FROM THE PASTOR’S CORNER: FR. JUSTUS ALAETO

NEW PASTORAL COUNCIL MEMBERS (EXECUTIVE AND LARGER TEAM MEMBERS) AND PROGRAM

         The Blessings of Jesus the Savior to you all! Our convocation was spiritually rich and meaningful. Thank you for your prayers!

            Like I mentioned at the beginning of this year, our goal this year, among other things, will focus more on “Ministry” and “Faith Formation.” In the priest’s convocation we just concluded, the Archbishop deeply emphasized the need for us to evangelize with concrete pastoral planning that deeply promotes the unity of the Church (Communion Ecclesiology). This unity of faith and morals in our evangelization defines us as truly Catholic. For our own Star of the Sea parish pastoral council, I thought of what may help everyone be on the same page in our parish ministry and evangelization. In our last pastoral council meeting, we came up with the idea of having larger teams of members as a way of effectively keeping up the pace of evangelization. We now have the Pastoral Council and the Larger Team. The pastoral council has about thirteen members and the larger team is divided into six commissions that will incorporate various ministries that we have. Each ministry will be able to connect with any of these commissions.

            My beloved brothers and sisters, since the time Archbishop Sample appointed me as your spiritual servant and pastor, this will be my first time to officially announce the pastoral council members according to the norms of the Church. As a way of promoting active participation, the duration of a term will be two years and may be renewable once, if needed. I consulted most of you, but not all yet. Some in this new council may have served before, and for some reason they are willing to continue until we get someone to replace them in the future. Please, I would love to encourage the members to start looking and training someone you may recommend when your term is due. That will promote more participation in the parish, and the outgoing member will always take on another leadership role in the parish. Some people may always serve as ex officio members when needed because of their role in the church and in the parish, such as the deacons, nuns, or an assistant parish priest in a parish where they have an assisting priest.

                                    Executive Pastoral Council

Meeting Month: September, November, March, and June

Meets every Third Tuesday of those months beginning with Mass.

Duration of meeting: 1hr and 20mins

First Meeting: October 16^th, Tuesday, at 6:00pm. Eucharistic Celebration at 5:15pm, followed by the meeting.

Duration of office term: Two Years, renewable once if needed

 

NEW EXECUTIVE MEMBERS OFFICIALLY SELECTED FOR DURATION OF TWO YEARS TERM, AND MAY BE REWEWABLE ONCE

Theresa Vanginderen – Pastoral Council Chair

Susan Dunne– Secretary, Pastoral Council

Deacon Leo – Ex Officio Member, currently needed

Deacon Roger – Ex Officio member, currently needed

Sr. Fidel Ike SJS – Parish Pastoral Assistant/Ex officio member, Representing Pastoral Ministry and “Faith Formation/Education.”

Carol Richardson – Representing the “Formed Program/Ministry” and representing       assistance needed from the parish office.

Carol Hastings – Liaison, Representing Administrative/Finance Council

Jackie Crook – Representing Gold Beach

Randy Hall – Representing the Knights of Columbus

Valarie Cowan – Representing the Youth and Young Adult Ministry

Veronica Spalding – Support group and hospitality

Laura Bulas Ossario – Representing Hispanic Ministry

 

The Role of the Parish Pastoral Councils in the Parish

According to the norm of the Church, from the provision of Canon Law of the Church (Canon 536 #1), states that: "In every parish of the diocese, a Pastoral Council shall be established, if the diocesan Bishop, after consulting with the Council of Presbyters, so decides.  The pastor presides over the Pastoral Council.  The Pastoral Council is composed of members of the congregation together with those of the parish staff who have pastoral care by reason of their office.  The Pastoral Council assists in promoting pastoral action in the parish."

The Parish Pastoral Council is a consultative body that relies strongly on the guidance of the Spirit of Christ. “Officially, the council's role is to be consultative to the pastor and assist in the pastoral care of the parish. The council does not serve as a board of directors or a legislative body. Focused on mission and not management, the council is an invaluable resource to the pastor and to the parish.” The council always takes the nature of “pastoral.” The work of the Parish Pastoral Council is to help support the pastor in fostering pastoral activities of the parish that promote evangelization.  It is very important that the Council flow with the spirit of prayer and openness for discerning the spirit of God in order to meet the goal of prevailing with the common good of the parish at all times.

Purpose of the Pastoral Council:

* Pastoral vision and planning both for present and future planning.

* Help in developing pastoral programs that promote evangelization and improving pastoral services.

* Help in evaluating the pastoral effectiveness of various programs, ministries, and services.

* Communications and understanding within the parish, between parishes, the archdiocese, and the universal Church.

Qualification of Members for Pastoral Council

         Because it is a pastoral and spiritual exercise of the parish, “members must be committed to prayer and love for the Church. They should be baptized and confirmed Catholics in good standing with the Church, active participants in their parish life, and have an understanding and commitment to the Church.”

         Also, each member of the council needs to see their role as call and response from the Lord. Members need to understand that he or she is not in the council to represent one’s personal point of view or particular group views, but rather representing the parish community at large. Therefore, all views need to be respected and evaluated in order to discern properly the will of God in the whole process.

         The pastor presides over the Parish Pastoral Council.  The pastor is responsible for the final approval of Council recommendations concerning pastoral planning, programs, and services for the parish as well as for their implementation. Because the pastor does not know everything, the presence and support of the Pastoral Council members help the pastor to implement what is best for the needs of the parish.

 

The Larger Pastoral Team Members

 

PLEASE NOTE: The heads of these Commissions, their roles, and the nature of meeting, will be announced soon.

The Larger Pastoral Team members are those who are practically and effectively involved in the daily diverse ministry of the parish. The Pastoral Team generally has its own unique regular relationship with the pastor and the pastoral council as they carry out their ministry constantly within the parish. They may be invited especially to attend some pastoral council meetings when their views may be of great help to the council. They are visible active evangelizers in the nature of their pastoral ministry in our parish. They carry out quickly in their various missions the pastoral plans, vision, and goal of our parish in line with the vision of the archdiocese. They represent clearly what our pastoral council is all about.

They are divided into various respective commissions:

The Liturgy Commission – Under this group we have: Music, Sacristans, Ushers, funeral coordinators, marriage coordinators, Altar Servers, Church cleaners, and those that clean the sacred linens and vessels.

Finance and Administrative Commission – Under this group we have all members of the Finance Council.

Outreach Commission – Under this commission we have: Social Outreach, Pastoral Outreach, Community Kitchen, Grief support, Pro-life, Ecumenical Ministry, and Prison Ministry.

Stewardship and Strategic Planning Commission

Parish Life Commission – Under this group we have: Youth Ministry, Altar Society, Knights of Columbus, Carmelites, women and men’s clubs, Marian Cenacle of priests, Hispanic Ministry, Hospitality Committee

Spiritual Life Commission