Becoming a Pastoral Parish Council

This book has been written in a year when Parish Pastoral Councils (PPC) could not meet physically due to the Covid 19 pandemic. For many PPCs this meant that some stopped meeting or met on zoom, or at least re-grouped to form the backbone of the parish sanitising committee. It is hoped that those who read this book will have an "aha" moment, where they find that the purpose of PPC’s becomes more clear to them, and they can begin to imagine the part they can play in the pastoral development of their parish.

 The role of the PPC is explored relating this to the purpose of the parish community, debunking the myth that the PPC is a committee. It also looks at what can be called the five P’s of the PPC: Pastoral, Prayerful, Partnership, Planning and Participation. The whole notion of discernment for pastoral action is explored and how this relates to the ongoing prayer-filled reflection of the PPC and the parish community. Then there is an in-depth exploration into the whole notion of partnership and the implications for how the PPC relates to the parish community. There are some very practical helps about what makes planning in the PPC pastoral, and how that can be developed as a way of working in all parish groups. The purpose of mission statements is examined and how these can provide a platform for parish renewal and reflection, connecting them to parish assembly and listening together.

This is a little gem of a book. It gives us an exciting understanding of what parish life can be.'

Originally from Scotland, Patricia Carroll is Director for Mission and Ministry in the Archdiocese of Dublin. She has worked for over twenty years in the area of developing lay people for ministries both as a practitioner in parish pastoral work and as an educator of lay people.

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