Article: Baby Steps

I just hung up the phone from talking with a frustrated pastor who inherited an ineffective parish pastoral council. “Meetings always get bogged down with miniscule questions like how to paint the lines in the parking lot, and where to plant trees in the cemetery,” he said. The phone conversation ended in a discussion about the importance of the Vatican II ideal of the investment of the baptized in the pastoral mission of the church. We decided that in this case, baby steps were in order to begin to move the council toward capable lay leadership.

Here are five baby steps to consider when attempting to “convert” a parish council to a true pastoral council:

1. Keep Jesus’ Mission Statement Handy
Consider Lk.14: 16-21 the articulation Jesus’ mission: To bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free. When the discussion deteriorates, someone needs to remind everyone that Jesus’ mission is our mission!

2. Make the Shift from Practical to Pastoral
Agree to stay focused on the bigger pastoral issues of the parish. Dioceses and parishes have outlined what are the central areas of parish life to assess, like Sunday Eucharist, religious formation, stewardship or outreach to the alienated.

3. Become a Small Faith Community
The pastor and council can model to the whole parish what it means to be a faith community by engaging in intentional and well-prepared faith sharing. If the parish is to be a communion of people who believe in Jesus, who listen to the “Good News” and try to live it out, should not the council take the lead?

4. Have a Heart to Heart About Leadership Gifts
The successful leadership ministry of a parish pastoral council depends mostly on having healthy and positive leaders around the table. Just as everyone is not gifted for choir ministry or religious education ministry, not everyone is suited for visioning and planning for the future. Pastors and council members would do well to hold a heart to heart conversation as to whether the present council is truly committed to leadership ministry. Sometimes there are folks who are just waiting for an invitation to be relieved of their responsibility because they feel ill suited and are uncomfortable in saying so.

5. Evaluate the Meeting Place
Far from being an insignificant detail, creating an atmosphere of hospitality and comfort will invite relaxed concentration. When I walk into a well-lit, well-ventilated room and am greeted with light refreshments and an arrangement of table and chairs that facilitate eye-to-eye contact, I am more apt to want to stay!

The mission and leadership ministry of the parish pastoral council is too important to leave to happenstance. Baby steps will need to be followed by purposeful formation and process.

Mary Ann Gubish, D.Min. is Director of the Department for Envisioning Ministry for the Diocese of Pittsburgh and co-author of Revisioning the Parish Pastoral Council published by Paulist Press