New Women’s Commission
On Thursday January 4, we had an informational listening session on our proposed Women’s Commission. There were about 40 people who gathered.
Parish consultative bodies play a vital part in parish governance. Councils are mandated by a higher authority. Every parish must have a Finance Council, mandated by the Vatican. Every parish must also have a Pastoral Council (at St. John the Baptist, we call it a Parish Leadership Team) mandated by the Archdiocese. Commissions are determined at the parish level in response to the unique identity, needs, and circumstance of a parish community. “Commissions can be formed that are responsible for the development of strategic plans and policies for their specific ministry areas in response to the broad directions articulated by the pastor and parish pastoral council.” [1] The need for a Women’s Commission arose from our parish synod sessions that began two years ago. Our Parish Leadership Team not only provided to the Archdiocese a report on our parish synod sessions, but they also spent a considerable amount of time pondering what they heard from parishioners and formulated new parish priorities based on what they heard.
What I heard at the January 4 gathering was overall enthusiasm for the charter describing the role of the commission. (sjtbcc.org/go-ministries/stewardship-parish-ministries/) Additional ideas that surfaced were:
- the need for healing for the exclusion some women have felt;
- adding a special outreach and support for moms; and
- including a service component.
These were the things that stood out for me. Others were also taking notes, so that no idea would be lost. The next gathering for the Women’s Commission will be on Tuesday, February 6. To make this commission a reality, we will need parishioners to serve on the commission as well as parishioners to be engaged in some of the various committees or ministries supported by the commission. (Parishioners can only serve on one council or commission at a time but can serve on as many committees as they like.)
Last week, in John’s Gospel, Jesus invited his first apostles to “Come and see.” If the notion of a women’s commission sparks an interest, a hope, a desire, or just curiosity, I invite you to come and see. For more information, contact Kathy Wickward at kathyw@sjtbcc.org.
[1] Many Gifts: Consultative Leadership, Page 15