One early Friday evening, I got a phone call from a friend who is currently serving in the parish pastoral council. He said that my name had been submitted for consideration to fill in one of three positions being vacated. He stated that the process, called discernment, would be quiet a long but spiritual process when candidates answer a series of questions, and would be judged by how they expressed themselves in the process.
I wondered who put my name in for consideration. But as I was on my way to Grace Hall that Saturday morning, I felt very enthusiastic about the prospect of being at service to the church. There were the usual introductions of the current members. The pastor explained the process of discernment, and he said that it was fortuitous that there were three vacancies and there were three of us nominated. He then declared us members filling in the vacancies. Each of the new members was given the opportunity to introduce him/herself.
My involvement with the church dates back in the elementary school. Being in a public school, we had optional religious instruction from one of two catechists. She did this after school. That is how I learned my prayers and basic knowledge of the Catholic church, the bible, and the Holy Mass. She prepared me for Holy Communion. After graduating from college, a new parish priest was assigned to our church. He was a young priest who became popular among the youth for his progressive thoughts, a far-cry from the elderly parish priests who have served in the parish.
The new parish priest attracted volunteers to the church. Attendance to the Sunday masses increased immensely. Mass music was more contemporary, and a youth choir was formed. The parish priest delivered the most thoughtful and best prepared homilies. Parishioners gave more, and those who were well-off, donated more to the church. Physical improvements to the church were realized. I was a soloist and I was asked to sing in weddings and funerals. Together with a few members of the church choir, I went with the parish priest to the villages when he celebrated Mass. ( The same parish priest officiated my wedding in 1982. He asked me if I would sing on my wedding. I told him I would rather not. He found an excellent musician who sang during the wedding ceremony.)
In Waco, my wife and I became members of the televised Sunday Mass choir at our church. Alternately we provided liturgical music at a Sunday Mass at a retirement home chapel. When the home closed and moved to another newly-constructed facility, we continued to provide music to the Sunday Mass at the new place until our pianist moved to Florida to live there. We were members of our parish choir for a few years. I taught the Wednesday night CCE class (5th grade) for a number of years. Due to the growing pressures of work and the time we had to spend after school, we had to beg off from the choir and CCE.
The PASTORAL COUNCIL is to be a representative body of the faithful whose focus is on the whole community - its beliefs, its hopes, its joys, its needs, its sorrows, its concerns, its gifts, and its pursuit of the Church's mission. The council provides a means of uniting the parish community in expressing its collective wisdom concerning pastoral plans and activities. The pastoral council is to guard against serving special interest groups.
Because of the council's unique existence, there is a perpetual eliciting of the needs and concerns of the community. Each council has the dual obligation to perceive and to deliberate. Each council member must make special effort to understand and to implement the consultative process. In this process, each member is to share his/her wisdom regarding the issue being considered. A common conclusion among the members is not required when functioning as a consultative body, but the process of seeking consensus is very helpful in providing quality consultation. Each council must take time to develop spiritually so as to be more keenly aware of the Spirit's presence and functioning within the council and within the whole parish community.
As a new member of the parish pastoral council, I must ---
a) demonstrate a commitment to the parish community;
b) commit myself to spiritual growth;
c) commit myself to skills development as part of the Christian leadership process;
d) be willing to commit necessary time and energy to offer effective consultation;
e) be willing to support, encourage, and diligently work toward implementation of Synod recommendations;
f) be familiar with programs of various diocesan commissions and/or standing committees; and
g) be willing to take time and make the effort to open myself to the training and group process of the formation of council
rationale.
When I accepted the nomination to be a member of the pastoral council, I did not have any idea as to what I was getting myself into. I know now that I have seriously considered the call to serve the parish community in this capacity. What a great honor for my family and me! May the Lord give me the guidance and wisdom through prayer, reflection, and dialogue as well as study, research and consultation, so that I could give my best possible decisions on whatever concerns at hand.
