GOOD SHEPHERD CATHOLIC CHURCH
LOVING AS CHRIST LOVES, SERVING AS CHRIST
SERVES
As sharers in the role of Christ as priest,
prophet, and king, the laity has their work cut out for them
in
the life and activity of the Church. Their
activity is so necessary within the Church communities that
without it the apostolate of the pastors is
often unable to achieve its full effectiveness. Strengthened
by
active participation in the liturgical life
of their community, the laity is eager to do their share of
the
apostolic works of that community. The laity
offers their special skills to make the care of souls and
the administration of the temporalities of
the Church more efficient and effective.
Excerpted from Decree on the Apostolate of
the Laity, No. 10
PDF of the
Charter
FINANCE COUNCIL
May 24, 2006
Charter
Canon Law (492.3, 532, 537) requires each
parish to have a Finance Council. To comply, a Finance
Council is hereby constituted to plan,
analyze, coordinate, review, and act on all matters relating
to the
financial operation of the Good Shepherd
Parish, Diocese of Arlington, Virginia. The Finance Council
shall be guided by the Holy Spirit in all it
does.
Purpose
The Finance Council will advise and make
recommendations to the Pastor on matters pertaining to
policy,
procedures, and standards regarding the
financial management of the Good Shepherd Parish. The
Finance
Council will conduct strategic financial
planning that supports the vision, mission and goals of Good
Shepherd. The Finance Council serves as a
consultative and advisory resource to the Pastor with
regard to matters including, but not be
limited to, financial planning, capital replacement and
long-term
resource development; budget preparation and
execution; financial operations, analysis, tracking and
control; income analysis, revenue
forecasting; fund raising in conjunction with the
Stewardship
Committee; and timely response to Pastor's
inquiries regarding the financial activities of the Parish.
Goal
The goal of the Finance Council is to
provide a financial plan for wise use of Parish resources to
accomplish the Vision and Mission of Good
Shepherd and to ensure the long term financial viability of
the Parish.
The Finance Council will accomplish this
goal by integrating the income and expenses of the Parish
into a single budget, recommend reserves to
preserve the capital plant and to allow options for the
future, and monitor the income and expenses
of the Parish in relationship to the approved budget.
Therefore the Finance Council will:
•
Establish financial goals and objectives in collaboration
with the Pastor, Pastoral Team,
Parish Pastoral Council, parish committees,
and parish lay leaders;
•
Reflect on local and global Church priorities, recommending
ways to integrate them into
the Parish budget
.
•
Work
with the Pastoral Team to ensure the annual Parish budget
supports the Parish
Strategic Plan and addresses the needs of
the Parish Pastoral Council, Pastoral Team,
parish committees including Anawin, and
other parish activities balanced against the
expected income.
•
Throughout the budget year, regularly review the actual
parish income and expenses and,
if necessary, recommend adjustments in
spending from the approved budget that are
necessary to stay within the approved
budget.
•
Provide insight regarding the financial assets and
liabilities and the monetary reserves
needed to ensure long term viability of the
Parish facilities and infrastructure.
Membership
Members are to be Christian faithful and
should have a desire for spiritual growth for themselves and
the parish. They should be open to the
workings of the Holy Spirit for guidance to serve as
ministers
of service.
In addition to the Pastor, the Finance
Council will consist of nine (9) members. Any Good Shepherd
Parish registered member is eligible to
serve on the Finance Council if appointed by the Pastor. The
Parish Administrator and Director of Finance
(Bookkeeper) and Chairperson of the Stewardship
Committee are ex-officio non-voting members
of the Finance Council to ensure close coordination of
advice to the Pastor.
The Pastor should be present during Finance
Council meetings in order to hear discussions and basis for
advice being recommended. The Pastor is
strongly advised to give due consideration to the advice and
recommendations of Finance Council members.
The parochial vicar(s) are welcome and indeed
expected to attend and participate in
Finance Council meetings to assist the Pastor in his
decision making
process.
