UP FRONT
The Pastoral Council’s Pursuit of Excellence
Mary Ann Gubish

Diocesan and parish pastoral councils are evolving. These post-conciliar structures are beginning to adapt to the wisdom of the church as indicated in Christus dominus 27, canons 511-514, and canon 536. This vision leads to the insight that pastoral councils, situated in the context of a faith community, exist to do pastoral planning.

The “New Commentary on Canon Law” (Paulist Press, 2000) further explicates the purpose of councils at both the diocesan and parish levels. The very concrete and clear explanation suggests that pastoral councils exist to plan in a consultative way by a three-pronged interrelated process of investigating and considering pastoral needs and proposing recommendations. While planning is common to other groups or projects in a diocese or parish, the Code of Canon Law is affirming that a pastoral council is the only ecclesial body that exists solely to do pastoral planning.

The wisdom noted thus far frames a parish pastoral council as the artist who crafts the plan for the future and in so doing guarantees quality pastoral life. The pastoral plan has its origin in both the investigation of the reality of the members of the faith community as well as in the study of demographics and other data. When attention is given to these important planning tasks, the Vatican II ideal of consultation is also realized. This is probably the most significant component of pastoral planning, that it has the potential to build up the faith community. In order for a pastoral plan to have integrity, the Christian faithful must come together to agree on mission and purpose and to set common goals. When members of a parish pastoral council successfully initiate a planning process, they have increased their knowledge of the parish, have improved the flow of communication at all levels, and have ultimately become more invested in the mission of the parish.

The Rev. John A. Renken, a canonist, in an article entitled “Diocesan/Eparchial Pastoral Councils,” notes that “when a pastoral council performs its role effectively and appropriately, much will be done to further ecclesial communio. The pastoral council will assist the program for the church in every age, found in the gospel and the church’s living tradition, to be enfleshed in the detailed pastoral plan of each particular church, as envisioned by Pope John Paul II in Novo millennio ineunte.”

For over fifteen years it has been my privilege to sit at many council tables as well as to conduct formation workshops for pastors, pastoral leaders, and councils in North America and Australia. Without oversimplifying the complexity of fulfilling the multi-dimensional planning function of a conciliar structure, I can say that I have found several foundational underpinnings to be common to effective pastoral councils:

1. The challenge for excellence from the top

Nothing is more important than a bishop’s shaping a vision that inspires, motivates, challenges, and provokes accountability in his local church. Passion and energy come from knowing we are going somewhere together. Unhealthy competition between parishes and within parishes is the result of everyone doing his or her own thing instead of challenging one another to excellence for the sake of the greater good. When a bishop, with his diocesan pastoral council, crafts a vision and pastoral plan for the diocese, every parish will be able to ride on the waves of that momentum. If this is not present, pastors and parish pastoral councils have a harder job because the visible link to communion with the diocese, as well a sense of corporate ownership of the mission, is missing.

2. Theological reflection: a discipline for living deep, not fast

Having a theological foundation in hope will support all planning efforts. Our church is not about survival but about joy, fullness of life in Christ, and hope. This is why we plan. Planning has its origin in the Resurrection. The influential German theologian Jürgen Moltmann in his book Hope and Planning suggests that “unless hope has been roused and is alive there can be no stimulation for planning.” And “without planning there can be no realistic hope.” Good advice for bishops, pastors, and pastoral councils who are charged with visioning and planning!

Only hope-filled councils can envision a vital future for their dioceses and parishes. In turn, a vibrant, compelling pastoral plan creates hope in parishioners. Sadly, the opposite is also true. Leaders without hope and concrete goals often lose interest in planning for the future, and they settle for the status quo or gripe and complain about present problems and eventually revert to crisis management. Without a spiritual and theological “why,” we will have an ongoing struggle with the “how.” Pastoral councils at all levels who strive toward becoming true faith communities grounded in prayer and theological reflection about what they are doing tend to keep moving forward. Ironically, living fast and not deep hinders progress.

3. Gatekeepers of the parish mission

Pastoral councils survive and are effective if they consistently keep the whole parish focused on mission. Jesus always had his eye on his mission. In Lk 4: 16-21 we read, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me…I have come to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and to let the oppressed go free…” Every Catholic parish has a mandate to continue Christ’s mission in its own unique way. In other words, a parish is responsible for the quality of its life. Veering from this mission can lead to separate and individual agendas or disintegration into simple maintenance. A parish without a profound sense of mission is in big trouble because it does not know why it exists and therefore will lack the passion and energy to move forward. Too often parishes become centers of activity that lack the direction that comes from a clear sense of mission.

On the other hand, a heartfelt, compelling, and unique mission statement can stir up enthusiasm and motivate the whole parish to achieve it. Pastoral councils devise ways to invite the parishioners to create this shared identity among what is quickly becoming an enormously diverse Catholic population in many parishes. Why are we here? Why is it important that we continue to exist? Why would anyone want to become a part of us? What makes our parish unique and special? A top-down, dictated identity or mission usually produces disappointing results. Building a shared mission must be seen as a central element of the planning work of the parish pastoral council. Everything else flows from it. In the end a very important lesson is taught, that a “parish does not exist for itself, but for the Mission of Christ.” (‘The Parish: A People, A Mission, A Structure,” USCCB, 1980)

4. Planning becomes a way of life

In his Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Asia, Pope John Paul II envisioned pastoral planning in the context of ecclesial communion, a realistic way to become a “participatory church.” “In order to build up the ‘communion for mission’ and the ‘mission of communion,’ every member's unique charism needs to be acknowledged, developed, and effectively utilized.” He further suggested that participatory structures such as pastoral councils foster greater involvement of the laity. Through this ecclesial structure, “pastoral planning with the lay faithful should be a normal feature of all parishes.” Councils have to adopt an annual planning process that is both simple and cyclic. The goal is to make planning a way of life for the parish. Eventually, the process itself dictates when and how a council should meet or develop venues for broad consultation.

