Pastoral Council Operations

Meetings of the Pastoral Council are held in the Resource Room on the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m., except during July and August. Meetings are open to members of the Parish. The weekend before the meeting, one Council member should be present in the Narthex after each mass to answer parishioners’ questions or concerns. A statement to this effect should be included in the pre-mass announcements.

St Basil’s Pastoral Council has adopted a consensus approach to reaching decisions. A consensus has been reached when everyone can live with the decision. No significant part of the parish, no one who is important to the implementation of the decision, should feel left out. If a formal vote is required, no major policy or proposal should proceed without a two-thirds affirmative vote. Straightforward administrative decisions are decided by a simple majority.

A volunteer secretary takes minutes of the meetings with emphasis on decisions made and actions planned. Minutes are reviewed by the Chair before being distributed to members for approval. Once minutes of the meetings are approved by Council members they are posted in the Narthex of the Church and the Chair provides a copy to Parish Office

The Pastor and the Parish Pastoral Council
The Pastor is the spiritual leader of the Parish and the president of the Pastoral Council in accordance with Canon Law. The pastor has the responsibility of ensuring that the Pastoral Council is hearing and applying the Word of God and reflecting on the Christian implications of issues being considered.

The Pastor is neither a dictator nor a powerless symbol. Rather, it is expected that the Pastor will consult with the Council on all significant matters affecting the members of the parish and having heard the consensus of the Council, will ratify such decisions of the Council unless there is good and just reason not to do so.

The smooth functioning of all these disparate units would not be possible without the dedication and ongoing support provided by the Parish Administration in the person of the Administrative Assistant. This position is the central clearing house for all Parish activities. As such it is especially critical that the Parish Council maintain an ongoing communication throughout the year so that all activities initiated by the Council are properly planned and coordinated.

With the Pastor, the Finance Council is responsible for the temporal administration of the Parish (finances, supplies, maintenance of properties, bookkeeping, budgeting, inventory etc.) and does not report directly to the Parish Pastoral Council The Pastoral Council communicates with the Finance Council via the Pastoral Council Finance representative to ensure that financial resources will be available. The Finance Council advises the Pastoral Council when there are any major concerns regarding parish finances or parish facilities which might hinder the parish from carrying out its planned activities.