Parish Pastoral Councils – Reminding us that we are empowered by our baptism

As baptised followers of Jesus, how well do we recognise and appreciate the fact that we are the church?  To recognise and appreciate that we are church is to first recognise and appreciate our own baptisms.  We remember the date of our birthdays, and many of us celebrate this day on which we were born into this world.  Do we remember the date of our baptism, i.e. the date that we were born into the life of Christ?  How do we celebrate this beautiful Sacrament that we have received?

In most parishes in the diocese, Parish Pastoral Council members are nominated and/or elected by the community.  They have been chosen by the community to represent the community.  They have been chosen because the community recognises their leadership skills, and believe that collectively, the council is the best group of people to take the community forward.  The focus of the Parish Pastoral Council is “pastoral”, and the core role of the Parish Pastoral Council is to help the community and each person within the community to recognise that the gift of baptism does not end at the font, but that it is the beginning of one’s life in Christ.

Pareto’s principle (80% of the work is done by 20% of the people) may be a general rule, but it need not and should not be the way our parish communities work.  Good leadership is one that empowers people, and Pastoral Council members and those around them must not be the only ones doing the work.  The task of the Pastoral Council is to identify and create opportunities for the rest of the community to participate in the life of the church, i.e. their own life, and to grow in their faith journey, both as individuals and as a community.

The move towards a community in which all play an active role is not something that can happen overnight, but one of a gradual journey.  The key to empowering the community is by helping the community recognise that baptism must be evident in the lives that each individual leads and that as baptised followers of Jesus, individuals in the community are not simply members of the Church; but that they ARE the Church!