Assembly of Leaders

The Assembly of Parish Leaders was formed on February 7, 2009. The Assembly has approximately seventy-five members who represent our parish, our commissions, and our ministries.

The purpose of the Assembly is to:

• Provide consultation to the Pastor to guide our direction and policies.

• Provide consultation to the Pastor to guide our annual goal process.

• Provide insights to specific issues, needs and recommendations that are brought to the Assembly by the various commissions and other working groups of the Parish.

• Provide consultation to the pastor on any issue pertaining to the well being of the parish.

• Engage in an ongoing strategic planning process.

• With the approval of the Pastor, the Assembly may establish commissions and ad hoc groups to advance some aspect of the ministry or to advance the recommendations of the Assembly.

One of the important benefits of the Assembly is the large number of members. This gives a broader set of insights and reactions to the Pastor to aid him in the functioning of the parish. There is more integration and an improved flow of information among the various Commissions and ministry groups, along with better leverage on common direction and support across the commissions and ministries.

The Assembly is a fully functioning group performing meaningful work for the parish. Accomplishments of the group include the following:

• Reviewing, discussing and approving the Assembly charter.

• Provided input to various goals and strategies of the parish resulting in modifying some of the goals based on the feedback.

• Reviewed and endorse the Five Year plan of the parish, including our parish mission and vision statement.

• Discuss and provided input on the future recommendations on the next large Outreach effort.

• Discussed and provided input on needed enhancements to our worship space.

• Conducted a thorough review and discussion regarding the importance of Welcoming and made recommendations on ways we could enrich our processes.

• Reviewed plans for our Contemporary Mass, and provided insights to make it more effective.

• Were involved in discussions on our new Summer Faith Formation program.

The processes used by the Assembly of Parish Leaders are well thought out in advance of each meeting by a Committee of Facilitators. This group is made up of Human Resource experts and members of our former Parish Council.

The Assembly primarily works from recommendations, proposals, or sets of questions provided to them that they answer in advance of meetings. This pre-work provides the opportunity for meaningful discussion, questions for understanding, and time focused on collective insights and guidance during the actual meetings.

The Assembly has a number of process tools in place that allows for full participation and other tools specifically used to clarify, and provide collective views. There is also a system in place to manage topics that arise during meetings and make decisions as to the best disposition of them.

Assembly members have the opportunity to provide input to the agenda prior to each meeting. Meeting notes are sent in a timely fashion. At the end of each meeting time is set aside for the members of the Assembly to speak ‘For the good of the parish’.

Assembly meetings are held once a quarter. The Assembly operates under a code of conduct and new member orientation occurs before each meeting when necessary.

All meetings are open to parishioners who would like to come and observe the work of the Assembly. Participation in the meetings is reserved only for members of the Assembly.