The Role of the Parish Pastoral Council
The role of the Parish Pastoral Council is to promote the Church’s mission to live and communicate the love and values of Christ in our world.
The Parish Pastoral Council shares in the responsibility for the ongoing life and development of the faith community, working together with parishioners to provide support for their efforts to live as followers of Christ.
The PPC seeks to:
- enrich the quality of parish life
- provide opportunities for parishioners
- to grow in holiness
- to discover and live out their personal and community call to mission to live as Catholics who effectively transform society.
In order to fulfil its role, the Pastoral Council will:
- search out and respond to the hopes, ideas, needs and concerns of parishioners;
- grow in knowledge and awareness of what is already happening in the parish;
- encourage and support the good work of existing groups within the parish;
- evaluate carefully information gathered in order to contribute towards the making of decisions that reflect the values of the gospel and the teachings of the Church;
- set long-term and short-term pastoral goals for the parish;
- provide opportunities for parishioners to grow in their relationship with God and with each other;
- develop, implement & improve parish initiatives to assist parishioners’ continuing efforts to live as effective Christians in society.
What we are focussing on – 2018 to 2019
Pastoral Planning - the discipline of intentionally working towards a desired future that represents a more authentic witness to the reign of God in the local community is one of the objectives, if not the primary objective of a Parish Pastoral Council[1].
The Holy Spirit Parish Forum (Pentecost Decision - 04/06/2017) held on 4th June 2017 attended by 80+ parishioners agreed that the parish would embark on the process of Divine Renovation[2] to change it from a maintenance to a missional parish.
Over the term of this PPC (2018 and 2019), the PPC has:
- Developed the Holy Spirit Parish vision statement.
- Assessed what we truly value, and compared this with the ten values that make a missional parish.
In February 2019 the PPC started an assessment of the parish through the five systems of Worship, Evangelisation, Discipleship, Fellowship/Community and Ministry.
From this five systems assessment, the PPC will create a five year plan for the parish in 2020.
Composition and Meetings
The role of the Parish Pastoral Council is largely strategic in nature, especially under Divine Renovation. As a result, it has broad representation from the parish to ensure that ministries, finance, staff, and parishioners are well represented. The PPC also has places for interested parishioners and invited parishioners.
The PPC consists of:
- Parish Priest,
- School Principal (Ex-Officio),
- Pastoral Associate (Ex-Officio),
- Finance Commitee Chair (Ex-Officio),
- Divine Renovation Action Team Chairperson (Ex-Officio),
- Parish Staff Representative (Ex-Officio),
- Leaders (preferably) or Representatives from each parish group/ministry or a portfolio representative (least preferred),
- A school parent (selected by the School Principal),
- Chairperson,
- Deputy Chairperson,
- Secretary,
- Interested parishioners, and
- Invited parishioners.
The PPC plans to meet six times per year from February to November for two hours maximum per meeting.
Get Involved
We strongly encourage parishioners to actively participate in at least one parish ministry suited to their skills and interest. We particularly recommend joining the PPC.
Contact us
Email: ppc-sec@holyspiritparish.org.au