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SAINT MARY’S PARISH
PASTORAL COUNCIL OF ACTON/AGUA DULCE MISSION
BYLAWS
ARTICLE I — NAME
The name of this body shall be St. Mary’s Parish Pastoral Council of Acton/Agua Dulce Mission, hereinafter referred to as “Mission Pastoral Council”.
ARTICLE II—MISSION AND VISION
Section 1: Mission Statement.
Baptized into the body of Christ, confirmed in the Holy Spirit, and nourished by the Word and Eucharist, the Roman Catholic community of Saint Mary’s Acton/Agua Dulce shares Christ’s mission of priest, prophet, and servant by offering spiritual formation, Christian service, worship, and social events that are open to all. We support spiritual and material needs by bringing all people together as one family in Christ, and commit ourselves to building a community of faith and love.
Section 2: Vision Statement.
ARTICLE III—PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The purpose of the Mission Pastoral Council is to assist the Pastor through consultation on all that pertains to the mission of the Parish, so faith, knowledge, wisdom, ministry, and responsibility are shared for the well-being of the parish community.
ARTICLE IV—AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY
Section 1: Authority.
Section 2: Responsibility of the Pastor.
Church Law (C.536) requires the pastor to preside over the council. This requires he be present at council meetings and participate fully in its deliberations. The Pastor, although a member of the council, bears the final responsibility for the total parish ministry. He cannot abdicate this responsibility and therefore must ratify all actions of the council for them to be effective. As chief administrator of the parish, the Pastor, with the help of both his salaried and voluntary staff, implements the recommendations of the council. Accordingly, the Pastor and the parish staff will supervise parish personnel and administer parish resources.
Section 3: Pastoral Council Responsibility.
The Mission Pastoral Council shall be the policy formulating body in all areas of parish operations including worship and spiritual formation, Christian education and formation, Christian service and social justice, evangelization and ecumenism and stewardship of human and material resources. It assists in setting policies of equity and justice affecting personnel.
The strength of the Mission Pastoral Council emanates from the unity within it; the sharing of the gifts, talents and insights of all; the quality of information; the contribution of its members in dialogue; the honest searching and reflection in prayer; and the degree of consensus in recommendations to the Pastor.
Section 4: Recourse.
ARTICLE V—MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: Size and Composition.
The council will have no more than 15 and no fewer than 7 members drawn from the parish mission community, and will be a true reflection of the diversity of the community in terms of characteristics such as age, ethnicity, gender, economic and educational backgrounds, and other considerations. It will consist of the following:
- Pastor or Designee (non-voting)
- Chairperson (voting)
- Past Chairperson (voting)
- Secretary (voting)
- Treasurer (voting)
- Liturgist (voting)
- Historian (non-voting)
- Parish School Representative (In the event that such facilities exist in the Acton/Agua Dulce Community) (voting)
- Religious Education Coordinator (voting)
- Youth Ministry Coordinator (voting)
- 3 Members at-large (voting)
Section 2: Selection Criteria and Qualifications.
Section 3: Selection Process.
The formation of a nominating committee consisting of four members selected by the Mission Pastoral Council will take place at the March committee meeting. The nominating committee plans, conducts and oversees the selection process. It encourages parishioners, ministries, organizations, and ethnic/cultural communities to submit nominations. The committee then develops a slate of potential candidates. The slate is approved through a discernment process by the existing council and nominating committee. The presentation of candidates will take place at the April meeting. The final decision is made by the Pastor and the selections will be announced at the May meeting. June will be a transition month for new members and installation will take place at the July pastoral council meeting.
The Chairperson-Elect will be selected in odd years and the Secretary and Treasurer will be selected in even years.
Section 4: Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee consists of the Chairperson, Chairperson Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Past Chairperson.
Section 5: Terms.
The term of office for the Executive Committee will be for two years and will coincide with the Church fiscal year, beginning on July 1. A limit of up to two consecutive terms (4 years) applies to these offices.
Other council members and ministry chairpersons are appointed for indefinite terms to be reviewed by the Pastor and the entire council every two years.
ARTICLE VI—DUTIES
Section 1: Pastor/Associate Pastor.
Section 2: Chairperson.
The Chairperson leads and hosts the monthly pastoral council meetings, prepares the final agenda, and works closely with the Pastor on all issues concerning the mission. The Chairperson will make all necessary announcements at Sunday Mass and trains the Chairperson-Elect.
Section 3: Past Chairperson.
Section 4: Secretary.
The Secretary will record, photocopy and distribute the minutes from the previous meeting the Sunday before the council meeting. The Secretary will designate a committee member to maintain the council telephone tree, attend St. Mary’s Calendar meeting, be responsible for any written communications to parishioners and other groups, including bulletin notices, prayer intentions and announcements to be submitted to the Chairperson.
Section 5: Treasurer.
Section 6: Liturgist.
The Liturgist will attend St. Mary’s liturgy meetings and chair regular monthly Acton/Agua Dulce liturgy meetings. Ministries reporting to the Liturgist are: Sacristan, Music and Sound, Altar Server, Welcoming and Ushers, Lector, Eucharistic Minister, Art and Environment, and Cantor. The Liturgist will coordinate special Masses for various Holy Days; special ceremonies such as May Crowning and First Communion, and Baptism; distribute to appropriate lay ministers information on opportunities for education and formation as they become available.
Section 7: Historian.
The Historian will collect, mount, display, and record (as appropriate) items of interest pertaining to the Acton/Agua Dulce Mission Church.
