Parish Pastoral Council Constitution
1) Objectives
a) The Parish Pastoral Council has the following objectives:
i) to lead the parish in living out the St. Thomas More
Mission Statement.
ii) to serve in a consultative role to the Pastor in making
recommendations on spiritual and pastoral matters.
iii) to establish and interact with committees of parishioners.
iv) to promote closer union among parishioners, between the
parish and the diocese, and between the parish and the
civic community.
2) Council Membership
a) A candidate for Parish Pastoral Council will be a person who:
i) is a practising confirmed Catholic in the parish.
ii) supports the parish and its programs.
iii) is committed to attending working meetings and sessions
at least on a monthly basis for the duration of the
Council term.
iv) is willing to devote time and effort between meetings to
accomplish the goals of the Parish Pastoral Council and to
self education in matters relating to the Parish Pastoral
Council ministry.
v) accepts the teachings of Vatican II.
vi) is of good reputation and moral character.
b) The Parish Pastoral Council shall consist of 12 selected voting
members, and the Pastoral team in a non-voting capacity.
c) The Executive shall be comprised of:
i) a Chair.
ii) a Vice-Chair.
iii) a Secretary.
iv) the Pastor.
3) Selections and Elections
a) A Nominating Committee will be formed at the April meeting of
the Parish Pastoral Council.
b) The Nominating Committee shall be comprised of the Pastor, the
Vice-Chair of the Parish Pastoral Council, and one non-Executive
member of the Parish Pastoral Council. The Vice-Chair of the
Parish Pastoral Council will chair the Nominating Committee.
c) The Nominating Committee will be responsible for discerning which
individuals would be most suitable for filling upcoming vacancies
on the Parish Pastoral Council in accordance with the criteria
for Council membership. The Committee will consult with these
individuals to determine whether or not they are agreeable to
being nominated.
d) The right of final approval of each nominee is reserved to the
Pastor.
e) The Nominating Committee will present their recommendations for
new Parish Pastoral Council members at the May Council meeting.
f) The Parish Pastoral Council will select the new Council members
from the list of nominees by a majority vote. In the event that
there are more nominees than upcoming vacant positions, the
selection will be made by secret written ballot wherein each
Council member will select the same number of nominees as there
are upcoming vacancies. The successful nominees will be those
who obtain the most votes. In the event that there is a tie for
the last vacant position, the selection will be made by a second
secret written ballot limited to filling this single position.
g) The Executive of the Parish Pastoral Council will be elected from
the membership of the new Council at the May Council meeting
immediately after the membership of the new Council has been
determined. The newly selected Council members shall be able to
nominate and vote for this purpose only.
h) The term of the newly selected Parish Pastoral Council and
Executive will commence at the conclusion of the Annual General
Meeting.
4) Vacancies
a) Vacancies on the Parish Pastoral Council and the Executive may be
filled by appointment by the Council for the remainder of the
term being filled.
5) Term of office
a) Parish Pastoral Council members:
i) shall hold an office for three years.
ii) one-third of the members shall be selected each year.
iii) no member shall be permitted to serve more than two
consecutive terms of office, but members shall be eligible
for re-selection after the lapse of one year since their
last term of office.
iv) members appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the
remainder of the term for which they were appointed.
b) Executive members:
i) shall hold a single Executive position for one year.
ii) no Executive shall serve two consecutive terms in the same
Executive position unless the Executive member is agreeable
to serving two consecutive terms and the Council approves
the second term unanimously.
iii) Executive members appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve
for the remainder of the term for which they were
appointed.
6) Attendance
a) It is responsibility of each member to advise the Chair if the
member is going to be absent from a regularly scheduled Parish
Pastoral Council meeting.
b) Where there have been three consecutive absences, which were not
reported as above, the Chair will report the same to Council
requesting that appropriate action be taken, including, but not
limited to, deeming the position vacant.
c) If the position is deemed to be vacant, it shall be filled
according to the provisions of Section 4.
