Highlights

Diocesan Pastoral Council Meeting - September, 2002

According to Church law (Canon 511),

"In each diocese, to the extent that pastoral circumstances recommend it, a pastoral council is to be established whose responsibility it is to investigate under the authority of the bishop all those things which pertain to pastoral works, to ponder them and to propose practical conclusions about them."

Membership of the Diocesan Pastoral Council is comprised of representatives from diocesan committees and councils, and two representatives from each region, who meet five times each year with the bishop.

September Retreat Day Agenda

- New members attended an orientation. The seven new Diocesan Pastoral Council members are: Geraldine Pehrson (Region 1), James Gunter (Region 5), Rev. Joseph Steinbeisser (Priests’ Council), Steve Schreiber (Bishop’s Appointee), Paulette Collins (Diocesan Council of Catholic Women), Sue Fleegel (Evangelization and Catechesis Committee), Kay Osborne (Worship and Spiritual Life Committee).

- Bishop John Nienstedt presented the council with an overview of priorities for the Diocese within the existing diocesan mission and goals. He emphasized that the vision for the future of the Diocese needs to reflect a composite of many viewpoints - those of the Church Universal, the Bishop, the Priests’ Council, the Diocesan Pastoral Council, the faithful-at-large. The Mission Statement and Goals should encompass that vision. The Diocesan Pastoral Council should identify and focus on those matters of greatest need and concern.

- A panel of members shared their personal faith journeys and how membership on the Diocesan Pastoral Council has enriched their spiritualities.

- New officers for the 2002 - 2003 council year were elected. The new leadership team consists of: Chairperson Dolores Berg, Vice-Chairperson Paulette Svoboda, Secretary Richard Hesse, and Member-at-Large Wayne Carlson. The officers serve also as the agenda committee, meeting two weeks prior to the council meetings to develop the agenda and plan the meetings.