CENTER SECTION: PASTORAL PLANNING AND COUNCILS
Three Pastors on Pastoral Councils

Rev. Timothy Ramaekers, pastor, St. Joseph Church and Santa Teresita Mission,
Chu Placentia, California.

“Begin with the End in Mind,” the second of seven habits from Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is the primary benefit of the parish pastoral council to me. “The End in Mind” is really about vision. Where do we as a parish want to be in three to five years? For me the end in mind is best summed up in the parish’s mission statement, because it focuses on what we want to be as a parish, and though the members of the parish pastoral council aren’t the implementers of the vision, the mission statement also says what we want to do as a parish. Everything that we do as a pastoral council is driven by the mission statement, which is the vision.

The role of the pastor and the pastoral council is to keep the vision “out there,” that is, to keep it visible, present at all times to the parish community, reminding the community of who we are. I say to the members of the pastoral council time and time again that we are “the voice in the wilderness.” It is the role of the pastoral council always to bring parishioners back to our mission statement.

One of the benefits of the pastoral council to me is that I don’t stand alone. We stand together, and the vision came out of a process that involved the leadership of the parish. Many members of the parish had input around defining who we are.

Our mission statement has been read aloud before each Sunday liturgy since the autumn of 2005. A number of parishioners asked why; others suggested that it be read once a month, and still others asked that the practice be dropped permanently. I took the matter to the pastoral council for input, and they unanimously insisted that the reading of the mission statement continue to be part of our Sunday liturgies, because it says who we are.

The direction of faith formation in our parish has shifted as a result of our mission statement and our Orange, California, Bishop Tod D. Brown’s pastoral letter Learning, Loving and Living Our Faith. We’re shifting into “whole community catechesis,” which involves everyone in the parish in learning, loving and living our faith. This shift is in alignment with the portion of our mission statement that reads, “as a welcoming inclusive community we provide strong faith formation through Eucharist, sacraments, education, stewardship and service.”

One of the blessings of the pastoral council is that it keeps me accountable to the parish. It’s the vision of Vatican II. We’re in this together. A key word in our mission statement is “with.” “With the guidance of the Holy Spirit we live the message of Jesus Christ.” We don’t say “under,” we say “with.” The parish is not under the guidance of the pastor. Rather the pastor, along with the pastoral staff, pastoral council, finance council, and the various ministries and organizations work together with each other to implement the vision.

One of the blessings of our Roman Catholic tradition is the examination of conscience that the faithful are encouraged to do at the end of the day. The monthly pastoral council meeting is the parish’s examination of conscience around our mission statement. Are we staying on track? What are the challenges that we are facing in implementing our vision? Are there any adjustments that we need to make?

At times there’s frustration because things seem to be moving at a much slower rate then originally anticipated, but we take encouragement from the parable of the mustard seed. Growth remains a mystery but it’s a wonderful thing to behold. What our parish is becoming, as a result of our pastoral council and grace, is a wonderful thing to behold.

Father Michael-Dwight Galinada, Pastor, St. Angela Merici Church, Brea, California

One of the expectations of parish ministry is the development of a pastoral council. Often this is mandated by the local diocese, and if a parish has not begun to create this ministry, it becomes at least on paper a high priority. The natural inclination is to focus on “what we need to do” rather than “what we are invited to become and be” in the larger picture of this community of faith. Implementing a ministry, particularly one that has an impact on the mission, vision, and goals of a parish, moves those in leadership to look beyond merely setting up a structure and reviewing the guidelines handed down by a diocese or a national conference to see how a parish might mirror official policy.

When I arrived at my current assignment, the basic concept of a parish pastoral council had already been operative. The council did realize that a change in the priest-staff of the parish was imminent, and therefore a new understanding of its ministry was also being introduced. There was some anticipation of how its role as a parish pastoral council would be sculpted and shaped.

Also already in existence was a separate Spanish-speaking parish council or concilio. Most members were leaders of Spanish-speaking ministries. Members had been given little guidance or direction after the inception of the council. As a result, a few individuals emerged who took leadership roles and formed the council separate from the other pastoral council as well as from the parish community as a whole.

The natural temptation was to jump right in and do what was necessary to bring every one into compliance with current diocesan guidelines regarding the implementation of a pastoral council. I chose not to go that route. I believed it was important for council members to become comfortable with me and realize I was approachable. An equally high priority for me was to create opportunities in which I would be able to understand how they perceived the history and vision of the parish and ministry in concrete and tangible ways.

