Thirteen Principles for Thirteen Principles for Effective Parish CouncilsEffective Parish Councils

Principle OnePrinciple One The Parish Council adopts a clear The Parish Council adopts a clear

statement of the parish’s mission.statement of the parish’s mission.

Principle TwoPrinciple Two The Parish Council accepts The Parish Council accepts

accountability for both the financial accountability for both the financial stability and the financial future of stability and the financial future of

the parish,the parish,

– Engaging in financial planningEngaging in financial planning– Overseeing operating budgets, andOverseeing operating budgets, and– Participating actively in fund raisingParticipating actively in fund raising

Principle ThreePrinciple Three The Parish Council recognizes that its The Parish Council recognizes that its

primary work and focus are long-primary work and focus are long-range and strategic.range and strategic.

Principle FourPrinciple Four The Parish Council works to ensure The Parish Council works to ensure

that all its members are actively that all its members are actively involved in the work of the Council.involved in the work of the Council.

Principle FivePrinciple Five As leader of the parish community, As leader of the parish community,

the Parish Council engages the Parish Council engages proactively with the Pastor in proactively with the Pastor in

cultivating and maintaining good cultivating and maintaining good relationships with various relationships with various

constituencies in the parish.constituencies in the parish.

Principle SixPrinciple Six Each member of the Parish Council Each member of the Parish Council

actively supports and promotes the actively supports and promotes the parish’s mission.parish’s mission.

Principle SevenPrinciple Seven Each member of the Parish Council is Each member of the Parish Council is

knowledgeable of the parish’s knowledgeable of the parish’s mission and represents it mission and represents it

appropriately and accurately within appropriately and accurately within the community.the community.

Principle EightPrinciple Eight Each member of the Parish Council Each member of the Parish Council

stays fully informed about current stays fully informed about current operations and issues by operations and issues by

– attending meetings regularly, attending meetings regularly, – coming to meetings well prepared, coming to meetings well prepared,

andand– participating fully in all matters.participating fully in all matters.

Principle NinePrinciple Nine Each member of the Parish Council Each member of the Parish Council

takes care to separate the interests takes care to separate the interests of the parish from the specific needs of the parish from the specific needs

of a particular constituency in the of a particular constituency in the parish.parish.

Principle TenPrinciple Ten Each member of the Parish Council Each member of the Parish Council

accepts and supports Council accepts and supports Council decisions. Once a decision has been decisions. Once a decision has been made, the Council speaks with one made, the Council speaks with one

voice.voice.

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

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

Principle ThirteenPrinciple Thirteen Authority is vested in the Parish Authority is vested in the Parish

Council as a whole. A Council Council as a whole. A Council member who learns of an issue of member who learns of an issue of importance to the parish has the importance to the parish has the

obligation to bring it to the pastor or obligation to bring it to the pastor or to the president of the Council, and to the president of the Council, and must refrain from responding to the must refrain from responding to the

situation individually.situation individually.

““Servant Leadership” as a Model Servant Leadership” as a Model for Parish Leadershipfor Parish Leadership

One of the responsibilities of One of the responsibilities of leadership is to give a sense of leadership is to give a sense of

direction, to establish an overarching direction, to establish an overarching purpose.purpose.

In most cases, this “overarching In most cases, this “overarching purpose” has been defined by the purpose” has been defined by the

parish’s mission statement.parish’s mission statement.

““Servant Leadership” as a Model Servant Leadership” as a Model for Parish Leadershipfor Parish Leadership

Being successful in providing Being successful in providing purpose requires the trust of others.purpose requires the trust of others.

For the led to give that trust, they For the led to give that trust, they must have confidence in the leader’s must have confidence in the leader’s

competence and principles.competence and principles.

““Servant Leadership” as a Model Servant Leadership” as a Model for Parish Leadershipfor Parish Leadership

This trust is further developed by a This trust is further developed by a belief that the leader makes belief that the leader makes

judgments based on competence and judgments based on competence and principles, rather than on self-principles, rather than on self-

interest.interest. In the case of a parish, those In the case of a parish, those

principles are found in the mission principles are found in the mission statement.statement.

““Servant Leadership” as a Model Servant Leadership” as a Model for Parish Leadershipfor Parish Leadership

In “servant leadership,” the trust is In “servant leadership,” the trust is given because the leader given because the leader

demonstrates the capacity and demonstrates the capacity and willingness to serve the needs of willingness to serve the needs of

others.others. But even more important than But even more important than

serving the needs of others is serving serving the needs of others is serving the ideals and principles that shape the ideals and principles that shape

the parish.the parish.

““Servant Leadership” as a Model Servant Leadership” as a Model for Parish Leadershipfor Parish Leadership

In this way, all members of the parish In this way, all members of the parish share the burden of servant share the burden of servant

leadership because all are helping leadership because all are helping move the parish toward its stated move the parish toward its stated

mission.mission.

Two Key Practices in “Servant Two Key Practices in “Servant Leadership”Leadership”

PURPOSING: How the various PURPOSING: How the various elements of the parish leadershipelements of the parish leadership

Help all members of the parish understand Help all members of the parish understand clearly the mission of the parishclearly the mission of the parish

Help all members of the parish come to Help all members of the parish come to consensus regarding the parish’s basic consensus regarding the parish’s basic purposespurposes

Help to build within the parish a center of Help to build within the parish a center of shared valuesshared values

Two Key Practices in “Servant Two Key Practices in “Servant Leadership”Leadership”

EMPOWERMENT: How the various EMPOWERMENT: How the various elements of parish leadershipelements of parish leadership

Help all members of the parish understand Help all members of the parish understand that they are free to do what they will as that they are free to do what they will as long as their decisions embody the values long as their decisions embody the values shared by the parish communityshared by the parish community

Help all members of the parish understand Help all members of the parish understand that it is more important to be responsible to that it is more important to be responsible to the shared values of the parish than it is to the shared values of the parish than it is to demand one’s “rights”demand one’s “rights”