New Pastoral And Liturgical Councils Set To Fulfill Our Mission As Disciples Of Christ

The mission of Jesus Christ is to make disciples by participating in His ministry as priest, prophet, and king.” As a faith community — the Body of Christ — we are also to fulfill that mission. The mission of “king” is fulfilled through our Stewardship and Finance Councils. So Fr. Eric Clark recently created the Pastoral Council, to fulfill the mission of “prophet,” and the Liturgical Council, to fulfill the mission of “priest.”

“John Henry Newman said, ‘To live is to change and to change often,’” Fr. Clark says. “Change is necessary to continue to stretch us to think of new ways of doing things.”

These councils meet in January and September to work together and share ideas, among other things. Each meeting begins with adoration and prayer. The main goal of the councils is not only to fulfill the mission but also to make our weekend Masses the best they can be.

“We are all on the same team,” Fr. Clark says. “We just all have different roles on the same team. We want to be able to set some goals and work together toward them.”

The Pastoral Council is made up of the leaders of each ministry that falls under the mission of “prophet” — this includes any formation or catechesis. Examples of these ministries are CCD, Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, Marriage Preparation, to name a few. It also includes any ministry related to evangelization and missions, like the Legion of Mary and St. Vincent de Paul Society. The council members will work together if, for example, a new curriculum for CCD is being considered. They will work on an overarching plan regarding these ministries.

The Liturgical Council includes the leaders of ministries related to the Mass or sacraments. This group will work together to review numbers, like Mass attendance, and determine the goals on which they want to focus. They could make decisions on new hymnals, confession times, and dates for upcoming retreats, to name a few.

“We want the councils to work together toward shared goals,” Fr. Clark says. “We also want this to be a way to develop and train more leaders in our parish.”

Between meetings, the council members will also go through a book or a FORMED.org program, as a form of catechesis. This helps to build a strong and cohesive team for each council.

“The Church has to emulate and look like what Christ’s mission was,” Fr. Clark says. “This is about giving more voices to the people, so I can get more input.”

Council members met at a Leadership Gathering in August.

Council members met at a Leadership Gathering in August.

Council members met at a Leadership Gathering in August.