Section 8: Parish School Representative.
Section 9: Religious Education Coordinator.
The Religious Education Coordinator will administer the religious education program for first through eighth grade and Confirmation, including, but not limited to, such activities as recruiting teachers, holding introductory parents’ meetings, and registration. He/she will visit classes at least once a month throughout the year, ensuring that teaching is within the Archdiocesan guidelines. He/she will act as liaison for mission teachers and St. Mary’s religious education office by performing such tasks as ordering books, processing enrollment fees, completing other necessary paperwork, distributing notices, et cetera.
Section 10: Youth Ministry Coordinator.
Section 11: Members-at-Large.
ARTICLE VII—RESIGNATION, VACANCIES AND DISMISSAL
Section 1: Resignation.
Section 2: Vacancies.
If a vacancy occurs, the Chairperson of the council may with pastor and council members’ approval, appoint a person to complete that term. A person appointed to complete a term because of a vacancy, will remain eligible to be nominated and elected to fulfill two consecutive terms.
Section 3: Dismissal.
A member of the Council may be removed from office for misappropriation of funds, conduct unbecoming a member of the council (i.e. intoxicated, lewd conduct, fighting, etc.), inability to work within the framework of the council, or other grievous offenses which the council at large and/or the Pastor may deem appropriate.
Attendance at all meetings by members of the council is expected. In the event that a member cannot be present, courtesy dictates that the member inform the chairperson prior to the meeting. Unexcused absence for four consecutive meetings will constitute a warning. Two warnings may constitute removal from office.
A member may be removed from office, if in the opinion of the council at large and the Pastor, the member is not performing his or her duties as assigned.
Section 4: Removal From Office
The subject matter shall be discussed with the affected person by either the Pastor, the Chairperson of the council, or both.
An attempt shall be made and commitments established to either rectify the situation or to effect a voluntary resignation. If this has not occurred to the satisfaction of the council, a resolution for removal shall be brought to the council by the Chairperson or Pastor and the council shall consider the matter.
The remaining members seek to arrive at a recommendation by consensus to aid the Pastor at resolving the matter.
ARTICLE VIII--- FORMATION
Lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, and Religious Education Teachers shall undergo formation as delineated in archdiocesan guidelines. Other lay ministers are encouraged to participate in formation activities. The Liturgist and Religious Education Coordinator shall keep abreast of Archdiocesan formation requirements as well as available opportunities to meet those requirements. The Liturgist shall also share other formation opportunities with interested community members. Committee chairs shall disseminate information regarding formation opportunities to their committee members.
ARTICLE IX—COMMITTEES
There will be standing committees such as: Hospitality, Special Events and Outreach. Ad Hoc committees will be responsible for researching community issues and incidents and providing suggestions for solving problems submitted to them by the council.
A. Standing committees of the Parish council are formed as needed in the areas of:
- Worship and spiritual life
- Christian education and formation.
- Christian service and social justice
- Community building, evangelization and ecumenism
- Capital projects
Membership on the standing committees should coincide with the scope of the work and the purpose of the committee. Committees should be supported by community members with appointed resource persons as needed.
All standing committees are subject to the Mission Pastoral Council and should keep channels of communication and dialogue open to the council. Committees should develop their plans in response to the needs of the area as indicated by the people and in line with the calls of the Mission Pastoral Council and the focus of the Mission Statement. In light of these plans and programs, a budget is developed and presented to the Mission Pastoral Council.
No council member will hold any standing or ongoing committee chair or standing subcommittee chair while on the pastoral council, if there are volunteers to chair the committees.
ARTICLE X---MISSION FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
The Mission Pastoral Council receives, studies, and evaluates each committee’s budget in light of the Parish Mission Statement. The committee makes preliminary recommendations of proposed plans and budgets and presents to the council.
The Committee’s Pastoral budget process has three phases and area of responsibility:
- The Mission Pastoral Council shall review the budget to examine its compliance with parish goals and priorities and shall make its recommendations.
- The Mission’s Parish budget shall be submitted to the St. Mary’s Parish Finance Council for review.
- The Pastor has the final authority to approve the budget.
ARTICLE XI—MEETINGS
All meetings should be conducted in a prayerful, reflective mode to reach consensus around major recommendations.
Mission Parish Council Meetings shall be held on a monthly basis.
Agendas and minutes of former meetings should reach the membership before the date of the meeting so all can be prepared to participate. Agenda items should be submitted to the Chairperson at least one week in advance of the meeting.
Special meetings of the council and/or committees may be called by the Pastor, Executive Committee or a majority of the members as the need arises.
The Executive Committee should meet as needed in advance of a meeting to evaluate the process used at meetings, to prepare agendas and to plan for the spiritual renewal of the group for the total year.
All meetings should be open to parishioners except in Executive session. A period of time will be given at each council meeting to hear any comments or remarks from visitors. Any parishioner, whether council member or not will be heard at this time.
Councils and committees have a right to go into Executive Session if discussing sensitive matters, such as personnel issues. Minutes are taken at Executive Sessions and all members are strictly bound to confidentiality around the subject discussed. The common practice is to briefly bring the subject up at the next open session so that decisions can be entered in to the minutes.
ARTICLE XII- VOTING
When a quorum is present, a majority vote, that is a majority of the votes cast, is sufficient for the adoption of any motion that is in order. A quorum will be declared when there are seven (7) voting members present of the Mission Pastoral Council so that business can be legally transacted. The quorum refers to the number present, not to the number voting.
ARTICLE XIII—AMENDMENTS
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