Members of the Malahide Parish Pastoral Council 2021 to 2024
Edel O’Dea, Deacon Gerard Reilly, Jim Lawler (Chair), John Lynch, Fr Peter Byrne (President), Martha White, Mary Flannery, Mary McGrath,
Mary Whelan (Secretary), Michael Howard, Paula Carty, Pauline Duddy, Ronan Reynolds, Shane Melvin.
‘The Parish Pastoral Council is a faith-filled leadership group through which priests and people pray and work together as co-responsible partners in furthering the mission of Christ in their own parish.’ (Irish Bishops’ Conference; ‘Living Communion, Vision and Practice for Parish Pastoral Councils in Ireland Today’ 3:1)
Through this partnership a vibrant Christian community, rooted in baptism, and marked by its faith, worship and service is created and sustained.
1. The PPC has specific responsibilities which include:
Discerning the pastoral and spiritual need of the parish community and involving the whole parish in response to these needs.
Providing structures that will bring together the pastoral and spiritual needs of the parish with the talents of parishioners and the resources of the parish.
Reviewing the contribution that it is making the life of the parish and inviting the parish community to reflect on that contribution.
In all the above, the PPC is guided by reference to the Parish’s Statement of Mission and Vision.
2. Parish Pastoral Councils are approved bodies within the structures of the Church that are concerned with fostering the pastoral activities of parish life so that the parish becomes a vibrant Christian community that promotes gospel values of love, justice, and peace.
Parish Pastoral Councils were established in the Archdiocese of Dublin by decree of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin in 2004 to ‘become fruitful instruments for a renewal in evangelisation, mission, and service in parish communities’.
3. The Parish Pastoral Council is a consultative and representative group within the parish. It is composed of priests, deacons and pastoral workers appointed by the Archbishop to minister in the parish along with a group of lay men and women from the parish community.
It facilitates a shared responsibility for leadership and pastoral initiatives in the parish that aims to build a dynamic Christian community characterised by faith, worship, evangelisation, and service. The PPC is expected to oversee activities in the Parish, however while it may, it is not expected that the PPC itself will carry out these activities in the Parish.
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and guided by the teachings of the Church, the Parish Pastoral Council seeks to encourage and assist all members of the parish community to live out their baptismal commitment as disciples of Jesus Christ and give witness to their faith.
The Parish Pastoral Council meets monthly from September to June. The Parish Pastoral Council can be contacted through the Parish Office.
United with a common/shared aim to support our Priests and offer advice on how to encourage the spiritual life of our parish community, the work of the PPC is undertaken in a spirit of prayerful reflection so that all can feel the Holy Spirit working within us and among us. In this way, we are also growing in our faith as members of the PPC. Each meeting opens and closes with Prayer.
4. Lay Membership
Lay Members from amongst the parishioners are appointed for a term of 3 years which may be automatically renewed. No member may serve more than 6 consecutive years on the council except in very specific circumstances which must be outlined and recorded in the PPC minutes.
The Malahide PPC has members both in their first and second terms. In this way, about half of the members are due to retire at the end of each council term and so some continuity is ensured. People who have served on previous PPCs may be appointed to later PPCs if they so volunteer (see below), but not on a third consecutive PPCs.
Terms normally start in September and end in July, 3 years later.
Members may resign at any time by giving notice to the Priest President, the Chair and Secretary. The resignation and reason should be recorded in the PPC minutes. Normally, replacements are not co-opted during the term of a Council.
The membership, a balanced group of adult men and women should broadly reflect the Parish as well as the ministries and activities within the Parish. They are appointed to represent the Parish and its’ overall interest. They are not there as representatives of different groups.
At the end of the term of office of each PPC, a public invitation is issued to the Parishioners asking for volunteers to become members of the new PPC. The target should be to recruit sufficient new members to ensure a council of between twelve to fifteen members. They will then receive instruction on the nature of Parish Pastoral Councils and the specifics of the Malahide PPC.