Discernment, Application, and Selection
Process.
Members need the ability to study, analyze,
and examine financial matters and make sound
recommendations in light of their fiduciary
role. Members should have empathy for the poor and the
capacity to balance legitimate needs with
available resources. Council members should be able to
listen to differing opinions, integrate
various points of view, and discern with others what is best
for
the Parish.
•
Parishioners should prayerfully consider their own gifts and
others who have specific gifts for
financial analysis.
•
Parishioners should call upon themselves and others to
discern whether to commit to a role on the
Finance Council.
•
Parishioners will self nominate by applying for membership
on the Finance Council to the Parish
Administrator.
•
The
Pastor using his personal gifts and the Holy Spirit and in
collaboration with parish lay leaders
will discern the individuals who make up the
Finance Council.
Terms of Office. Appointed Finance
Council members shall serve a three-year term with the
possibility of serving subsequent term(s).
One third of the members’ terms shall expire annually. As
part of ongoing discernment and strategic
planning and in light of Parish needs, the Pastor may adjust
membership terms.
Vacancies. A vacancy will be filled
through discernment by Parish lay leaders with a
recommendation
to, and appointment by, the Pastor.
Finance Council Responsibilities
Canon Law requires each parish to have a
Finance Council. Diocesan guidelines (Parish Financial
Manual June 2002) require the Pastor to
assign the following responsibilities to the Finance
Council:
1. Review annual parish budgets and provide
the Pastor with comments and advice.
2. Periodically assess the internal control
system employed by the parish to determine if it complies
with Diocesan policies and guidelines and to
suggest changes to the control system when
appropriate.
3. Review parish financial statements with
the Pastor on a regular basis.
4. Review the Annual Parish Report submitted
to the Diocese.
5. Review the annual financial statement
prior to dissemination to the parish community to ensure
that it is complete and accurate. A complete
report would include income and expenses for the
past year as well as parish cash assets.
6. Review the parish’s plan to pay any
parish debt and provide any comments on the plan to the
Pastor.
7. Review the parish’s multiple years (three
to five years) of capital expansion or improvement plan
and advise the Pastor on how to finance the
improvements.
8. Support all Stewardship Committee
fundraising programs and coordinate with other parish
financial plans and messages. The Pastor has
assigned primary fundraising responsibility to the
Stewardship Committee.
9. Review with the Pastor the results of
diocesan internal audits and any external audits and help
ensure that recommendations are implemented.
10. Assist the Parish Administrator or
bookkeeper when requested by the Pastor.
11. Advise the Pastor on how to implement
Diocesan policies on financial matters.
This charter assigns the following
additional responsibilities to the Good Shepherd Finance
Council:
12. Advise and recommend to the Pastoral
Council and Pastor long-range financial and applicable
program goals and the means to secure their
funding.
13. Instruct and coordinate the development
of ministry/program budgets making certain they meet
the parish strategic goals and objectives.
Ensure the budget is in accord with Parish and Diocesan
policy and sound financial management
principles. Provide the PPC with the proposed budget
along with income and expense trend analysis
based on the strategic plan. After review and
discussion of the budget in conjunction with
the strategic plan, the budget will be presented to the
Pastor for approval and implementation.
14. Working with the Stewardship Committee,
develop, plan and implement fund raising and income
development programs to encourage all
members of the Parish through personal stewardship, to
(a) financially support the needs of the
Parish and (b) procure financial resources from within and
outside of the Parish.
15. Monitor the execution of the approved
Parish budget (including both operating and capital
expenses and offertory income) during the
course of the fiscal year and make recommendations to
the Pastor on conformity with the approved
budget, including (a) use of funds for authorized
purposes, (b) revenue projections and
sources of income, and (c) reprogramming of funds.
16. Provide for periodic internal
assessments of Parish financial operations.
17. Develop and recommend financial
management systems, including automated budget and
accounting systems, necessary to meet
immediate and long-term program requirements.
18. Provide oversight of the money counters
procedures, recruiting and training.
