Diocesan Newsletter

When the time comes to call forth a parish pastoral council……

…….Be guided by the principles of synodality

This is the final section of a three part article by Fr Don White.  A link to the full article will be found at the end of this part.

Four steps

The first step is to form a small group of people with a good knowledge of the parish and its needs and to commission them to design a gifts/skills matrix that can be used to shape the membership of the pastoral council. The parts of the matrix included a balance of worship community representation, gender balance, cultural background balance, age balance (especially a young person of faith with people of age experience) educational background/experience (especially in Catholic schools and other schools’ catechesis), pastoral care experience in the parish context, theological expertise, and experience in the concept of stewardship. We decided to draw the matrix in the shape of a tree, with its roots being The Word of God, Tradition, Parish Vision Statement and Synodal conversion, then the trunk leading up to branches with the above gifts/skills to symbolise the pastoral council we were seeking.

Then with a matrix in place, the second step of nominations for new members are invited from the wider parish community. Thirdly, those who have accepted nomination, along with existing members of the stewardship council are invited to a gathering of shared wisdom, to identify the specific skills, experiences, and attributes that are needed in new members to meet the gifts/skills identified in the matrix. At that gathering, there will be a short presentation on the role of the parish stewardship council and then those who have been nominated are invited to briefly share about what gifts or skills they can bring to the stewardship council

Then, in the fourth step the small group who compiled the matrix becomes a small nominating committee and prayerfully reflects on all that has been shared and makes a recommendation to the parish priest about the new members. And so, a new or changeover pastoral council emerges, ready for its mission in parish life, and with formation, able to take its part in the ongoing synodal conversation in the life of the church.

Conclusion

The parish of Bundaberg recently used this gifts matrix process in the renewal of our stewardship (pastoral) council in the parish of Bundaberg. Starting back in August 2024 with the renewal of ministries, we then followed through with the renewal of our stewardship (pastoral) council. The steps as outlined above were put into practice. A small group of parishioners, immersed in parish life and aware of the needs of the community joined me in the formation of the gifts/skills matrix for our pastoral council. A diagram of the matrix, in the form of a tree is shown below. Next, the whole parish was asked to participate in the process by nominating someone who they thought would be a suitable new member of the council. Those people nominated were asked if they accepted their nomination, and those who did were invited to be part of the final phase of discernment. That final phase was a meeting, at which present members and those nominated shared how they thought they could contribute to the council so it could reflect the gifts matrix. The small group who had formed the matrix also attended the meeting to listen and to inform their recommendations for new members. Finally, some days after the meeting, that group gave their recommendations for new members, all of whom accepted to be part of the council. Those not discerned were especially affirmed for being of service to the parish by their participation of the discernment process. The parish now has a renewed pastoral council that will soon be commissioned for its role for the next three years. Although at times, this process was challenging and time consuming, it has ensured that a renewed stewardship or pastoral council is ready for service to the parish and is an answer to the universal call for synodality to be manifest at the local level. The process was also a blessing for the parish in the way it highlighted the importance of synodality and how it can be put into practice in the local context. We hope the experience of this process here in Bundaberg may be of help to other parishes who are looking to renew their pastoral council,

Fr. Don White, P.P., V.G.

Synodality and Parish Councils by Fr Don White PP