Purpose
The purpose of the Parish Council is to provide a structure, which will:

1. Assist the Apostolic work of the Church as it is carried out in the Parish in all its aspects; e.g., sanctifying, social, etc., all of which require regular attendance, charitable, participatory works, and contributions.
   
   As it is noted on Page 13 of the document Parish Pastoral Council and the Parish: “By their Baptism the lay faithful have both a right and responsibility to be actively involved in the ongoing pastoral life of their Parish and the greater Church.”
   
2. Serve as a permanent basis for constructive dialogue among the priests and laity in the Parish so that they may work in close cooperation, as a truly Eucharistic Community, in fulfilling Christ’s mandate to sanctify the world.It gives an opportunity for “a sharing of common concerns and a drawing on a collective wisdom” (PPc&P: p. 13).
3. Provide decision – making leadership, direction, resources, and encouragement to the apostolic and spiritual development of all parishioners, of whatever age or status.
4. Continually survey the needs, both spiritual and temporal, of the Parish, the community, and the diocese, and to develop and implement programs aimed at fulfilling those needs (A Parish Blog might be useful as well as the WEB page).
5. Serve as a coordinating body for all organizations and group activities with the Parish.
6. Enable the laity to undertake responsible parochial missions heretofore borne by the Pastor and his associates.
7. Involve “members who reflect the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and racial makeup of the Parish.”
8. Involve “members who speak to the concerns and needs of significant groups within the Parish, e.g. persons with disabilities, youth, young adults, seniors, unemployed persons.”
9. Help the Parish come to consensus, wherein the Parish Pastoral Council seeks to discover how the Spirit is working in the Parish.This consensus exists “when there is a clear alternative to which most members can subscribe and if those who oppose it feel they have had their chance to influence the discussion.”

Membership
Section 1
All registered members of the Parish community, sixteen years of age of older, and the youth representative as hereinafter defined, shall be eligible for membership on the Parish Council.

Section 2
The total membership of the Parish Council shall include twelve members of the Parish in addition to the Pastor and staff representatives: Pastoral Associate, Director of Religious Education, and Coordinator of Maintenance. In addition to the six Commission Chairpersons, there shall be seven members-at-large on the Parish Council; the seven are made up of six adult members and one youth member. Two adult members are to be selected annually for a three-year term (except for filling out vacancies), and the youth member (age sixteen and in the eleventh grade, and up to twenty-three years of age at the time of nomination) shall be selected annually for a one-year term.

Section 3
Any member of the Parish community, as provided in section 2 above, and who is considered by the Pastor in consultation with the Pastoral Team to be an active and participating Catholic and contributing to the support of the Parish, shall be eligible for nomination to membership of the Parish Council or its commissions.

Section 4
The tenure of office of the members of the Parish Council hall begin on July 1 and end on June 30. The office shall be until the termination of their elected term or their removal or resignation. A member-at-large may serve for no more than two consecutive three-year terms.

Section 5
Members of Commissions, as provided in Article IX, are to be selected during the same time frame and using the same process as members-at-large, as set forth in Section 2. The newly-selected and continuing members of the Commissions must meet to select their Commission officers as set forth in Article IX, Section 2. A Commission member may serve for no more than two consecutive three-year terms.

Section 6
The Pastor and three members of the Parish Staff (the Pastoral Associate, the Director of Religious Education, and the Coordinator of Maintenance) shall be ex-officio members of the Parish Council.