Emmanuel
EUCHARIST: LIVING & EVANGELIZING
The Ministry of the Parish Pastoral
Council in a Eucharist-Centered Parish
by James W. Brown
Jim Brown is
an organization
development
consultant. His
work over the
last 30 years has
included delivering
workshops for
parish pastoral
councils. He
has served the
Congregation
of the Blessed
Sacrament for
over 25 years
and is a lay
associate of the
congregation.
In 1983, the Catholic Church revised the Code of Canon Law. It challenged
dioceses throughout the world to change the name, purpose, and
functioning of parish councils by calling them “parish pastoral councils.”
In canon 511, we read, “Councils are to investigate pastoral matters,
to ponder them, and to make recommendations.” In effect, the role of
the pastoral council is to assist the pastor in pastoring. In essence, the
purpose envisioned is strategic, that is, giving helpful advice on how to
be a vibrant, Gospel-centered organization and what plans are to put in
place to realize such a vision.
Any pastor will tell you that pastoring covers many tasks: from keeping
the parish mission-focused and ministerially complete to keeping the
parish fiscally solvent; from dealing with broken boilers to dealing with
broken hearts; from managing schools, catechetical programs, youth
sports, festivals, and fish fries to managing the people who make these
and all other activities work for the good of the parish and the wider
community it serves.
Shepherding the People of God
And yet, at the heart of pastoring is faith, the spiritual journey of those
who have committed themselves to a lifelong relationship with God and
to expressing that relationship in how they live and serve others. At the
heart of a Eucharist-centered parish is leading the parish community in
making the Eucharist the “source and summit” of its life—the center from
which all ministries and activities flow.
My wife and I belong to a Jesuit parish in Cincinnati, Ohio. Some years
back, I had the privilege of serving a three-year term on the parish pastoral
council. Clearly at the center of who we are as a parish is the Liturgy
of the Eucharist. Teams of dedicated parishioners work with the pastor
and pastoral staff to insure that our liturgies are well planned, spiritually
engaging experiences. The parish provides plenty of opportunities for
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