I began this process by spending an enormous amount of my time with the members of both councils, not only at meetings, but, more important, when they shared ministry. I stopped by to say hello and/or sat quietly, did manual labor, supported, and encouraged them, affirming both their individual and ministerial contribution to the parish community. I immersed myself into their lives. If we were going to embark together toward a ministry whose responsibility and call was to listen, support, respond, and assist in implementing the vision, mission, and goals of the community, we needed to lay the groundwork in regard to our own relationships. It seems to me that this was essential prior to introducing a process that would enable them to make an important shift in the perception of their role as leaders: the invitation to embrace ministry as one whose focus is not on a particular aspect of the parish or interest group or a single ministry but the faith community as a whole.

I made the decision to allow the councils to function in ways that were familiar while at the same time challenging them to broaden their horizons. The English-speaking council invited a consultant from the diocese who greatly assisted in this process, but I decided to personally introduce the concept of a pastoral council to the Spanish-speaking (while allowing the concilio to continue to function). I believed this was a more pastoral approach, since I knew suggesting immediate major changes or shifts in understanding of their roles and/or ministry could very well threaten the current Spanish-speaking leadership and perhaps lead the membership to feel or think that their contributions were now being dismissed. (At the same time I was using the Sunday Eucharist to encourage current and new ministerial opportunities to develop among the Spanish-speaking with the promise of greater access to the parish facilities.)

The English-speaking council unfolded well under the guidance of the facilitator. My role was to try to grasp how the community understood its own unfolding, as expressed through the pastoral council membership. It was also important to understand how we envisioned the parish five or more years into the future. This could lead to creating a vision for the parish (via a parish assembly), the emergence of a mission statement, and the development of a five-year pastoral plan. None of these had previously existed.

One area that was challenging for the English-speaking council as well as for me was discerning the delicate balance of its role as a council. Empowerment and ownership are prime; however, grasping the understanding that its ownership and empowerment are not measured in creating policy is not an easy task. I believe this is hard for anyone in ministry. We usually measure our “success” in results that are tangible. I am not convinced that the fruits of a pastoral council are always tangible as much as they are experienced in the slow and very tedious process of the life of the faith community. Patience, flexibility, deep faith in the Spirit, and an understanding of call and ministry are components that must be engendered in and constantly remembered.

I addressed the transition of the concilio Hispano to a concilio pastoral by inviting the members for an evening of reflection on their ministry. We reviewed how their gifts and their efforts had led to the progress and growth of the Spanish-speaking community in the past year(s). We spoke about deepening their commitment to the ministry by reflecting not only on the work entrusted to them but also on how the spirit of ministry creates and shapes the lives of the people they serve.

We shared and affirmed the contributions of the leadership. We also looked at how the council saw the parish five years into the future and ways in which they believed their hopes and dreams might be measured. This opened up a discussion regarding vision, mission, and how to create strategies to assure that their work would continue to grow and be a blessing to the community.

Each member was given an opportunity to share his or her experience, personal role in ministry, understanding of ministry, perception of the Spanish-speaking ministry in relationship to those who spoke Spanish, and the relationship of the Spanish-speaking community with the English-speaking of the faith community. This took an enormous amount of time, but each was given a respectful opportunity to express feelings and ideas. Following our sharing, the membership agreed that there was a need to begin supporting the development of a pastoral council. I shared with them, as I had with the English-speaking council, my hope and vision that eventually they would come together to form one pastoral council. My prayer was that this would happen within three years, but the decision would rest with the discernment of the councils and the work of the Spirit.

The result of this extensive sharing was twofold: It was decided to maintain the concilio Hispano not as a parish council but under a new name. This group would meet when needed to plan major activities throughout the year—for example, the celebrations for Our Lady of Guadalupe and SummerFest—in order to facilitate communication within the Spanish-speaking ministries and groups. The concilio pastoral would be introduced and developed with the assistance of the same facilitator that the English-speaking council used.

