PARISH COUNCIL BY-LAWS
St John Paul II Parish, Southbridge, MA
 

Article I.         Name

 The organization shall be known as the St. John Paul II Parish Council.

 Article II.       Purpose
 

1. Parish Council Mission Statement: 

 
“As part of a Eucharistic Community, the St. John Paul II Parish Council will strive, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to plan for the future of our Parish.  We will pray together, investigate, discern and formulate recommendations for the good of the Parish in an effort to further the Kingdom of God”.
 

2. Function: 

 
The St. John Paul II Parish Council exists to support the Pastor in promoting a Christ-centered, spirit-filled parish.
 

3. Parish Council members shall:

 

1. Attend and actively participate in Council meetings.
2. Conscientiously undertake tasks that may be required as part of the Council’s work.
3. Be able to contribute within the framework of the Parish Council Mission Statement.
4. Effectively represent the parishioners’ thoughts and opinions to the Council, Parish staff and Pastor, and communicate the topics of discussion to parishioners.

 

4. The Parish Council is the primary consultative and advisory body in the Parish that assists the Pastor in the administration of the life and ministry of the Parish.    The Council shall bear in mind the teaching authority of the Church and those laws and/or policies in force as set forth by the Pope and/or the Bishop of Worcester.  The Pastor or Administrator shall have the final authority.

 

Article III.      Membership

 

1. Membership on the Parish Council shall be open to all baptized, confirmed and registered parishioners who are in good standing with the Parish, regularly and actively participate in the worship life of Saint John Paul II Parish, and are in full communion with the Church. The Parish Council shall be comprised of elected, appointed and ex-officio members as follows:

 

1. Ex-officio members shall include the Pastor, administrator; associate Pastor(s), deacon(s), youth ministry director(s), the business manager and a Parish Council secretary who shall be designated by the Pastor.

 

2. There shall be a total of nine (9) members-at-large elected from the parish community, three (3) of whom will be elected annually. Two (2) members appointed by the Pastor or administrator will serve at his discretion. 

 

3. The finance committee, youth ministry, and the Trinity Catholic Academy Advisory Board will send representatives to each meeting. However, unless this representative is an elected or appointed member, he or she will not be counted in the quorum call.

 

 C..Members elected at-large and members appointed shall constitute the voting membership.  Ex-officio members are non-voting and shall not be counted in the quorum call.

 D. Each member elected at-large and each member appointed shall have one (1) vote.

  Article IV.      Terms of Office
 

1. Terms of office for members elected at-large shall be for a period of three (3) years with a maximum of two (2) consecutive terms.

 

2. Exceptions:
   1. Ex-officio members – Not applicable
   2. Members appointed by the Pastor or administrator
   3. A person replacing a member of the Parish Council and completing the term of that elected member, may serve for the remainder of that term plus an additional two (2) terms.

 

3. Voting members shall not occupy more than one position on the Parish Council nor have more than one vote.

 

Article V.       Vacancies

 

1. If a member elected at-large is unable to complete his/her term of office, he/she shall be succeeded by the next highest vote-getter, consenting to serve, among those competing in the most recently held election.

 

2. If the representative of a committee is unable to complete his/her term of office, the committee, in consultation with the Pastor, shall appoint a successor.

 

3. Any member absent without due reason for three (3) consecutive meetings shall forfeit his/her membership and will be notified.  The vacancy shall be filled at the next regular meeting following the notification.

 

Article VI.      Elections

 Elections shall be conducted as follows:
 

1. Parish-wide elections shall be held annually during the month of May, for three (3) representatives (at-large) to the Parish Council.  Nominations shall be accepted from the parish at large during the month of April.  A primary election, among all those who consent to run, shall be held; the names of the top 12 vote-getters will be placed on a final ballot one week following.

 

2. The election process shall be completed before the last Sunday in May.

 
 

Article VII.    Officers

 

1. The officers shall consist of a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson elected from among and by the voting members of the Parish Council.

 

2. The Chairperson shall preside at all Parish Council meetings and shall carry out all duties necessary to conduct the business of the Parish Council.  The Chairperson shall have served the preceding year on the Parish Council and shall be elected by a majority vote. 

 

3. The Council Chairperson shall serve one two-year term.

 

4. The Council Vice-Chairperson shall serve one two-year term.

 

5. Nominations for Chair and Vice-Chair will be submitted from the floor at the organizational meeting in June.  A majority vote shall prevail.

 

Article VIII.   Meetings

 

1. The Parish Council shall meet monthly from September through June inclusive, except during Advent and Lent.  Times and dates of meetings shall be determined by the Parish Council.  Special meetings may be called by the Chair or by the Pastor at the request of any member.

 

2. The June meeting shall be considered a transitional meeting with the newly elected members along with those retiring from the Council.

 

3. The presence of a quorum is required in order to conduct the business of the Parish Council.  A simple majority of the total voting membership shall constitute a quorum for a meeting.

 

4. The affirmative vote of a simple majority of the total voting membership constitutes voting power for any action or policy of the Council.

 

5. All meetings of the Parish Council are open to any parishioner whose attendance is that of an observer.  At each meeting, any parishioner may be given 15 minutes to petition the Council on any matter.  That petition shall be put on the agenda of the next Parish Council meeting and the results given to the petitioner as soon as possible. 

 

6. The Council reserves the right to hold executive (closed) sessions whenever the Council deems it necessary.

 
 

Article IX.      Posted Meeting Minutes

 
The Parish Council shall publish the approved meeting minutes on the parish website.  Paper copies are available upon request
 

Article X.       Committees

 
The Parish Council shall establish the following standings committees.
 

1. Agenda Committee:  shall meet prior to each Parish Council meeting and formulate an agenda for that meeting.

 

2. By-Laws Committee:  shall review the by-laws annually and recommend changes/additions/deletions for the Council’s consideration.

 

3. Planning Committee:  shall formulate and review progress against the five year Master Plan for all Parish organizations.

 

Article XI.      Amendments

 
These by-laws may be amended or repealed and new by-laws adopted by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total voting membership.  The proposed amendments or additions shall be discussed at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Parish Council with an accept/reject vote being taken at a subsequent meeting.  A written summary of the proposed amendments must be sent to all members of the Parish Council prior to discussion.
 

Article XII.    Procedure

 
Issues of parliamentary procedure shall be resolved by Robert’s Rules.
 
Adopted:    January 29, 2020