. Being informed of the positive outcome of these goals creates in the parish a sense of life and a communal movement toward a goal. It also imposes a factor of accountability on the council as it forms and implements the plan, knowing that its results will be seen. Pastoral planning is hard work—without accountability, in our human nature we can too easily neglect it. Sharing the results of the plan with the parish reinforces the fact that this plan belongs to the whole parish, and that everyone is co-responsible for it. It will be important to publish the plan report widely, using social media, online means, and paper copies. Reaching many people can foster good will about the parish and contribute to the parish’s evangelical outreach to those who may not be connected.

Decision Making

The Roles of the Priest and the Council
Carrying out the pastoral plan may necessitate making important decisions. For example, the parish may need to consider the reconfiguration of parish facilities, a change in Mass schedule, or a restructuring of parish organizations. In these cases, it is important to remember that a parish pastoral council is not a decision-making body. Its role is consultative to the priest as the pastor of the parish. By virtue of Holy Orders, the priest has been configured to Christ and appointed by the authority of the bishop to shepherd the parish community. As noted in canon law, the pastoral care of the parish is entrusted to him.8 Since it is the pastor that must take ultimate responsibility for the consequences of a decision, whether good or bad, he alone has authority to make it. Due to the importance of this mandate, he should not delegate this responsibility to the parish pastoral council or anyone else.

While the pastor must make the final decision, he should remember that he is not alone in the decision-making process that leads to this point. He should strive to cultivate a relationship of trust and friendship in mission with his parish pastoral council members, since the nature of his office obliges him to seek out the counsel and advice of those who have been entrusted to him. As the Second Vatican Council teaches, God enriches the faithful with many gifts:
 

[The lay faithful’s] activity is so necessary within the Church communities that without it the apostolate of the pastors is often unable to achieve its full effectiveness.

The priest should understand the lay faithful as “co-workers in the vineyard of the Lord,” called by Christ to a distinct but complementary role in advancing the mission of salvation.10 The parish pastoral council is an opportunity for the lay faithful to put their gifts and themselves at the service of Christ and his Church.

On a practical level, a parishioner also brings to the priest the unique vantage point of one who is in the pews. They can communicate to the priest how different decisions have been received by the people and bring him their concerns. It is important and necessary that the pastor’s decisions on behalf of the parish are informed by the work of the lay faithful.

Consensus
In his consultation with the parish pastoral council, the priest should strive to build consensus around important decisions. Consensus is broad and substantial agreement that a certain course of action would be the best one. Ideally, the process of building consensus will also convince those who disagree with the decision to support its implementation even though they believe another course may have been more fruitful. This process of consensus building is not the same as what might happen in the board meeting of a secular business. Rather, the nature of a parish’s mission necessitates that it be carried out in a spirit of prayer, striving to discern the will of God.

Consensus building bears great value. When navigated well, it ensures that every person’s opinion is heard and understood. It allows council members to become invested in a course of action as ideas are explored and objections overcome. When it results in a recommendation that is affirmed by the pastor, it gives those involved a sense that their efforts have borne fruit.

For all its benefits, however, consensus also has its limits. At times, consensus is wrongly used as a decision-making process—seeking universal agreement before acting or weakening a proposal to make it acceptable to all. But widespread consensus is not always possible. The pastor must make the final decision on matters of grave importance to the parish. If consensus cannot be reached, the pastor must listen carefully to the opinions of all involved. He may do this through conversation or a consultative vote. This vote does not determine the outcome of the decision but advises the pastor on where his council stands. Then he may conclude discussion and prayerfully choose the path he discerns is best.

Although a pastor may choose not to take the recommendation of his council, he should do this prudently. If a council sincerely strives to reach a recommendation through the difficult work of consensus building only to see that recommendation unheeded, trust can be threatened. Without trust, council members are unlikely to speak honestly and engage in the conflict necessary for discerning the best course of action, since they may assume that the pastor will make his own decision regardless of the discussion’s outcome. Therefore, the pastor must make an effort to explain his decision when he disagrees with the council. He should acknowledge the values that they are pursuing, show why he chose other goods, and chart a clear path forward.

Membership

Discernment of Members
Unlike a company leadership team in the secular world, the parish pastoral council exists solely for the advancement of the Gospel and is truly a ministry. Deciding who will serve on the council, then, must take the form of prayerful discernment. The individual must discern whether or not they are called to be on council, and the council must discern whether or not that person is called.

To discern properly, the individual must have a clear understanding of what the parish pastoral council does. Communicating what parish pastoral council is can take the form of a bulletin insert, a more detailed handout in the pews, or a direct announcement. Following this initial information, an open meeting for those interested can be an important tool for discernment. Individuals who might be good candidates for this ministry should be invited to attend. At the meeting, individuals will have the chance to learn more about the parish pastoral council and ask questions, and the pastor and council members will have the opportunity to get to know prospective candidates. A meeting may include the following:

• Opportunities for fellowship between prospective candidates, existing members, and the pastor.
• Prayer.
• A basic theology of ministry and the work of pastoral planning.
• Information about the operation of the council, including meeting structure, schedule, expectations, etc.
• Presentations from current council members on the specific work being undertaken by the council at the time.
• A chance to ask questions.
• Instructions on how to present oneself for consideration for membership on the council.

