Discerning Pastoral Councils - Archdiocese of Baltimore

RESOURCES FOR

Discerning

PASTORAL COUNCILS

Help to transform your Pastoral Council into a visioning body that Investigates, Reflects and Recommends. The Emmaus team can help you with a Discernment process and to form your Pastoral Council into a discerning partner in ministry.

DISCERNING PASTORAL COUNCIL GUIDELINES

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What are the requirements for Pastoral Council?

Church law requires each pastor to have a Pastoral Council. Pastors should work with the Office of Parish Renewal to determine the best format and processes for their particular Council.

What is the role of the Pastoral Council?

The role of the Pastoral Council is to Investigate, Reflect, and Recommend conclusions. The Pastor casts the vision and Pastoral Council helps to be vision-carriers.  While Council members can be active in the parish, their main role is not to do all and be all. It is important for Councils to balance activity with discernment and prayer.

Should a pastorate (parishes who share a pastor) have more than one Pastoral Council?

It is preferred to have one Pastoral Council in a pastorate so that the Pastor can align the mission and vision of the pastorate for the parishes he serves. Sometimes there are pastoral reasons that the Pastor might discern to keep separate Pastoral Councils for each of his parishes. When considering the representation of a Pastoral Council for a Pastorate, the goal would be to have representation for the diverse communities in the parishes. Some pastorate-wide Pastoral Councils balance the membership of the Council equally between the parishes.

Who is eligible to be a member of the Pastoral Council?

Any parishioner (Catholic in good standing and aged 18 and older) is eligible to be a member of the Council. However, staff members and their families are discouraged from acting as participating members of the Council. They may attend meetings as observers or to share information.

Is it a requirement to have a constitution and by-laws?

While it is helpful to have a document that lays out the purpose of the Council and how the Council functions, the Pastoral Council is not a legislative body. There are no requirements for a guiding document; however, it can be helpful to provide a framework. There are guidelines for Pastoral Councils on this webpage.

Do pastors, deacons, and staff vote?

Staff members (including clergy) may serve as ex-officio members. Since the Pastoral Council is not a legislative body, recommendations can be offered through consensus and mutual understadning rather than by voting. The role of the Pastoral Council is to Investigate, Reflect, and Recommend. This should be accomplished through synodal listening, dialogue, and collaboration.

What is a Discernment Model?

In a discernment model, selection of members and decisions about parish initiatives should be brought to prayer and guided by the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The Council should embrace synodal listening, dialogue, and collaboration.

How do we figure out how to do this?

Contact the Office of Parish Renewal, and your Emmaus Team will be happy to accompany you while you transition to this new model!

Proposed Pastoral Council
Discernment Invite and Timeline

An outline of steps to follow, month by month, to assist in the discernment process of establishing the parish council. This document includes a sample invitation for parishioners to serve in the council, a proposed agenda for initial meetings, and additional resources drawn from USCCB and the Synod for Synodality. In addition, you will find a full homily script sample to inform parishioners about the mission and purpose of the pastoral council and invite them join.

TIMELINE

RECRUITMENT HOMILY SCRIPT

SAMPLE TOPICS FOR PASTORAL COUNCIL DISCUSSION

Ministry Assessment – what helps to evangelize and bring others closer to Christ? 
Developing an Evangelization-based Pastoral Plan 
Evaluating the effectiveness of the Parish’s Formation programs 
Evaluating and recommending best ways to communicate the mission and vision of the parish. 
Considering the pressures on families, discern how to best support the domestic church. 
Looking at a specific demographic in the parish (young adult, elderly, cultural minority, etc.) and discern and recommend how to best accompany them. 
Consider what outreach is needed in the community and what God is calling the parish to do.

THE PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL'S FUNCTION & RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PARISH BODIES

CONTACT YOUR
EMMAUS TEAM

Inspired by the Gospel story of the road to Emmaus, our Emmaus Team members travel in pairs to parishes to help them implement their missionary discipleship initiatives. The goal is to provide every parish or pastorate with an Emmaus Team.

CONTACT YOUR EMMAUS TEAM

INSTITUTE FOR

Evangelization

The Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Institute for Evangelization is a new model for engagement with parishes seeking to realize their evangelizing mission more fully.
The Institute is composed of four offices that collaborate closely to ensure that support is never “one-size fits all” but can adapt to the changing needs of each parish community.

LEARN MORE