Pastoral Council

Dear HNJ Parishioners, 

As I hope you are aware, Holy Name of Jesus Parish has a Pastoral Council whose function is to advise the Pastor and provide feedback on how to best serve and minister to the Parish. This is separate from the Parish Finance Council or the School Advisory Board, who deal with the “meat and potatoes” of parish life. The Pastoral Council is more representative of the Parish’s soul: where are we, where want to be, and how we will get there.

The Pastoral Council meets bimonthly on Wednesday evenings to discuss the state and activities of the Parish. We operate on a school-year calendar, taking the summer off unless an extraordinary meeting were to be called on a specific issue.

Over the course of this past year, our Pastoral Council has updated its Constitution and Bylaws, reforming itself in a new and exciting way to better engage with our Church community and those we seek to serve.  As part of this renewal, we are seeking new Council Members to fill vacancies left by the departure of those who have previously served the Parish so well, but also through an expanded number of Council Members. Nominations for new members of our Pastoral Council are now open through May 1, 2022.  If you are a parishioner interested in serving on our Pastoral Council or know of another parishioner who would serve well, please e-mail holyname@hnjchurch.org or contact one of our current Council Members.  They are listed on the church website.

The only qualifications for joining the Pastoral Council are that you are a registered parishioner of HNJ; support the parish; are at least 18 years of age; and are committed to a life of prayer and celebration of the Eucharist. Interest in one of the five main Council Committees (see below) is a plus, but we will consider any and all nominations. Just as one of the chief titles of the Holy Father is “the Servant of the Servants of God,” so too can you serve your fellow parishioners, our larger community, and the world which God has given us through participating on HNJ’s Pastoral Council.

The newly rejuvenated Council will have five committees on which our Council Members will serve: 1) Liturgical Ministries; 2) Adult Spiritual Formation; 3) Young Adult Ministries; 4) Children’s Ministries; and 5) Justice and Outreach. Each of these committees will meet during our general meetings, report on ideas and events, and actively engage in the activities under the committee’s purview. We hope this new Council format will reinvigorate not only the Council, but also our Parish life as a whole.

Even if you do not have the time or inclination to serve on the Pastoral Council, please know that our meetings are open to any member of the Parish. We welcome your attendance and hope to see you at one or more of our meetings in the future. 

Sincerely,

Edward McAuliffe, Chair, HNJ Pastoral Council

The Holy Name of Jesus Pastoral Council meets the second Wednesday of each month from September through May stating at 6:30 p.m.  Meetings are held in the North Room of the Parish Center.  All parishioners are welcome to attend.

Meeting Notes from Past meetings:
January 13, 2021

December 8, 2020 - meeting was postponed

November 11, 2020

October 14, 2020

September 9, 2020

August 12, 2020

July 1, 2020

Pastoral Council Members 2021-2022

J Edward McAuliffe (Chair)
Michael Hosemann
Paul Buras
Gail Burke
Ricky Dietz
John Kinabrew
Dan Sanders
Patrick Talley, Jr.
Jim Lamy

Ex Officio:

Fr. Mark E. Thibodeaux, SJ, Pastor

Kirsch Wilberg, HNJS Principal

Diane Blair, Director of Pastoral Life

Fr. Stephen Rowntree, SJ, Senior Priest

Ken Weber, Loyola University