St. Terrence Parish Pastoral Council

     St. Terrence Parish Pastoral Council had its beginning two years ago, in January of 2006.  At that time, we held open meetings for anyone from the parish interested in one of the four areas of parish life (Spiritual Life, Education, Human Concerns, and Parish Life).  From those initial meetings, a number of parishioners have volunteered to serve on the Parish Pastoral Council.

     Since our beginning, the members of the Council have been getting to know the various ministries that take place in our parish.  The Council members have identified these ministries and have published a Directory of Parish Ministries for our parish.  These directories will be distributed at all of our masses next weekend.  As new parishioners register in the future, they will receive one of these directories to help them come to know more about our parish.

     The Council members have also sought to evaluate the various ministries in our parish.  They asked the questions: What is going well?  What area could be enhanced?  Is there any area in the ministry where people need assistance?  The purpose of this evaluation is to both affirm the ministry that is taking place, and to offer assistance in areas where these ministries might be enhanced. 

     To this end, for instance, the Parish Spiritual Life commission members sent out a survey to all people involved in those ministries.  The feedback they received was most helpful, surfacing some great ideas for enhancing these ministries.  Next the Spiritual Life Commission invited all in the ministries that come in their commission to a meeting to go through the responses and get a sense of how they might be helpful to people involved in these ministries.

     As we go forward, we will keep you informed about all of the happenings of the Parish Pastoral Council.

     The next meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council will take place this coming Thursday, January 18, at 7:00 PM in the Father Riordan Center.

     My sincere thanks to all who have given their time to this effort for growth in our parish.  You are off to a great start, and I thank you for your dedication to our parish.

Fr Ed Barrett