Qualities of a Good Council Member
Discernment of candidates for the council ought to include consideration of several factors. First and foremost, a member of the parish pastoral council must be a regular participant in Sunday Mass at the parish, the foundation of the parish’s unity and identity. Some questions to aid in discernment of candidates might include:
 

• Is this person involved in the life of the parish through participation in parish organizations or ministries?
• Are they known to be a person of prayer?
• Does this person contribute to the upbuilding of parish community, avoiding division and factionalism?
• Are they capable of formulating and executing a shared vision?
• Do they work well with others?
• Do they demonstrate a respect and understanding of the pastor’s leadership?
• Are they dedicated to the work of evangelization or willing to be formed in it?

Selection of Members
Once viable candidates have been discerned, the choice of new council members may take place in a few ways:

1. Election — Election involves publishing the names of candidates in the bulletin or by other means, perhaps with a brief synopsis of why that person wishes to serve on the council and inviting parishioners to vote. This method has the advantage of involving the parish and giving them confidence in the candidates they have selected. One disadvantage of this method is that a candidate’s election may depend upon their popularity or visibility in the parish, leading to some gifted candidates being overlooked. As an adaptation of this model, a parish may consider voting on candidates based only on the synopses, without publishing the names.

2. Lottery — Choosing members randomly from a pool of approved candidates has the advantage of impartiality. Some feel this method is a way of inviting the Holy Spirit into the process of discernment. A disadvantage of this method is that seemingly more qualified candidates may not be chosen. There is also no way of ensuring a mix of personalities or backgrounds.

3. Appointment — In this method, new members are appointed directly by the pastor and/or by the present council. Since the pastor and council are likely to have the deepest understanding of the work of pastoral planning, they may be in the best position to choose new members for this work. On the other hand, a decision by the pastor or council may give the parish the impression that the parish pastoral council is a closed group, disconnected from the concerns of the parishioners.
 

A council may be made up of a mix of different candidates—some elected, some appointed—but directly appointed members ought to make up no more than one-third of the whole council.

Once new council members have been chosen, they should be given a letter of appointment reiterating the purpose of the council and outlining the duties of membership. The names of the new members should be published and announced to the parish.

Term Limits
Council members are recommended to serve a three-year term, renewable once, with re-appointment to the council possible after being off council for at least one year. Ideally, different members’ terms will be staggered so that the makeup of the council remains mostly stable each year with a few new members.
Number of members

Four to ten council members should be sufficient for most parishes. While the parish pastoral council should be representative of the parish at large, smaller teams may work more effectively. In research conducted by Harvard business theorist Chris Argyris, individuals in larger teams spent far longer time communicating through advocacy—justifying their position—than inquiry—seeking to understand the position of another. In a larger setting, individuals tend to fear they will not have enough time to speak, creating undue pressure to push their ideas. They also stop engaging with the ideas of others. Individuals on a smaller team are more likely to listen, more comfortable with expressing disagreement or concern, and more easily form relationships of trust. They pursue inquiry more than just advocacy. With this in mind, a parish pastoral council may be more effective at pastoral work when it is smaller.

Structures and Meetings
The exact structure of a council and the flow of its meetings can take many forms. Nevertheless, there a few essential elements.

General Responsibilities
The parish pastoral council bears as its first responsibility the work of pastoral planning. Within this process, council members will naturally take on several duties:
 

• Communicating and promoting the pastoral plan to parishioners.
• Receiving and eliciting feedback from parishioners regarding the plan and the state of the parish in general.
• Transparent conversation with parishioners regarding the work of the council.
• Identifying and enlisting the help of gifted parishioners in carrying out the objectives of the pastoral plan.
• Proposing candidates for consideration as new council members.

Specific Roles
The pastor presides over the parish pastoral council. He is the chief vision-setter for the parish and is responsible for accepting, modifying, or reasonably declining the council’s recommendations. In his role as pastor, he should participate fully in discussions, without unnecessarily imposing his presence or authority. He seeks to build consensus and discern with the help of the Holy Spirit how the gifts of the parish can be best utilized for mission.

The chairperson compiles the meeting agenda and facilitates meetings.

The vice chairperson performs the duties of the chairperson in case of their absence and aids them in their duties.

The secretary records the minutes of each meeting and ensures that they are communicated to the council and appropriately publicized. They may also handle administrative functions regarding the council, such as preparing the roster and keeping track of members’ terms.

