| The Parish Pastoral Council of Ascension Church | |
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL OF ASCENSION CHURCH, PORTLAND, OREGON
PREAMBLE We affirm our unity with the Franciscan Family. We recognize the Holy Spirit as the true presider of our community. We choose Christ as the beginning and the center of our theology, and the center of the individual in our individual faith formation. We dedicate ourselves to the formation of the parish as a Community of Faith. We dedicate ourselves to building this community in the gospel spirit of honesty, simplicity, hospitality, joy, respect for the individual, and a willingness to suffer, so that we might give individual and collective witness to the presence of Christ in our midst. We dedicate ourselves to be a Community of Service. We dedicate ourselves to building this community of service so that we might become true disciples of the poor, chaste, and obedient Christ who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. We dedicate ourselves as a community of service to a Prophetic Witness in the Church and in society. We dedicate ourselves to building this community of service and witness so that we might incarnate the people of God in the local parish, gathering together to love one another and to worship God, and living out in our own bodies the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord, Jesus.
ARTICLE I - NAME Section 1. This pastoral council shall be known as the Parish Pastoral Council of Ascension Church, Portland, Oregon.
Section 2. Any change in this name shall require a vote of approval of the Pastor and two-thirds of the total voting members of the Council.
Section 3. The principal address of the Council shall be Ascension Church Parish Office, 7507 S.E. Yamhill, Portland, OR 97215.
ARTICLE II - PURPOSE Section 1. The purpose of the Council shall be a. To accept responsibility as a collaborative and consultative body, with the Pastor, for the life and mission of the Church in the Parish; b. To be the representative voice of the People of God, which includes laity, professed religious, and the ordained; c. To provide an open and honest forum of communication and dialogue regarding Parish affairs among Pastor, staff, religious, and laity; d. To actively encourage vigorous and effective volunteerism and participation of all members of the Ascension Parish in the extension of Christ's mission, and to be the focus for outreach to and among the local Christian community; e. To serve as the representative of all of the Parishioners of Ascension Church in matters pertaining to the administration, financial operations, and facilities management of the Parish and Parish properties and assets; and f. To provide direction to programs for all age groups designed to foster the spiritual, educational, social, financial, and physical needs of the Parish.
Section 2. Pursuant to the purpose set forth in Section 1 of this Article, the Council shall perform the following functions as recommendations to the Pastor: a. It shall annually review the statement of the Parish's mission; b. It shall engage in long and short range planning, to address the needs and goals of the Parish and, in union with the Pastor, determine priorities among such needs and goals with respect to the allotment of personal, physical, and financial resources;
ARTICLE III - AUTHORITY Section 1. Pursuant to the 1983 Code of Canon Law 536, #1 and #2, and the Policy on Parish Pastoral Councils of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, the Parish Pastoral Council of Ascension Church shall be a consultative body to assist the Pastor and the Pastoral team in planning the Pastoral Ministries of the parish so that the parish community can carry out the mission of the Church. Through the Parish Pastoral Council, the Christian faithful can: a) make their needs and desires known to the Pastoral Ministers of the parish, b) express their opinions on matters which the concern the good of the parish family, however the Pastor shall handle complaints and suggestions c) with the Pastor and Pastoral Staff, study the life and activity of the congregation, and evaluate its conformity with the Gospel, and d) plan the priorities for the pastoral ministry and activity in the light of the expressed needs and opinions of the faithful, and in the light of the above study and evaluation of the Council. Section 2. From time-to-time, the Parish Pastoral Council of Ascension Church may establish either permanent or temporary auxiliary Boards to assist the Council in the management of certain Parish facilities. Such Boards, when appointed shall have day-to-day oversight authority and strong advisory weight in Council proceedings and decisions. a. Establishment of such Boards shall be in writing and will have a clear mission and duration statement with all of its functions being expressly delineated by the Parish Pastoral Council of Ascension Church. b. The stated term of the Board and its purpose must be agreed to by a two-thirds vote of the Parish Pastoral Council of Ascension Church.
Section 3. The Pastoral Council is of limited power and function. It is not a political body, board of directors, responsible for administrative details, responsible for carrying out programs, nor is it a complaint department
ARTICLE IV - MEMBERSHIP, TENURE, QUALIFICATIONS Section 1. The Parish Pastoral Council shall be composed of twelve (12) members. The Lay Council members shall be active members who have been registered in the Parish for at least two consecutive years prior to the date of the election. The membership shall be:
Section 2. The Pastor or lay administrator shall have one vote on the Parish Pastoral Council. All staff are encouraged to attend the Council meetings to give their input.
Section 3. Elected members shall serve three (3) year terms. Three (3) members shall be elected each year so that each year three (3) members are newly elected, three (3) have served one year, and three (3) have served two years.
Section 4. Members of the Ascension Parish Pastoral Council shall serve no more than two consecutive, elected three year terms.
Section 5. Three consecutive and unexcused absences from regularly scheduled monthly meetings of the Council shall be considered to be a de facto resignation from membership about which the Pastor of Ascension Parish shall decide either to accept or not accept the resignation of the member in question.
Section 6. Any elected or appointed member who chooses to resign may do so by submitting to the Pastor of Ascension Parish a letter of resignation.
Section 7. A vacancy on the Ascension Parish Pastoral Council, either by resignation or otherwise, shall be filled by appointment by the Chairperson of a Council nominee upon ratification by a majority vote of the Ascension Parish Pastoral Council. In this case, the Appointee shall serve the remainder of the term vacated and this period does not count toward the time limits specified in Article IV, section 4 above.