The gathering concluded without a hitch, difficulty, or worry. I believe our discussions and planning went well because of the relationships and avenues of communication that had been created the previous year. The new membership for the concilio pastoral emerged not only through my personal recommendations, but from the experience of the Spanish-speaking parishioners with individuals within the whole community. Most if not all were young and have become involved in the Spanish-speaking community in the past few years. Some “seasoned” members were also invited to serve on the council. There was no negative feedback about the fact that the concilio pastoral was composed of younger members. Again, I believe this was because the Spanish-speaking parishioners realized that they had a vital presence within the faith community, and it was of paramount importance to them to encourage potential growth by being open to the younger Spanish-speaking parishioners. They saw the need not only to offer opportunities for participation, but to encourage parishioners (both Spanish-speaking and bilingual) to contribute their gifts to the Spanish-speaking community and the community of Saint Angela Merici. After a year, both the (former) concilio and concilio pastoral have an excellent relationship with each other and have developed a collaborative understanding of their roles.

As a result of similar experience and processes, other councils have emerged in the parish: the worship council, pastoral ministry council (ministries to the sick, aged, homebound, and bereaved), social justice or gospel of life council, faith formation council, etc. A deliberate choice was made to use “council” rather than “committee,” as a committee implies a temporary grouping to accomplish a specific goal, while the councils are understood as related, collaborative, essential to one another, and part and parcel of the life of the faith community.

Father Arthur Holquin, Pastor, Mission Basilica, San Juan Capistrano, California

Now that I am in my second pastorate, I am convinced more than ever of both the value and blessing that comes from the collective wisdom of a parish pastoral council. Just as the pastor today must disengage from the naïve as well as unhealthy model of being a “lone ranger” in his service to God’s people, so it must be in reference to the question of pastoral wisdom as leader of a community of faith. No individual, be he pope, bishop, priest, or deacon, is gifted with “wisdom” merely by virtue of his ordination. A wise leader of faith is one who comes to understand well the value of discernment in the midst of those who share a common passion for building the reign of God in a parish community.

In completing my fifth year as pastor of Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano and having gone through the process of re-establishing a parish “pastoral” council shortly after my appointment, both the end result as well as the process leading to that result have been a blessing to me in my thirty-four years as a priest. A good pastoral leader is one who is humble enough to realize that he hasn’t cornered the market on insights. Pastoral insight invariably comes when one listens carefully and attentively to the hopes and dreams of the people that one is called to serve. For me, pastoral insight is immeasurably enhanced within the context of the give and take of a parish pastoral council.

However, I have learned that as a pastoral leader it is critical to have the courage and the skill to help a pastoral council know what it is and is not about as a structure for primary consultation within a parish. I have learned that to get the best wisdom and insight from a parish pastoral council it is important that they not be distracted into expending time and energy on work that is better done by one’s pastoral staff or on issues best handled by that staff. Pastoral councils that look to the overarching issues of “Who are we? What are we about? Where are we going?” and “How are we getting there?” fulfill their mandate far better than figuring out what color to paint the rectory!

It is said that endeavors in life rise or fall by their beginnings and endings. The restructuring of our parish pastoral council began with a year-long process with a small task force committed to reviewing existing models and then shaping a foundation document that would serve the uniqueness of the mission community. I am sure that at times the members of the task force had the impression that “Father is stalling!” However, in time, as we reviewed the fruit of this year-long process and the eventual foundation document that emerged, we came away with a strong conviction of the value of this “beginning process” for the future stability and pastoral health of our pastoral council.

While the foundation document continues to be an important orienting point of reference for the pastoral council, neither is it something that is set in stone or static. After the first council, following re-organization, served for three years and it was time to begin the process to discern the membership of a new pastoral council, adjustments and changes were made in the original foundation document that enhanced the process for election/selection of members for the new three-year council.

We opted for the majority of members to be elected at large by the community: there are elements of both risk and trust in the movement of the Spirit! While the pastor appoints four members to complement the eight that are elected, there was initial apprehension on my part that the elected members might not represent an appropriate cross section of the parish community. However, following the election process, once again I was delightfully surprised by the movement of the Spirit who raised up members for the council from the vote of the faithful who beautifully mirrored the rich diversity of our community.

The church functions best and ministers wisely when the collective gifts of the community are sought and celebrated. That has certainly been my experience in ministering to God’s people in close collaboration with my parish pastoral council these past four years. Their gifts and talents have helped me to realize ever more effectively the motto of the founder of Mission San Juan Capistrano, Blessed Junipero Serra, “Always Forward!”