Future Directions of the Parish Council

By Michael Anthony
Chairman, Parish Council

My service as a member of the St. Mary’s Parish Council has convinced me the Holy Spirit is-at this very moment-challenging you and me to accept a new and deeper relationship within the Catholic Christian community.

St. Mary’s Parish Council and all Catholic Parish Councils are chartered as advisory. We make no decisions, and serve as an extra voice airing the concerns of St. Mary’s members.

Our Church (and church) is changing- and quickly. Diminishing numbers of clergy and the “clustering” of parishes will challenge us, I am sure, to accept a deeper participation (with more responsibility) within our parishes. With the creation of these clusters, we will no longer have the luxury of the constant presence of a pastor. We will be called to make our faith community a greater presence in our life if that community is to survive.

As our Church changes, so too must the role of the Parish Council. Personally, I believe the Parish Council (here and at many Catholic churches) will need to become a much more integral part of the parish community. The Parish Council will need to assume a more visible role, and to share in a closer collaboration with our clerical leadership. We as Parish Council members will need to galvanize, evangelize, and lead our parishioners -call our parishioners to live a fuller, more dynamic Christian life.

Vatican Council II challenged the lay community to participate as mature members of the Church body. Forty years later, that challenge continues. I pray we have the vision, strength, and fortitude to answer that challenge.