The Parish Council by-laws were amended and adopted at the April 2026 Parish Pastoral Council meeting; they are as follows:

By-Laws of the Parish Pastoral Council

ARTICLE I – NAME

Section 1. This organization will be known as the Sacred Heart Parish Pastoral Council.

ARTICLE II – PURPOSE OF COUNCIL

Section 1. The primary purpose of the Parish Pastoral Council is to assist the Pastor in discerning the pastoral direction of the Parish in light of the visions for parish life by both the Bishop and the larger Church.

ARTICLE III – FUNCTIONS OF COUNCIL

Section 1. Spiritual Formation: The primary mission of the Council is the spiritual growth of the parish community. This will be accomplished by seeking to provide opportunities for spiritual enrichment, education and service for members of the Parish community.

Section 2. Pastoral Planning: The Council is the pastoral planning body of the Parish. The Council will discern the Parish’s pastoral plan by listening to parishioners, identifying key needs and concerns, synthesizing and prioritizing parish goals, recommending strategies to achieve those goals, and developing evaluation procedures.

Section 3. Pastoral Policy Development: The Council is a consultative and advisory body that develops, reviews, and recommends parish policies and initiatives with the Pastor. On matters of major pastoral concern to the parishioners, the Pastor is to consult Council.

Section 4. Communication: The Council will regularly communicate with the Parish community by reporting on issues under consideration as deemed appropriate via Bulletin, website or Parish bulletin board. The Council will keep other parishes in the cluster informed of any applicable issues.

ARTICLE IV – REPRESENTATION, MEMBERSHIP, NOMINATIONS, ELECTIONS, AND VACANCIES

Section 1. Council membership will consist of the Pastor and seven selected members of the Parish. With each three-year cycle, two members will be selected in year one, then three in year two, and then two members in year three. In addition to the seven selected members, the pastor may appoint one representative from high school/college-aged parishioners to assure there is a youth representative on Parish Council.

Section 2. Potential Council members should be active in parish life for a minimum of one year before serving. No more than one immediate family member from the same household may serve at the same time and no closely related family members of parish paid staff may serve on Council. (eg. parents, siblings, children, or spouses)

Section 3. Council members will serve a three- year term that is renewable no more than once at the discretion of the Pastor.  At the conclusion of two consecutive terms, a member may be reappointed only after a period of one year absent from Council membership.

Section 4. Selection Process

a.	Qualification: All registered members of the parish who meet identified qualifications may nominate themselves or other potential candidates for Parish Council. In addition, the Pastor and current Council members may directly ask individuals of their interest to serve. Request for nominations will be communicated each Fall via Parish bulletin or website.  Elections for membership to Council are not permitted per Diocese policy therefore the selection process will be informally managed.
b.	When seeking potential Council members, those parishioners who represent various categories of parish life and demographics should be considered. In addition, they should possess the knowledge, skills or abilities to assist the Pastor in implementing parish goals.  The Pastor has broad discretion in determining what characteristics and skills are most appropriate for members of the Council.
c.	Discernment and Selection: At the November Council meeting, the Pastor and existing Council members will review the list of nominees and then discern, by means of prayer and discussion, which of the nominees would be most appropriate to be selected for service on Parish Council.
d.	Notification: All nominees will be notified of the results by the Chairperson and selected members will be invited to the next regularly scheduled Council activity/meeting to begin their term of service.

Section 5. Any member of Council may resign either by submitting a written or oral resignation to the Chairperson of Council. In cases of extended absences the Pastor has the right to replace the member as necessary.

Section 6. If a Council member, by his or her conduct, brings discredit upon the Council, the Parish, or the Church, or fails to carry out the responsibilities and obligations of a Council member and this conduct persists, after this concern is noted, the member will be asked to resign. If no resignation is forthcoming within a reasonable time, the member may be removed from Council by the Pastor.

Section 7. If a vacancy arises prior to expiration of a term, Council, acting in consensus, will recommend to the Pastor up to three (3) qualified parishioners.  The Pastor will then select one of these candidates to complete the vacated term. Vacated time of 50% will be considered a full term of service.

ARTICLE V – OFFICERS

Section 1. At the January meeting, the members of the Council will choose by consensus a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from the Council membership. Once chosen, an officer will hold that office until the next selection of officers. Any officer may resign from an office without having to resign from the Council. The Council will fill any officer vacancy by majority vote of the members present at the discretion of the Pastor.

Section 2. The Chairperson will prepare and provide an agenda prior to Council meetings and will chair all Council meetings. In the absence of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson will chair the Council meetings. A recording secretary, who need not be a Council member, will also be retained. The secretary will provide the minutes of the previous month’s meeting prior to the meeting, to allow time for review. Minutes, once approved, may be further communicated via Parish bulletin or website as appropriate. Minutes of all meetings are to be preserved.

ARTICLE VI – MEETINGS AND PROCEDURES

Section 1. The regular meeting of Council will normally be held monthly with a minimum of four per year. Council may choose to recess for the summer months. All regular meetings of the Council will be open to all members of the Parish. The Council may, if it deems necessary, meet in closed session at any time, or for any portion of any meeting.

Section 2. Special meetings of the Council may be called by the Chairperson after consulting with the Pastor.  Notice of any special meeting must be given personally, by email, text or by telephone to each Council member. The notice will state the time, place, and purpose of the meeting.

Section 3. At all meetings of the Council, a simple majority of the members present will constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Section 4. Unless the Pastor has expressed the need for Council to continue to meet in the event of his absence, he is required to be present for all Council meetings.  The Pastor must be present at all meetings where final decisions or recommendations regarding Parish issues and concerns are made.

Section 5. All members of the Parish have the right to submit matters for consideration  by contacting the Council Chairperson or Pastor.

Section 6.  Each meeting should include a formation prayer led by either Pastor or member, discussion time covering pertinent issues of Parish life, Committee and Commission reports, and final prayer.

ARTICLE VII – COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES

Section 1. Commissions and Committees denote groups identified by Council that plan and execute programming in their specific areas of concern and oversee their group’s activities.

Section 2. The Council has the authority to create or to discontinue Commissions and Committees.

Section 3. Each Commission and Committee will be made up of members of Sacred Heart Parish. The Pastor will serve as an ex-officio member on all Commissions/Committees. After prayerful consideration and discernment, members of Parish Council will volunteer to serve as liaisons for Parish Commissions/Committees  during their terms of office, or until the Council recommends a change of assignment. Activity reports should be provided at each regularly scheduled Council meetings as able.

Section 4. All members serving on Parish Council, Commissions or Committees shall abide by the Diocese Code of Conduct Policy as found on the Diocesan website, in order to remain a member.  (The Diocesan ‘Standards of Conduct for Ministry’ are available by clicking here )

ARTICLE VIII – PARISH ORGANIZATIONS

Section 1. The Council may form new groups as needed to promote Parish life goals. New Parish organizations may exist as official organizations of the Parish only with the endorsement of Parish Council.

ARTICLE IX- AMENDMENTS

Section 1. A committee appointed by the Council and the Pastor may amend these bylaws as necessary and submit to Council for approval by consensus.  Once approved the bylaws become effective immediately.