February 19, 2004 Meeting Minutes

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PASTORAL COUNCIL OF ST. THERESE PARISH
February 19, 2004


The Pastoral Council of St. Therese Parish met on February 19, 2004, in the conference room near the Principal’s Office at the Parish and Education Center. All members were present.

We began the evening at 7:00 p.m. with prayer, singing, We are Called, based on Micah 6 and reading the Gospel for next Sunday (Luke 6:27-38). "For the measure with which you measure, will in return, be measured out to you."

At 7:30 p.m., we continued with the agenda, a copy of which was e-mailed prior to the meeting. We discussed the remainder of The Book, focusing on pages 93-132 and the elements of a pastoral plan. Council members commented on concerns regarding the size and diversity of our Parish, and the different levels of commitment of members of the Parish and how those issues will present challenges in forming a pastoral plan. The Council also identified the need for consistent and direct communication with the Parish as a focal point as we move through the pastoral planning process. There was consensus that The Book suggests a good process, from development of the mission statement to statement of goals. We recognized that given the configurations of our own Parish, we will have to create a model that works for us. The Council also agreed that prayer and discernment by the Council as a group was also important, with the focus on spiritual planning for our faith journey.

Next, we discussed roles and leadership skills within the Council. The Council identified the following as skills to be developed: teambuilding, reaching consensus, determining roles within the group and methodology of discerning needs for the Parish, such as assemblies, surveys, e-mail, direct conversation.

Father Mike questioned how we should introduce the concept of the Council and its purpose to the Parish community and whether a commissioning process should be planned. After discussion, it was the consensus that the focus should be on introduction of the concept of the pastoral planning process not highlighting the individual people on the Council. We agreed to connect this communication to the history of the Parish, using the building theme already identified as part of our mission, but focusing on how our house which is built, should become a home, both sacramentally and spiritually for all members of the Parish. We need to develop succinct talking points, by consensus, focusing on "pastoral" and "life" to explore the meaning and purpose of the pastoral council. We agreed that anytime during the Easter season would be a good time to introduce these ideas and plant the seeds for the basic concepts to be communicated. We also need to invite the Parish to pray for and with us during this process.

Next, we discussed our individual responses to the statement, "I think the purpose of our St. Therese Parish Council is…". The following ideas were put forth:
§ A discernment process to establish mission and to develop a plan.
§ As stated on page 208 of The Book: The essential mission of every parish and every person baptized in the name of Jesus Christ is proclaiming the Word offering Eucharistic Worship, forming a Community of faith, placing ourselves at the Service of others, exercising Stewardship over all God’s gift and creating a Shared Leadership modeled on that of Christ himself, so we fulfill the mission of Evangelization.
§ To welcome, nurture, and support the gifts and talents of all members of the Parish with Eucharist at the core and to build a sacramental and spiritual home for all members of the Parish.
§ To create universality and unity, to identify what unites us and to see the truth.
§ To discern all the needs of the people, to listen reflectively, and to understand those needs.
§ Facilitating within the whole Parish, an encounter with the risen Christ.
§ To discern and judge, to encourage spiritual growth of the community as a whole, to develop a vision for the mission of the Parish.
§ To act as a liaison for all the facets of the Parish and to build the spirituality of all its members.
§ To create a framework for a new perspective; a spiritual plan to utilize the gifts and address the needs; to develop a prayer life in the community for discernment, consensus and wisdom; to declare a year of focus on this new perspective; then to act on it and evaluate the progress.
§ To address the spiritual yearning in the Parish, to learn about our faith, to develop a process to encourage a mature spirituality of all our community members.
§ To guide the processes that will discern the Spirit among us, to address the hunger for leadership in the community, to provide effective leadership for spiritual growth, to guide and direct the priorities of the St. Therese community by consensus building rather than by direction only of the Pastor and the staff.

We agreed that we would return to this process of identifying the purpose of the Council in several weeks after we have had a chance to develop our own spiritual growth. We therefore, discussed our plans for our own Council development. We agreed that we should review and analyze the seven elements of pastoral planning in The Book, create opportunities to develop our abilities for reflective listening, to enhance our group leadership skills (perhaps the color exercises), to develop consensus building skills, and to develop our own prayer life, both individually and as a Council.

We discussed diocesan pastoral life committee and steering committees resources available to us to offer insights in council development. We discussed the difference between "authority" and "power" and to recognize that the model of leadership that we develop needs to be reflective of the needs of our Parish and the call to service that the Pastoral Council is premised on. This may look more like a shepherd or servant leader rather than a general or corporate figure.

For our next meeting, we agreed that we would like to start building understanding of the seven essential elements, the process of discernment, and spiritual growth.

Our next meeting was set for March 10, 2004, again to begin with prayer at 7:00 p.m. Nancy, Linda Winter, Steve and Tom will develop the agenda, including the focus on contemplative prayer, the process of discernment, and evangelization as the first of the seven elements for reflection. Linda Albani agreed to assist the preparation of the environment. Dennis Meyer agreed to be the scribe for the March 10th meeting. The meeting following the March 10th meeting is scheduled for March 27th from 9-11 a.m. Saturday morning. The agenda preparation and process has not yet been identified for the March 27th meeting. We concluded with the final verse of We are Called, based on Micah 6, and adjourned at 9:15 p.m.