A simple planning cycle could consist in gathering and studying information, identifying concerns and issues, creating new goals or revising goals, specifying one-year strategies to move the goals forward, empowering parishioners to implement the objectives, evaluating the accomplishments, and then starting over again. Throughout the year the council interacts with the parish at large, whether at large parish assemblies or smaller focus groups or one-on-one interviews. Whatever process is chosen, it needs to be information-based, flexible, collaborative, and realistic, gaining momentum from one step to another. Information stays information until people work through it together, solving problems and achieving goals.

5. Quality control by goals and objectives

If the pastor or pastoral leader must have a structure of checks and balances in relationship to parish finances, the quality of the pastoral life of a parish should not go unchecked either. The pastoral planning function by its nature is a way to guarantee quality pastoral ministry in areas such as worship, faith formation, stewardship, and leadership. Vitality and viability of parishes should be the aim of every bishop. It is at the council level that this quality control is monitored.

At the heart of a parish plan are the goals that a parish hopes to bring to reality in due time. For example, improving the quality of liturgical music as a goal can lead to strategies of revising worship aids or purchasing a new organ or introducing cantors at every Sunday liturgy. When strengthening marriages and nurturing the life of families become priorities, training leaders of parent focus groups and enhancing marriage preparation programs are given attention. A decision to focus parish energies and resources during a particular year on such improvements and the development of appropriate strategies to achieve specific ends can make a significant difference. Goals announce clear priorities for everyone in the parish; they signal that a particular pastoral issue is front and center with financial and human resources to follow. When everything is important, nothing is important. There should be no doubt that the role of the pastoral council as the guarantor of quality pastoral life influences the very nature of parish life.

6. Means for mission: parish finances and pastoral planning

Pastoring God’s people is why the church is organized, why it holds property, collects money, and has various functions and offices. Such an overarching understanding integrates rather than separates the many entities of parish life. A common breach from the pastoral focus can happen when pastors, pastoral administrators, and finance councils become consumed with paying salaries and bills and just “getting by.” Without even realizing it, many parishes become motivated by finances rather than the mission of Christ. Despite the existence of finance councils (canon 537), parishioners and even pastoral council members too often are uninformed about the parish financial situation.

A parish pastoral council cannot in fact prepare a high-quality yet realistic pastoral plan without the full disclosure of parish finances. An appropriate relationship between pastoral and finance councils is important. Even though each has its particular role, they ought to work together toward guaranteeing quality pastoral life in the parish. Finance councils do not set the pastoral agenda and therefore should not arbitrarily determine where the money goes. On the other hand the parish pastoral council should be informed by the finance council about the realistic financial situation of the parish, especially in the area of operating costs and necessary capital improvements.

At least two joint meetings of the councils each year are beneficial: one before the annual plan is set, in order to review the overall financial condition of the parish; and another after the plan is determined, when the budget for the plan needs attention. The annual pastoral plan in turn makes public to the parish the pastoral priorities, with each priority given a projected expense in the parish budget. Translating the goals and objectives into quantifiable budgetary terms allows the parishioners to see that their money is being spent wisely. A 2003 Gallup poll sponsored by FADICA (Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activity) showed that nearly half of frequent Sunday Mass attendees said that they did not have any idea of what happens to their donations.

In the end we can’t afford not to plan. Pastoral planning is stewardship in action. When parishioners are invited to participate in setting pastoral priorities they gain a sense of ownership. Research has shown that financial support increases as a result of parishioner involvement in decisions about the future. The faithful become more informed stewards of the “household”! The proper stewardship of parish resources must be judged in light of the larger vision of the parish. Mission-motivated pastoral planning assures that the means are always for the mission.

7. Mobilize the gifts: the ad hoc appeal

When all is said and done, a plan of any kind is ineffective unless it bears fruit. A major leadership role of the parish pastoral council is guaranteeing the implementation of the pastoral plan. A parish pastoral council with a strong sense of engagement throughout the year should not have problems identifying people or groups to implement the annual objectives. With a proper invitation, encouragement, support, and clear direction, more and more gifts of the community are mobilized for the greater good. The opposite is also true—people usually do not respond for very long to small and self-centered purposes, disconnected from a larger mission. Blame a poor planning process and not apathy if there is a lack of commitment to parish priorities.

It is also important to consider that the demands of modern life are so great in many families that only so much time can be donated. Inviting parishioners to implement a task that could realistically be accomplished in one year or less is more palatable than inviting them to oversee entire programs or to staff standing committees. Once formed, ad hoc committees receive support and encouragement from the council as the plan moves from paper into action.

Conclusion

To “govern” in a faith context is not just a matter of administrative management and flow charts. Ecclesial governance is directed toward communion. Ultimately the success of pastoral councils is dependent on the oversight of bishops and pastors who empower laity to share the responsibility of pastoral leadership. Planning is a function of leadership. It demands an understanding of and the patience for process, and a big picture philosophy. More than administration or maintenance, to “govern” is to empower the vocation of others’ call to holiness. A normative parish planning process will by its nature enhance the religious imagination of its members. Councils who over and over again invite parishioners to think in new ways will see changes in attitude and behavior. More important, parishioners begin to think differently about what it means to be a baptized member of a Catholic parish. The parish is being reshaped into a participative Catholic community.

Mary Ann Gubish is currently the Director for Envisioning Ministry for the Diocese of Pittsburgh. She is the co-author of Revisioning the Parish Pastoral Council (Paulist). The Conference of Pastoral Planning and Council Development recently honored her with the prestigious Yves Congar Award.