SPIRITUALITY COUNCIL

THE PURPOSE of the SPIRITUALITY COUNCIL is to envision and provide adult spiritual and faith formation beyond Sacramental preparation. The Council provides opportunities for the parish community to learn and discover life-giving spiritual habits that lead us into a deeper relationship with God and others.

ACTIVITIES OF THE COUNCIL include, but are not limited to: organizing retreats, parish missions, Sunday reflections by the laity during Advent and Lent, consulting with the Liturgical Commission as to the spiritual theme of the year, bulletin thoughts, organizing presentations/study on various Church documents (such as Laudato Si), and other events for spiritual formation.

COUNCIL MEMBERS: It is recommended that the Spirituality Formation Council be composed of 8-10 members. They are to be active members of St. Martin of Tours Parish, committed to the Eucharist and the Word of God.

SELECTION PROCESS: Council Members are selected by a process of prayer and listening, known as discernment. The selections are made by the existing members of the Council and in collaboration and guidance by the Pastor, Parochial Vicar and Director of Faith Formation.

The candidates participate in anywhere from two to four sessions as outlined below.

  1. Invitation from the Pastor, Parochial Vicar, Director of Faith Formation or a current member of the council.
  2. Information Session: the candidate is invited to a meeting that is designed to give them all of the information that they need to enter into their own discernment about their suitability at this time or they may meet with the Pastor, Parochial Vicar, Director of Faith Formation or a member of the council who will share this information. At the end of the session they are asked to take the next week to pray about whether they might be called to offer themselves as a candidate for the council for the coming term.
  3. The final decision is made with the Pastor, Parochial Vicar, Director of Faith Formation, members of the council and the candidate.

COMMISSIONING: The Spirituality Council members will be commissioned within a scheduled Sunday Mass.

TERM: The term of memberships is three (3) years. It can be renewed for another term. As the Council begins, membership will be staggered so there is no year of complete turnover of members. After 2 years, 33% of the group will be replaced and that will continue each year thereafter.

COUNCIL MEETINGS are usually held once a month. The agenda and minutes of the previous meeting will be circulated by email before the scheduled meeting date.

Council meetings are approximately 1.5 hours in length. It begins with a 15-25 minutes of prayer. Members take turns in preparing the prayer.

COUNCIL CHAIRPERSON & RECORDER: Each fiscal year, in July, a chairperson will be chosen to facilitate the meetings and another council member will be chosen to serve as the recorder by the council members. The Chairperson and Recorder will be nominated by other Council Members and selected by a majority vote.

The chairperson is responsible for the formulation of the agenda. The recorder’s role is to generate the minutes of the meeting and an accurate representation of the discussion and decision made.

COUNCIL VISION AND DECISION PROCESS: The council will work to implement the Mission, Vision and Pastoral plan of the parish. The Spirituality Formation Council at St. Martin of Tours will continue to unfold in the context of the Council’s prayerful discernment and discussion. In all cases, the intention will be for the Council to reach unanimous support for a particular decision, but the Pastor may need to make decisions on behalf of the Council in cases where the Council cannot reach consensus or the Council’s efforts may not align with the Parish Mission and Vision.