Finance Council Leadership
Finance Council leadership shall model
servant leadership, actively listening and inviting
differing
opinions as a significant part of the
Finance Council deliberations.
The Finance Council leadership shall consist
of a Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary. Discernment and
judgment of the Pastor and Finance Council
membership will determine selection and rotation of
leadership.
Duties of the Finance Council Leadership.
1. Consult with the Pastor to plan meetings.
2. Publish an agenda in advance for each
meeting.
3. Prepare background materials as needed
for Finance Council meetings.
4. Appropriately facilitate meetings.
5. Coordinate reports and action items with
the Parish Director of Finance or bookkeeper.
Duties of the Finance Council Chair.
1. Convene and lead all Council meetings.
2. Serve on the Parish Pastoral Council (may
be delegated) in accordance with policies and
procedures established by the Parish
Pastoral Council.
3. Effectively communicate and correspond as
appropriate with and on behalf of the
Finance Council with other elements of the
Parish leadership.
Duties of the Finance Council Vice Chair.
1. Convene and lead all Council meetings in
the absence of the Chair.
2. Carry out special assignments from the
Chair.
Duties of the Finance Council Secretary.
1. Maintain complete and accurate records of
Council activities.
2. Identify and distribute materials to
Council members prior to meetings.
3. Place appropriate notices in various
parish media to keep the parish apprised of Finance
Council activities.
Frequency of Council Meetings
Council meetings are convened by the Pastor
and the Chairperson at least four times a year. Additional
meetings shall be convened at the request of
the Pastor or the Finance Council Chairperson. Members
are expected to commit to attending all the
meetings or to notify the Chairperson when they cannot
attend.
Meetings of the Council are open to the
parish membership. Meeting dates and times will be
announced in parish media. Portions of the
meeting could be closed at the discretion of the Pastor or
Chairperson.
Subcommittees
Subcommittees are responsible to the Pastor
and the Finance Council as a whole and may be formed on an
as needed basis at the discretion of the
Chairperson. Ad hoc subcommittees also may be formed to
conduct Finance Council special business as
appropriate. Subcommittee or other ad hoc committee
meetings will be called at the discretion of
the Chairperson of the Finance Council or the subcommittee
depending on need. Only members of the
subcommittee need attend subcommittee meetings. Other
members of the Finance Council are always
welcome to attend.
Relationship with the Parish Community
The Finance Council consists of parishioners
and will maintain open dialogue with community
members. Members are encouraged to seek the
views of other parishioners on important matters that
will be discussed at upcoming events.
Relationship with the Parish Pastoral
Council
The Finance Council will work closely with
the PPC to ensure the goals and objectives of the parish
are supported. The Finance Council will
provide regular updates to the PPC of the fiscal status of
the
parish.
Relationship with the Pastoral Team and
Parish Committees
The Finance Council is a resource to the
Pastoral Team, Administrative Team, and parish committees
and programs. The Finance Council may meet
annually with the Pastoral Team to encourage dialogue
and unity of purpose and to understand each
others concerns.
Finance Council members will also function
as Liaisons with Parish ministries, committees and
activities.
The Liaisons are available as a resource to
the ministries. Their purpose is to assist Directors and
Committees develop a financial budget based
on the goals and objectives of the ministry program.
Liaisons are also encouraged to be involved
with members of the respective standing committee to
become knowledgeable of the program, goals
and objectives and the financial implications.
Relationship with the Stewardship Committee
The Finance Council will work closely with
the Stewardship Committee to encourage dialogue and
ensure unity of purpose. Stewardship
Committee will take the lead in increasing offertory
collections
and other fundraising initiatives.
Communications from both committees shall be consistent to
the
Good Shepherd parishioners.
Communication
It will be incumbent upon all Finance
Council members to have open communications with each other
and with parishioners to ensure honesty and
that all relevant opinions and information are openly
discussed in the presence of the Pastor to
assist his decision making process.
May 24, 2006
