This Office serves dozens of parish pastoral councils each year with workshops and consultation on: strategic planning, spiritual vitality, meeting skills, enabling volunteers, interparish collaboration and leading in transitions. The Office also provides guidelines for council operation and best practices. There is no cost for any of these services.
Some popular topics include:
- Purpose of a Pastoral Council: central function of the pastoral council, characteristics of effective councils, collaborating with the pastor (for parish staff and pastoral council)
- Effective Parish Councils: how good decisions are made, working toward consensus, structuring a successful parish council, the role of committees/commissions, to delegate or not to delegate, that is the question (for parish staff and pastoral council)
- Meeting Skills for Parish Organizations: strategic planning, agenda - the key to productive and enjoyable meetings, the art of facilitating, persuasive communication and negotiating skills (for parish staff and pastoral council)
- Best Practices for Parish Pastoral Councils - Learn how successful councils: start with clarity of purpose, hold productive and purposeful meetings, make wise use of structures and committee reports and get practical answers to questions about size of council, selection of members, how to get started, meetings, and relationship with the parish finance council among others.
- Growing an Engaged Church: moving from maintenance to mission, best practices for pastoral excellence, leveraging change to maximize growth, adapting to meet emerging needs, pastoral planning made easy (for parish staff, pastoral council and ministry leaders)
- Strategic Planning Made Simple: the difference between proactive and reactive planning, elements and steps in developing a strategic plan, how to best consult with the congregation, to survey or not to survey - that is the question, how to write high impact goals
You can download a copy of the diocesan parish pastoral council guidelines in summary or complete below:
You can also email or call to receive a copy at 716-847-5531
Contact Us
Kathleen B. Heffern, 716-847-5530
Dennis Mahaney, 716-847-8393