Parish Council and finance committee

- Ministries
  - Liturgical Ministries
    
    Liturgical Ministry
    Choir
  - Community Outreach
    
    Meals on Wheels
    Mission Trip
    Stewardship Committee
  - Committees
    
    Building Committee
    Parish Council
    
    Cemetery
  - Education
    
    Adult Education
    Parish School of Religion
    Youth
    Children
  - Altar Society
  - Knights of Columbus

Parish Council and Finance Committee
GUIDELINES
The purpose of the Parish Council is to offer advice and counsel to the Pastor.

In every Catholic Parish, the Pastor is the Chief Executive Officer and as
such has final word in all decisions.

St. Mary's Council is composed of twelve members; six of these represent parish
organizations and six are 'at-large'.

The organizations represented are: Adult Education, Altar Society, Director of
Religious Education, Knights of Columbus, Parish Secretary/Bookkeeper,
Youth Group (adult leader of).

Each at Large Representative: is expected to serve a term of three years.
There is a total of six At-Large Representatives. Two new ones are selected each
May as the two most senior complete their three years of service and retire from
the Council.

The Council meets every-other month: on the third Wednesday of January,
March, May, July, September, November and also whenever needed.

Meetings should last no more than two hours.

All Fund Raisers must be pre-approved by the Parish Council so as not to
overwhelm parishioners with ceaseless requests for money.

Most decisions are made by discussion and consensus, when necessary a vote
may be taken. When a vote is taken, the matter is decided by a simple majority of
one from those present and voting. A quorum for a meeting consists simply of
however for many members of the Parish Council are present for that meeting.

Each year during January, as the Pastor and Bookkeeper send out letters of
acknowledgment to all our contributors, the Pastor will put together a list of
members of the parish who are "registered, contributing parishioners, who
are involved in the work and life of the parish". This list will then be the
pool of names used at the March meeting from which all the Council
members will select people to contact and invite to be candidates in the
selection process for two new members of the Parish Council.

Each year at the March meeting, using the above-mentioned list of contributing
parishioners, the Council will select some to be invited by present members
of the Council to participate in the selection process. These candidates
should be registered, contributing parishioners who are involved in the work
and life of the parish. We have been using as a base amount a donation of
$250 per year, which is only about $5 per Sunday.

During March and April we actively seek volunteers willing to serve three years
on the Council. Those completing a term of service on the Council are welcome to
volunteer for another term with their names included in the drawing.

During April an item in the bulletin invites parishioners to volunteer their names
to be part of the drawing for new members of the Council using this format
PARISH COUNCil CANDIDATES ARE INVITED

Each May we select two parishioners to join Saint Mary's Parish Council, taking
the places of those two members of the Council who are coming to the end of
their three year term of service.

A candidate for the Council has to be a registered parishioner, financially
contributing to the support of Saint Mary's and involved in the life and work of the parish.

Candidates need to understand this is a three-year commitment: to attend
the bi-monthly meeting of the Council and also work on one of the committees
of the Council.

To volunteer your name to be included in the drawing, contact the Parish
Office (660-584-3038). The drawing of names takes place at the 10:30am Mass
on the first Sunday of May.

Each year in the month of May on the first Sunday of May we select two new
members for the council. Rather than hold an election with the negative aspects
of "win/lose", two names are drawn at a Sunday Mass from the names of those
who have volunteered. At the meeting of the Council on the third Wednesday of
May, the two most senior At-Large Representatives complete their term of service and
leave the Council as the new members replace them.

The persons leaving the Council are invited to the first part of the May meeting
to welcome the new members and see if they have any questions. Also to take
part in any discussion of any proposed changes in operating procedures.

If either or both of the persons completing their years on the Council and leaving
the Parish Council are the President or the Secretary of the Parish Council, he/she
should attend the May meeting and act in their official capacity up until they are
replaced by the newly selected President and Secretary.

The May meeting should be a 'Re-organizational Meeting'. At this May meeting the
"Guidelines of the Council" and "Expectations of Council Members" should be
read out-loud. Following the reading there should be a discussion of any changes
wanted to the Guidelines or Operating Procedures.

At this May meeting, the Council members then select someone to serve as:

President for the Parish Council for the next twelve months

Secretary for the Parish Council for the next twelve months

Liaison with the Building Committee
Liaison with the Social Outreach Committee
Liaison with the Stewardship Committee

At the end of the re-formation of the Council, the retiring members are welcome to depart from the meeting.

Each year at the July meeting, we review the budget for the past fiscal year and review and finalize the budget for the coming fiscal year.

As the Saint Mary's Parish Council also serves as the Parish Finance Committee, each member of the Council is provided with a copy of the 'Diocesan Financial Policies and Procedures Manual' for their use for as long as they are on the Council. At the end of a time of service on the Council, this binder is to be
returned to the Parish Office for the use of an incoming member of the Council.

Regarding the Policies and Procedures in this manual, keep in mind that it is primarily designed for large parishes with full-time bookkeepers and parish managers. As the manual states on page 3 of section 10.10: "Recognizing the reality of resource constrained parishes and missions, the diocese recognizes that
there is a need for flexibility in implementing these norms. "

Each year at the September meeting, the diocese requires that "the Pastor, Parish Council and Finance Committee will certify (by their signatures) review of the annual financial report, publication of the year-end results and the upcoming budget to the parish at large, dates on which the finance council met during the year, absence of conflicts of interest and absence of fraud (based on information made available)." The diocese provides a form for this. Memo from Diocesan Finance Officer· May S. 2008 and Pastoral Bulletin July 2008

Each year in December, with the guidance of the Stewardship Committee we will do an annual Pledge Drive for Parish Support for the coming year.

At-Large Council Members are asked to serve a term of three years. Terms are staggered to assure
continuity of understanding and knowledge of tasks and issues. Terms expire:

May 2015 -

May 2016 -

May 2017 -

Members of the Parish Council:
NAME POSITION
President of the Parish Council, Liaison to the Stewardship Committee
Recording Secretary Parish Council
Kristina Campbell Parish Bookkeeper & Secretary
Altar Society President
Brent Schlotzhauer Liaison with the Building Committee & Member
Marty Bell Grand Knight, of the Knights of C. Building Committee
Rhonda Smith Adult Education
Director of Religious Education
Stephen & Kristen Youth Group
Member
  Member
Member
  Member

SOME RESPONSBILITIES OF COUNCIL MEMBERS
Members of the Council are asked to be mindful that their job is more than just coming every other-month to a meeting. Each Council member represents the interest of the whole parish.

Each council member should be involved in a committee of the Council (Stewardship or Building) or an active group of the parish (Altar Society, Knights of Columbus, Youth Groups).

Saint Mary's
Catholic Parish

Higginsville, MO

Parish Council and finance committee

Parish Council and Finance Committee
GUIDELINES

Parish Council and finance committee

Parish Council and Finance Committee GUIDELINES

Parish Council and Finance Committee
GUIDELINES