Parochial vicars and deacons of the parish should serve on the council ex officio, as required by canon law. Within the Diocese of Youngstown, diocesan pastoral associates should also serve on the council ex officio.


Meetings
Frequency of meetings may vary depending on the phase of the pastoral planning cycle, but councils should strive to meet every two months.

A well-run meeting will have a concrete agenda and a set time limit. Meeting objectives should be clear. It may be helpful to formulate each item as a specific question to be answered so that conversation has a clear direction. From time to time it will be necessary for the chairperson to intervene to bring a conversation to some natural conclusion in order to advance the agenda. Healthy conflict within meetings is not something to be avoided but encouraged. When entered with respect and humility, conflict sharpens ideas and charts a path forward.

In his pastoral letter Testify to the Light, Bishop Bonnar highlights the perennial importance of prayer. He writes,
 

For centuries the Church has lived and breathed from the discipline of prayer. Prayer gives meaning to our lives and all that we are. It remains just as important today to the mission of the Church...I suggest, when possible, that all meetings begin with prayer centered in faith sharing. This would involve Lectio Divina with God’s Word and time for faith sharing. This is precisely how faith grows.

By reflecting upon the Sunday Gospel together at the beginning of a meeting, council members reorient themselves toward Christ, reminding themselves that the work they pursue is not theirs but His. It helps members form deeper relationships beyond just sitting on a council together. Praying together a portion of the Liturgy of the Hours, a devotion, or some other form of prayer can lift a meeting to the Lord. “Without me,” Jesus says, “you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Parish Pastoral Councils for Collaborative and Merged Parishes
With the existence of merged and collaborating parishes becoming a more and more common reality, what considerations ought to be made with respect to the parish pastoral council?

Collaborative Parishes
In a collaborative grouping of parishes sharing a single pastor, the existence of individual parishes must be respected. Each individual parish should maintain a separate parish pastoral council. However, the collaboration of parishes itself represents a new reality, one that requires its own kind of pastoral planning. A priest in these circumstances should create an opportunity for each parish council to meet together. This is likely to involve a large number of individuals, too many to accomplish long-term work in collaborative pastoral planning. Therefore, after an initial meeting with all council members, pastors should select a limited number of representatives from each parish to serve on a new, collaborative council. This will allow parishes to share resources with one another and develop a consistent pastoral strategy.

If appropriate, collaboration on the council level may in time also open up the possibility of a parish merger. It must be stressed that not every collaboration between parishes will lead to this conclusion. Pastors should be sensitive to the varied impressions a new collaboration may give to the people and ready to answer their questions—"Will our parish ministries remain intact?”, “Is this a preparation for a parish merger?”, or even “Is our church in danger of closing?” While the pastor may not have answers to all these questions, his honesty, transparency, and willingness to find answers will be vital to building a relationship of trust.

Merged Parish
A new parish formed because of a merger of two or more parishes will have only one parish pastoral council and may be made up initially of representatives from former parish councils. In the early stages of a parish merger, when the pastor must make significant decisions with the consultation of the parish council concerning such issues as church building use, Mass schedules, and a fair delegation of responsibilities, equal representation from each former parish is important. Fairness requires that the interests of each former parish are presented. In this respect, pastors should be careful that any council members whose service to the council has ended are replaced by another representative of the former parish in a timely manner.

Ultimately, however, the goal of a parish merger is the creation of one new community, incorporating the spirit and identity of the former parishes but also truly united and different from the past. In this regard, a representative model of parish council cannot endure forever. Pastors should be aware of the possibility that maintaining an equal representation of former parishes on the parish pastoral council may reinforce the divisions between parishioners rather than help them unite. Therefore, pastors should lead the council over time to discern members irrespective of their parish of origin.

Conclusion
“The Church exists to evangelize.” These words from Pope St. Paul VI regarding the fundamental mission of the Church apply all the more to the parish. The parish exists to evangelize, to testify to the light which is Christ, to share with all men and women the joy of the Gospel. “It is vitally important,” Pope Francis tells us, “for the Church today to go forth and preach the Gospel to all: to all places, on all occasions, without hesitation, reluctance or fear. The joy of the Gospel is for all people: no one can be excluded.” If no one can be excluded, then the harvest field of the Church’s mission is truly vast. What is needed now is a family of laborers, disciples of the Lord who will joyfully share with others the treasure they have discovered (Matthew 13:44).

In this labor, the work of pastoral planning is key. The parish pastoral council is not a bureaucracy, social club, or loose association of competing interests. It is a search and rescue team, united under the leadership of the pastor, mobilizing a community of believers to seek and to save what was lost (Luke 19:10). By its commitment to evangelization and its witness to holiness of life, the parish pastoral council can set the tone for the whole parish community. When they are led by a pastor with a shepherd’s heart, they become a missionary force. Their work as a council must be understood at bottom as a work of faith:  to speak into the lives of others the word of life, the Gospel of Christ.