PARISH COUNCIL AND FINANCE COUNCIL

The Parish Council is called to be the core group that supports the Pastor in his leadership role, expands his awareness of needs and achievements, and counsels him on pastoral outreach, including any issues he presents to them for deliberation.

The Purpose of the Parish Council is:

To enhance and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of parish life and pastoral activity. This includes:
• expanding and enhancing the decision-making process of parish planning and goal-setting;
• developing and implementing parish programs;
• improving parish services.

To deal with the Mission of the Church, long-range and short-range goals and objectives.

To be a visionary and prayerful group who, together with the Pastor, seeks to discern the direction and movement of the Spirit within the parish community.

To provide the Pastor with ongoing communication and input regarding the needs of the parish.

The Finance Council

• review annual parish budgets and provide the Pastor with comments and advice
• periodically assess the internal control system employed by the parish to determine it it complies with diocesan policies and guidelines and to suggest changes to control the system when appropriate
• review parish financial statements with the Pastor on a regular basis
• review the Annual Parish Report submitted to the Diocese
• review the annual financial statement prior to dissemination to the parish community to ensure that it is complete and accurate. A complete report would included income and expenses for the past year as well as parish cash assets.
• review the parish's plan to pay any parish debt and provide any comments on the plan to the Pastor
• review the parish's multiple years (three to five years) of capital expansion or improvement plan and advise the Pastor on how to finance the improvements
• support all Stewardship Committee fundraising programs and coordinate with other parish financial plans and messages. The Pastor has assigned primary fundraising responsibility to the Stewardship Committee.
• review with the Pastor the results of diocesan internal audits and any external audits and help ensure that recommendations are implemented.
• assist the Parish Administrator or bookkeeper when requested by the Pastor
• advise the Pastor on how to implement Diocesan policies on financial matters

 

Assists the pastor in the fiscal management of the parish and school; prepares an annual parish budget and an annual report of the financial status of the parish; oversees all committee budgets.

 

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