Below is the draft constitution on which a Parish Council can be formed. Once an election is held it is the responsbility of the newly elected committee to review this and make ammendments as necessary for review at the following AGM.
The Parish consists of all those whom are within the geographical catchment area for the church of “Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Francis” Armthorpe, all those who choose to nominate that church as their place of worship and the wider community of the Deanery of Doncaster.
To celebrate together the faith of the Catholic Church
To provide opportunities for the Catholic Church to grow within the greater Doncaster network.
To create strong ecumenical links within the geographical remit of the parish.
To promote growth for the parish and its community.
All the affairs and activities of the Parish will be conducted by the Parish Committee (The Committee), which will consist of:
Chairperson
Vice Chair
Committee Secretary
Financial Officer
Spiritual Co-ordinator (Lay role)
Fundraising and Events Officer
Youth Officer
Safeguarding Officer (Ex-Officio)
Parish Priest (Ex-Officio)
Parish Administrator (Ex-Officio)
The Committee may at times appoint sub-committees and may co-opt other persons onto the Committee itself or onto any sub-committee. Such co-opted or Ex-officio persons shall not have a vote on the Committee or any sub-committee.
Membership of the Committee shall cease on either resignation or on reaching the end of the designated term of office.
The Committee will be responsible for holding to account the Parish Priest, Parish Administrator and Financial Officer in all matters of finance.
The descriptions of the roles of each of the officers outlined below are not meant to be exhaustive. They form the basis of what is required. It may be that other responsibilities will arise as circumstances dictate.
The Chairperson’s primary responsibility is to act as the strategic leader for the Parish. Overseeing regular meetings of the Parish Council and holding committee members accountable for their role and actions. Their day to day function should be representing the Parishioners interests by being a public facing approachable person.
The Vice Chair’s primary responsibility to act as deputy to the chair, holding the Chairperson to account. Their day to day function should be working on the wider parish strategy and the implementation of said strategy.
The Secretary will work to support the Chairperson. They will be responsible for the administration of Committee meetings and committee elections, especially agenda compilation and minute keeping. Their day to day function will be to ensure that the committee are all aware of Diocesan Policies, committee administration and supporting the Parish Administrator with their work.
The financial officer will be responsible for ensuring that the Parish is adhering to both Diocesan financial policy and acting within Charity law. Their day to day function will be based around working with the Parish Administrator
The Spiritual Coordinator is will act as a consistent presence for the parish with the ever changing celebrants. Working with the parish administrator to ensure that liturgical provisions are available when needed. The day to day function is to ensure that the Priests in attendance have an understanding of layout of the church and how it runs its services for the parishioners. They will also be responsible for ensuring any required lay responsibilities within masses are filled (such as readers, servers, Eucharistic ministers etc).
The Fundraising and Events Officer will be responsible for creating events for the purposes of the Parish community development and for the generation of funds. Day to day they will be required to engage the community with a variety of events and support the parish by generating funds.
The Youth Officer will be a primary liaison with our parish youth and schools. Day to day they will create and maintain links with our primary and secondary schools, including their chaplaincy, in an attempt to welcome more children and youth into the parish.
The Safeguarding officer is a diocesan role that facilitates the parish to remain within the confines of the agreed safeguarding policies.
The Parish Priest is a spiritual guide for the parish and a link to the diocese. The formulation of this committee and other parish roles is to allow the Parish Priest to focus on their spiritual role within the parish, they should act as an advisor to the Parish Council in line with diocesan policy. As an ex-officio role the Parish Priest will not have a vote.
The Parish administrator is responsible for the day to day running of the parish. They should share this responsibility with any additional persons as required to ensure the smooth running of the day to day is taken care of. Their primary function will be as book keeper and they should report regularly to the parish council. As an ex-officio role the Parish Administrator will not have a vote.
Ex-officio Members : These members will be in position whilst ever they are in the specified roles as designated by the diocese and parish. They can not be removed from the committee.
All roles will be for a term of 3 years, and will be validated at each AGM. A role may only be elected at an AGM or EGM meeting where the wider parish will be invited to attend.
Roles may have a co-opted person in it until the next AGM when they must stand for election as per the guidance.
Members may only stand for 2 consecutive terms with a minimum of 1 year before returning to the committee.
Nominations for all committee positions shall be submitted to the Secretary at least two weeks before the date of an AGM. Any parishioner is eligible to stand for a committee position and they must be nominated by another parishioner. Nominations must be seconded and have the approval of the nominee.
In the event of more than one nomination being received for any office, a secret ballot will be held at the meeting. Two tellers will be appointed to conduct the ballot. Neither teller must be associated with any of the nominees.
The Committee will meet at least 6 times a year but may meet more often as appropriate. One of these meetings will be designated the AGM of the Committee.
As part of the AGM a full record of accounts should be presented and be scrutinised by the committee.
An agenda will be sent out at least two weeks before each meeting
A quorum of at least 4 committee members, with the exclusion of the Chair, the Parish Priest, Parish Administrator and the Safeguarding Officer is needed when voting on any matters at a meeting.
Members of the Committee who fail to attend (or be represented) at three consecutive meetings will be required to explain their failure to attend to the Chairperson and may be suspended from voting for two subsequent meetings
All decisions will be made by simple majority of those entitled to vote. The Chairperson will have a casting vote in the event of a tied vote.
Extraordinary or additional meetings may be called at any time on at least two weeks notice at the request of the Chairperson or any four committee members.
This constitution may be amended by a vote at the annual AGM. All attendees will be asked to vote by show of hand if this is the case.
All disputes relating to the Parish Council, its running and its activities are to be referred to the Parish Priest, whose decision shall be final and binding on all parties concerned.