Thirteen Principles for Effective Parish Councils

Principle One  The Parish Council adopts a clear statement of the parish’s mission.

Principle Two  The Parish Council accepts accountability for both the financial stability and the financial future of the parish, –Engaging in financial planning –Overseeing operating budgets, and –Participating actively in fund raising

Principle Three  The Parish Council recognizes that its primary work and focus are long- range and strategic.

Principle Four  The Parish Council works to ensure that all its members are actively involved in the work of the Council.

Principle Five  As leader of the parish community, the Parish Council engages proactively with the Pastor in cultivating and maintaining good relationships with various constituencies in the parish.

Principle Six  Each member of the Parish Council actively supports and promotes the parish’s mission.

Principle Seven  Each member of the Parish Council is knowledgeable of the parish’s mission and represents it appropriately and accurately within the community.

Principle Eight  Each member of the Parish Council stays fully informed about current operations and issues by –attending meetings regularly, –coming to meetings well prepared, and – participating fully in all matters.

Principle Nine  Each member of the Parish Council takes care to separate the interests of the parish from the specific needs of a particular constituency in the parish.

Principle Ten  Each member of the Parish Council accepts and supports Council decisions. Once a decision has been made, the Council speaks with one voice.

Principle Eleven  Parish Council members keep all Council deliberations confidential.

Principle Twelve  Parish Council members have the responsibility to support the parish and the pastor and to demonstrate that support within the community.

Principle Thirteen  Authority is vested in the Parish Council as a whole. A Council member who learns of an issue of importance to the parish has the obligation to bring it to the pastor or to the president of the Council, and must refrain from responding to the situation individually.

“Servant Leadership” as a Model for Parish Leadership  One of the responsibilities of leadership is to give a sense of direction, to establish an overarching purpose.  In most cases, this “overarching purpose” has been defined by the parish’s mission statement.

“Servant Leadership” as a Model for Parish Leadership  Being successful in providing purpose requires the trust of others.  For the led to give that trust, they must have confidence in the leader’s competence and principles.

“Servant Leadership” as a Model for Parish Leadership  This trust is further developed by a belief that the leader makes judgments based on competence and principles, rather than on self- interest.  In the case of a parish, those principles are found in the mission statement.

“Servant Leadership” as a Model for Parish Leadership  In “servant leadership,” the trust is given because the leader demonstrates the capacity and willingness to serve the needs of others.  But even more important than serving the needs of others is serving the ideals and principles that shape the parish.

“Servant Leadership” as a Model for Parish Leadership  In this way, all members of the parish share the burden of servant leadership because all are helping move the parish toward its stated mission.

Two Key Practices in “Servant Leadership”  PURPOSING: How the various elements of the parish leadership  Help all members of the parish understand clearly the mission of the parish  Help all members of the parish come to consensus regarding the parish’s basic purposes  Help to build within the parish a center of shared values

Two Key Practices in “Servant Leadership”  EMPOWERMENT: How the various elements of parish leadership  Help all members of the parish understand that they are free to do what they will as long as their decisions embody the values shared by the parish community  Help all members of the parish understand that it is more important to be responsible to the shared values of the parish than it is to demand one’s “rights”