Interested in parish council?

Parish Council Seeks Two Elected At-Large Members

Parish Council was restructured in 2019 with a new set of guidelines to further develop our parish’s life and mission. Part of this restructuring was to establish two At-Large Members who are elected to the council. As we begin to experience some sense of “normal” in this phase of the pandemic, Father Gurnick and members of Council wish to complete our membership roster. Would you consider joining us as an At- Large member?

Parish Council meets on the 3rd Monday of each month (with the exception of December and July) from 7pm until 9pm. The Pastoral Council serves as a key consultative group to the pastor and his staff on matters of parish life and mission. While the council is made up of ex-officio members and others appointed by the pastor, we are looking for two (2) At-Large Members. An At-Large member serves for a two-year term and is elected by parishioners. For this election cycle only, we will be asking one of the two elected At-Large members to serve for a three-year term in order to stagger the At-Large membership for future rotation.

Requirements for an at-large member are:

1. He/she must be 18 years or older and a formally registered parishioner;
2. available to attend all (or most) in-person council meetings;
3. genuinely interested in the entire life and mission of our parish community;
4. available to seek the wider parish community’s feedback.
   The nomination and election process is easy:
5. An interested parishioner presents himself or herself to the Parish Council by submitting the
   questionnaire (back side of this announcement) to the Rectory by August 12th.
6. Once the brief questionnaire is reviewed by the Chairperson and Membership Committee, the
   potential nominee is contacted to confirm willingness to be placed on the September ballot.
7. Introduction of each nominee is publicized for no less than three consecutive weekends (via
   bulletin, weekly email, and website).
8. Homebound parishioners and other registered parishioners are invited to request an absentee
   ballot to be mailed to their residence by September 1 st . Contact Mary Gagen at 216-631-6872
   ext. 2100 or by email: mary.gagen@stpatrickbridge.org. Provide your name and mailing address. Ballots are to be returned by September 9 th .
9. In-person election ballots will be distributed and collected at all weekend Masses September 10-
   11, 2022.
10. The two candidates with most votes assume the two At-Large positions on Parish Council and
    will be contacted by Brian Jecker, Parish Council Chair, by September 12, 2022.
11. The first meeting for the new At-Large members is Monday, October 17, 2022.
    Questions? Please contact Brian Jecker at: brian.jecker@stpatrickbridge.org.