“Parish Teams” are known by a variety of names, for example: Parish Council, Parish Pastoral Council, Parish Pastoral Team and Parish Team. At St Dunstan’s we call this body: “The Parish CORE Team” (CORE: Community of Renewal and Evangelisation).
The Parish Priest has ultimate responsibility for the parish and he has the authority to preside over all parish matters.
The parish team is a consultative body, set up at the invitation of the parish priest with the remit to counsel and support him in all matters pertaining to parish life and activity. The team also is a forum for the parish and a channel of communication for parishioners.
Prayer is at the centre of all our discussions. In our deliberations we seek inspiration from the Gospel and guidance from The Holy Spirit.
Each member is there at the invitation of the parish priest, though some serve by nature of their office (for example the assistant priest and deacon).
As a leadership group, the team aims to give a sense of purpose and direction to the parish; and to assist the parish priest in building up a community of faith, hope and love founded on the Gospel and the Mission of the Church given to us by Jesus: “Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation.” (Mark 16: 15) The Parish Team hopes to show initiative and enable the parish to grow and develop.
The parish team should be made aware of all parish activities and, where possible and desired, the team would hope to offer support to any of the many varied groups, which exist in our large and vibrant parish.
Some members of the team undertake a special interest in and responsibility for parish activities, for example: Liturgy and Prayer, Formation, Ecumenism, Youth Ministry, Social activities – to name a few, but members of the team do not serve in order to represent a particular group, nor do they necessarily need to lead any parish group or organisation; all members of the team are expected to serve the interests of the parish as a whole and offer counsel and support to the parish priest.
