Pastoral Ministry“The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community”
Strong and vibrant parishes are places of welcome where people can:
Parishes serve in many ways through various groups and agencies:
A Parish Pastoral Council is an important consultative planning body in the life and work of the parish. Its members are called from the parish community, to serve and to enable that community to carry forward the mission of Jesus Christ. The Parish Pastoral Council works co-responsibly with the pastoral leadership exercised by the Parish Priest.
"Parish Councils are one of the structures which were strongly recommended by the Bishops of the Second Vatican Council. The purpose of the councils was seen as furthering the work of the Church by fostering the spiritual growth of parishioners and leading them to respond actively to their universal call to mission.”
A Parish Pastoral Council is an important consultative planning body in the life and work of the parish. Its members are called from the parish community, to serve and to enable that community to carry forward the mission of Jesus Christ. The Parish Pastoral Council works co-responsibly with the pastoral leadership exercised by the Parish Priest.
“The programme of the Gospel must continue to take root, as it has always done, in the life of the Church everywhere. It is in the local churches that the specific features of a detailed pastoral plan can be identified — goals and methods, formation and enrichment of the people involved, the search for the necessary resources — which will enable the proclamation of Christ to reach people, mould communities, and have a deep and incisive influence in bringing Gospel values to bear in society and culture.”
A Handbook for Parish Pastoral Councils is available from Evangelisation Brisbane as a pdf download. See http://evangelisationbrisbane.org.au/parishes/pastoral-councils
The Australian Bishop’s Conference has additional information on Parish Pastoral Councils in Australia: theology, role and function, pastoral planning.
For further support in formation of Parish Pastoral Councils, please contact the Pastoral Office, or call 03 5622 6677.
The National Centre for Pastoral Research makes available a social profile for each parish in Australia.
The current profile is based on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population and Housing 2016 and 2011.
The profile for each parish in our Diocese can be found here.