Give prayerful consideration to serving on the parish council. They need you but only if you are dedicated and willing.
Tag Archives | council
Clergy and Laity in the Orthodox Church by Fr. Alexander Schmemann
Clergy and laity together compose “governance” of the Church and of the local parish. This article clarifies the ways, means and purposes of both clergy and laity according to Orthodox theology.
Meetings that Matter
How much time in a priest’s life of service is spent in meetings? What percentage of these meetings could be improved upon? How many of the meetings should have resulted in decisions, policy formulation and ACTION effectively taken to precipitate Godly change? Read on for immensely practical help.
PowerPoint: 14 Best Practices for Orthodox Christian Parish Council Governance
Download, view and print the Powerpoint as a PDF: 14 Best Practices of Orthodox Christian Parish Councils
Zombie Parish Council Members
Go ahead. Count ’em. There’s likely a couple of zombie parish council members lurching around and stumbling about. But sometimes an entire parish council is infected by the virus. Read on.
Build Your Parish Council Through Nominations
Carefully thought through identification, cultivation, recruitment, nomination, election and orientation builds a solid parish council – one to depend upon.
Parish Council Member Self-Evaluation (Long Form)
There are exercises for the entire parish council to assess their performance. This is the long-form (there is a shorter one) questionnaire for each parish council member to assess his or her own individual performance.
Parish Council and Priest Communication Exercise
Openness, trust, patience, charity and sharing a common understanding of the purpose of parish life and a shared vision for the future of the parish – these are the hallmarks of a good working relationship between the priest and the parish council. Yet the model suffers if there is poor communication.
Parish Standards of Excellence
An adaptation of a document produced by the Ohio Association of Nonprofit Organizations for an Orthodox parish setting.
The Life and Evolution of a Parish Council
Complex, combative, cooperative, confused and competent – a parish council may be all of these things simultaneously. Board development is a science and a process that the priest must master, if in cooperation with the parish council, he is to quietly “shape” the parish council into one of the most effective means of spiritually developing the parish.
The Chairperson of the Strategic Planning Committee
One of the most important volunteer positions that needs to be filled and one that requires some fairly rare attributes.
The Parish Council Nominations Process
A carefully managed but open nominations process to the parish council can save countless hours of frustration at a later date and majorly improve the level of performance by the parish council. Don’t leave this means of parish development to spontaneous hand-raising at general assemblies or cattle calls for volunteers from the amvon.
Powerpoint: Mission, Vision and Values Statements – Key Documents of Parish Development
Surprising and sometimes erroneous assumptions are made by church leaders concerning how general parishioners view the mission, vision and values of the community.
PowerPoint: Introduction to the Parish Council or Board Development Process
The most under-utilized change agency in a parish is the parish council. A well-developed governing council is a precious asset in fulfilling the mission of the parish.
Envisioning: An Essential Task of Leadership
Among the countless tasks of the priest one of the most important in terms of parish development is envisioning the future of the parish.
Parish Honor Code Regarding Contributions
Parishes often shoot themselves in the foot, both purposefully and accidentally, when they mishandle contributions or confidential information. Unfortunately, it’s an all too common occurrence in parish life.
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