Guidelines for PPC

1. The Council shall be called: (Parish) Pastoral Council.

2. The Council is a group of people which is representative of the parish community as a whole and whose purpose is the promotion of the mission of the Church in (Name of Parish) parish.

3. The Council is a consultative group whose function is to co-operate with the parish clergy in designing ways and means by which the parish can best fulfil its mission.

4. The Council shall consist of at least eight and not more than fifteen members.

5. The Parish Team shall be members of the Council.

6. The Parish Priest shall be free to co-opt additional members from the parish community on to the Council to enhance its representative character, or because of their experience and/or expertise.

7. The number of co-opted members may not exceed the number of parish community representatives.

8. The Parish Priest shall preside at meetings.

9. The Chairperson and Secretary shall be elected by the members on an annual basis in September.

10. The term of office for the parish community representatives is five years.

11. No member shall serve more than five years, but is eligible for membership after a break of one year.

12. Each September two representatives will retire and be replaced by two new members.

13. Members failing to attend three consecutive meetings without reasonable explanation shall be deemed to have resigned.

14. The normal schedule of meetings shall be agreed annually.

15. The Parish Priest or his delegate shall preside at all meetings.

16. The Parish Priest, Chairperson and Secretary of the Council are responsible for convening meetings and compiling the agenda.

17. The Parish Priest may convene and chair an extraordinary meeting should he consider it necessary