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What’s an Officer to Do?
Every group needs a leader. Every leader needs a “second banana,” someone to help lead and oversee the group’s work. Effective groups, the leader and members alike, need help to track the course of their discussions and commitments in a clear, consistent way. Parish councils look to their chairperson, vice chairperson and secretary to take on these responsibilities. This is a tall order! What realistic expectations should council members have for their officers?
Officers play two roles. One as a group, the other as individuals. As a group, council officers work with their pastor/parish director as an agenda committee. The agenda committee’s first order of business is to organize the council’s work in an overall plan for the year. This annual plan helps them set the pace and order in which the council will review the work of the parish and promote on-going planning in the various mission areas. Each month the agenda committee meets to review the council’s progress in relationship to their annual plan and to determine the monthly agenda priorities to move the council’s work forward. (See the sample in the Parish Council Manual, page 12-5)
Council officers’ mettle is tested at each meeting as they carry out the particular responsibilities of their respective positions. Although the success of the meeting is everyone’s responsibility, chairpersons have the toughest job of all. What does the chairperson do? As facilitator of the group’s agenda he/she
- Moves things along, keeps the group focused on task and on time
- Promotes open discussion
- Listens attentively and without bias
- Encourages members who are reticent and helps the group clarify its direction to find creative solutions that lead to consensus.
The chairperson’s job is no small task. Smart council chairpersons will seek the help of the vice-chair, sharing some of this responsibility. The vice chair can help by
- Summarizing the group’s work from time to time
- Keeping track of those who tend to be quiet, and inviting them to share their insights during discussions.
The council secretary plays an important communication role, not just for the council, but for the whole parish. The secretary serves the council by
- Taking meeting minutes
- Getting minutes and agendas out to the members before the next meeting so all can review their work and commitments, and come to the meeting prepared to work.
Secretaries help the council communicate with the whole community when they work with the bulletin editor to prepare a summary report of council work for publication in the parish bulletin. For more information, contact Noreen Welte in the Office for Parish Councils and Planning, 414-769-3380, 800-769-9373 ext. 380, or e-mail welten@archmil.org.
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