They should be able to commit to attend all the Council meetings and are expected to attend PPC member training.
The new PPC will normally meet in September to begin its’ term of office .The first meetings will normally consist of formation. team building, and evaluation of Parish activities to set out its’ agenda.
The PPC must select a Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary from amongst its’ members. Candidates must be proposed and seconded, indicate their willingness to serve, and be elected by secret ballot amongst the members of the PPC. They will hold office for the life of that PPC and may be re-elected to a second term on a succeeding council.
The PPC members will agree the pattern of meetings, their notification and format.
5. Meeting Structure
The work of the PPC is undertaken in a spirit of prayerful reflection so that all can feel the Holy Spirit working within us and among us. In this way, we are also growing in our faith as members of the PPC.
Each meeting opens and closes with a Prayer.
Little can be achieved with just one meeting per month, and therefore, Sub-Groups are there to progress different activities. Members choose the sub-groups they wish to join. Those teams are expected to progress their activities between PPC meetings.
The hope is that all members of the PPC are in at least one team.
Sub-Groups report at each meeting and in addition there is normally a discussion topic. The meetings end with a discussion on current developments/activities in the Parish, followed by the closing prayer.
A draft Agenda is sent to each member before the meeting and in time for them to prepare for the meeting. Normal minutes are recorded and, in addition, where a substantial discussion has taken place, that discussion can be captured in a separate document where the contributions are not attributed to individual members.
In accordance with Diocesan policy and good governance practice, Conflict of Interest, Child Protection and Garda vetting activities are reviewed at each meeting.
The PPC is a “Pastoral” advisor to the Parish Priest. While it is recognised that pastoral issues do affect other topics, the PPC is not responsible for the finance or administration of the affairs of the Parish. These are the responsibility of the Management Team and the Finance Committee. In its advice the PPC may suggest items for the consideration of these bodies and recommend actions. However, any decisions are for the responsible body.
6. Annual Report
Each year the PPC is expected to produce an annual report. These reports are referred to in the Parish Newsletter, published on the Parish Website where they are available to be downloaded, and a copy is also placed on the PPC Noticeboard in the Parish Pastoral Centre.
Malahide Parish Pastoral Council September 2021 to July 2024
Members: Edel O Dea; Deacon Gerard Reilly; Jim Lawler (Chair); John Lynch; Fr Kevin Moore (Co-PP), (President); Martha White; Mary Flannery; Mary McGrath; Mary Whelan (Secretary); Michael Howard; Paula Carty; Pauline Duddy; Ronan Reynolds; Shane Melvin.
In September 2021, Fr Moore was replaced by Fr Kevin Doherty (Co-PP)
In September 2022, Fr Doherty was replaced by Fr Martin Noone (Co-PP and Moderator}. Fr Peter Byrne (Team Assistant) joined the PPC.
In April 2024, the term of office of the PPC was extended to the end of December 2024.
In September 2024, Fr Noone was replaced by Fr Des Doyle (Co-PP Malahide and Kinsealy).
Malahide Parish Pastoral Council September 2018 to July 2021
Members: Ann Lyons; Dorothy Hickey; Gerry Griffin (Secretary); Jennifer Snow; Jim Lawler; John Molloy; Fr Kevin Moore (Co-PP), (President); Marie Carney; Martha White; Mary Kirk (Parish Pastoral Worker); Mary Flannery; Pauline Duddy; Michael Howard; Pat McNamara; PJ McAllister; Ray Daly (Chair).
Parish Pastoral Council in 2021, from left to right: Michael Howard, Paula Carty, Mary McGrath, Jim Lawler, Fr Kevin Moore, Ronan Reynolds, Shane Melvin, Martha White (partly hidden), Mary Whelan, Pauline Duddy.
Missing: Mary Flannery, John Lynch, Edel O'Dea, Deacon Gerard Reilly.