ARTICLE V - ELECTIONS Section 1. The Chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council shall appoint from its membership at the January meeting a three-person committee to nominate parishioners for election to impending vacant positions. The Vice-Chairperson is the chairperson for the nominating committee. The committee will report to the council at its February meeting, giving the recommended nominees to the Pastor. Council members, parish staff, and the pastor may add nominees. There shall be a minimum of six (6) nominees. Only the pastor may delete nominees. The entire process is done in Executive Session.
Section 2. The Chairperson may direct that an announcement shall be printed in the Parish bulletin inviting interested and qualified parishioners who wish to be nominated for election to the Council to submit their names for consideration to be included on the ballot.
Section 3. Nominees will be asked to submit a biography limited to 100 words. The biographies and photographs of the nominees will be publicized in both the Sample Ballot and the Ballot for the election. The weekend before the election, Sample Ballots will be passed out to parishioners. The written, secret ballot will be structured alphabetically and will include the biography and a photograph of each nominee.
Section 4. Elections shall take place at all Masses on a Sunday in March or April of each year. In order to vote, one must be 18 years old and registered at Ascension. In the event of a tie, the Chairperson will decide with regard to maintaining as broad a representation as possible.
Section 5. The nominating and election committee will be responsible to run the election, do the presentations, count the ballots, and contact all nominees with results. The results should be printed in the bulletin as soon as possible.
Section 6. Members will assume their responsibilities in July each year. Election procedures should be designed to achieve a balance in the membership on the Council among genders, ethnic groups, age groups, and areas of knowledge and competence on the Council.
ARTICLE VI - OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES Section 1. Officers of the Parish Pastoral Council shall be elected by a simple majority annually by the Council membership at the May meeting for the following year. Any officer shall be eligible for re-election to any office.
Section 2. The duties of the Chairperson are:
Section 3. The duties of the Vice Chairperson are:
Section 4. The Secretary is appointed for a one (1) year renewable term by the Parish Pastoral Council. The Secretary is a non-voting member of the Council. The duties of the Secretary are:
The Minutes of the Council's proceedings shall be kept at the Ascension Church Parish, and they shall be available for inspection to the members of the Ascension Church parish. The Minutes of the Council's proceedings shall be reviewed by the Council membership at each subsequent meeting.
ARTICLE VII - EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Section 1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and Pastor.
Section 2. The Executive Committee shall prepare the agenda for regular and special meetings of the Parish Pastoral Council. The Council will give priority to matters presented to it by the Pastor of Ascension Parish for its advice, but the members of the Council are also encouraged to introduce other matters for the Council's deliberation on their own initiative by suggesting the matter to a member of the Executive Committee prior to a meeting. Prior to the meeting, the Secretary will forward the agenda to each member.
Section 3. Any parishioner of Ascension Parish who wishes to present a matter for consideration of the Council may do so by submitting the topic in writing to a member of the Executive Committee. A member of the Executive Committee shall respond in writing to any member of the Parish who has submitted a written proposal for the Parish Council's consideration.
ARTICLE VIII - MEETINGS AND VOTING Section 1. The Parish Pastoral Council shall meet monthly from August through June. The meeting shall be on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise scheduled by the Pastor. A special meeting of the Council may be called at any time by the Chairperson or Pastor. The Chairperson shall convene a special meeting when petitioned by a majority of the members of the Parish Pastoral Council.
Section 2. Notice of Parish Pastoral Council regular and special meetings shall be published in the Sunday Parish bulletin at least on the weekend prior to the meeting itself.
Section 3. The voting members of the Parish Pastoral Council shall be the Pastor, the nine elected members of the Council, and the youth member. A quorum shall be more than one-half of the voting members of the Pastoral Council, exclusive of the Pastor.
Section 4. Unless the Pastor has specifically announced otherwise for a particular meeting, attendance at Council meetings shall be open to any registered parishioner of Ascension Parish. Only if they are specifically recognized by the Chairperson, however, and then only in a period designated for open discussion, may those in attendance who are not members of the Council address the assembly or raise questions.
Section 5. Whenever the Chairperson deems it useful, he or she may impose a three (3) minute limit for the comments of any individual of the assembly.
Section 6. Council meetings will be conducted in a freely shared discussion and recommendations will be made by a consensus. Robert's Rules of Order, Revised, may be invoked by any member, with the approval of the majority.
Section 7. Whenever requested by the Pastor or invoked by the Chairperson, the Council will convene in Executive Session, during which only the Pastor and members of the Council may be present.
ARTICLE IX - FINANCE COUNCIL Section 1. RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL a. The Finance Council shall be separate and distinct from the Parish Pastoral Council b. The Finance Council does not set or decide priorities for the Parish. That responsibility resides with the Pastor with input from the Parish Pastoral Council c. The Pastor is encouraged to select members for the Administrative Council who are separate from the Parish Pastoral Council as to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
ARTICLE X - RATIFICATION AND AMENDMENTS Section 1. Ratification a. The draft of this constitution shall be made available to all parishioners for their comments and suggestions. b. Its approval shall be by the Pastor and a two-thirds vote of the voting membership of the Parish Pastoral Council.
Section 2. Amendments a. Proposed amendments to this constitution shall be submitted in writing to the council at any regular meeting and voted on at the next regular meeting. b. The Chairperson may appoint a committee to review the amendment. If appointed, the committee shall make a written report on its recommendation to all Council members at least two weeks prior to the next regular meeting. c. The Council shall review the amendment and the committee's recommendations and shall approve or disapprove such amendment. A two-thirds vote of the total membership of the Parish Pastoral Council is required to amend this constitution.
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