7) Meetings and Quorums
The Parish Pastoral Council shall conduct the following meetings:
a) Regular Parish Pastoral Council meetings:
i) will be held on the fourth Tuesday of each month, from
September to November and from January to May, unless a
different meeting day is agreed to by the majority of the
Parish Pastoral Council.
ii) a regular Parish Pastoral Council meeting can be cancelled
by a majority vote of the Council at a regular meeting, but
Council is not permitted to cancel two consecutive regular
meetings. There must be minimum of six regular meetings
held from September to May.
iii) the purpose of regular meetings will be to conduct the
business of the Parish Pastoral Council.
iv) only members of the Parish Pastoral Council can make
motions and vote at a regular meeting of the Council.
v) a quorum for a regular meeting of the Parish Pastoral
Council shall consist of a simple majority of the Council.
vi) an open invitation to all parishioners to attend regular
meetings of the Parish Pastoral Council shall be extended
through the Sunday bulletin, church announcements, or a
combination of both.
b) Annual General Meeting of the Parish:
i) the Annual General Meeting of the Parish will be held on a
date in June of each year, as determined by the Parish
Pastoral Council.
ii) each parish committee shall submit a report on its past
year's activities to the Parish Pastoral Council prior to
the Annual General Meeting.
iii) the purpose of the Annual General Meeting shall be to hear
the annual report of the Chair of the Parish Pastoral
Council, to review reports of parish committees, to vote on
amendments to the Parish Pastoral Council Constitution, to
introduce the new Parish Pastoral Council and Executive,
and to discuss any items of business deemed appropriate for
the Annual General Meeting by the Parish Pastoral Council
and/or the Chair.
iv) all parish members will be entitled to make motions and
vote at the Annual General Meeting.
v) the Chair of the Parish Pastoral Council shall chair the
Annual General Meeting.
vi) a quorum for the Annual General Meeting shall consist of
ten members of the parish, three of whom must be members of
the Parish Pastoral Council.
vii) an open invitation to all parishioners to attend the Annual
General Meeting shall be extended through the Sunday
bulletin, church announcements, or a combination of both.
c) In the event of any disagreement over the conduct of an order of
business by the Chair, Robert’s Rules of Order will be followed.
8) Duties of the Executive
a) The Chair shall:
i) chair all meetings of the Parish Pastoral Council and the
Annual General Meeting of the Parish.
ii) set and distribute the agenda for Parish Pastoral Council
meetings and for the Annual General Meeting of the Parish.
iii) be an ex-officio member of all parish committees.
iv) act as a representative of Council in its relations with
other churches and community organizations.
v) ensure that a draft annual report is prepared for
presentation to the Parish Pastoral Council at the regular
Council meeting in May.
vi) perform all other duties as from time to time may be
directed by the Parish Pastoral Council or by the Pastor.
b) The Vice-Chair shall:
i) chair all meetings of the Parish Pastoral Council and the
Annual General Meeting of the parish, in the absence of the
Chair.
ii) chair the Nominating Committee of the Parish Pastoral
Council.
iii) ensure that open invitations to all parishioners to attend
meetings of the Parish Pastoral Council and the Annual
General Meeting of the Parish are extended through the
Sunday bulletin, church announcements, or a combination of
both.
c) The Secretary shall:
i) take minutes at regular meetings of the Parish Pastoral
Council and at the Annual General Meeting of the Parish.
ii) distribute the minutes of regular meetings of the Parish
Pastoral Council to Council members within two weeks of the
meeting.
iii) distribute the minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the
Parish to members of the Parish Pastoral Council prior to
the first regular meeting of the Council in September.
iv) distribute the agenda, the annual report of the Chair of
the Parish Pastoral Council, and parish committee reports
at the Annual General Meeting of the Parish.
9) Amendments to the Constitution
a) Amendments to the constitution shall be made by way of:
i) a two-thirds majority vote of support for a motion making
the amendments at a regular meeting of the Parish Pastoral
Council, followed by
ii) a simple majority vote of support for the same motion
making the amendments at the next Annual General Meeting of
the Parish.
iii) all of the proposed amendments can be made and passed as
one motion, however amendments of a single section or
sub-section can be separated from the others and voted on
individually by means of a simple majority vote of support
for a motion calling for separation of the bylaw.
iv) notice will be given in the Sunday bulletin, by church
announcement, or both indicating that a motion to amend the
constitution will be voted on at the Annual General Meeting
and that copies of the motion are available for review by
interested parish members in the parish office, at the same
time that the open invitation to the Annual General Meeting
is made.
v) the amendments will not come into effect until passed at
the Annual General Meeting of the Parish.
This constitution was approved at the Annual General Meeting of the Parish
held on June 25, 2002.
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