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Constitution
By-Laws
Constitution of the Waterloo
Catholic Faith Formation Commission
Article I
Title
The
name of this body shall be Waterloo Catholic Faith Formation
Commission representing the parishes listed in Article II.
Article II
Nature
and Function
Section
1. This Commission is a governing body operating formation and
education programs for
Blessed
Sacrament Parish in Waterloo
Queen
of Peace Parish in Waterloo
Sacred
Heart Parish in Waterloo
St.
Edward Parish in Waterloo
subject
to the policies and regulations that proceed from the
Archdiocesan Faith Formation Commission and the Archdiocesan
Office of Faith Formation and Education. The faith formation
commission serves as a committee of the pastoral councils of the
member parishes according to the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council
Guidelines.
Section
2. The faith formation commission shall be responsible for all
aspects of the formal catechetical and faith formation programs
in light of the six tasks of catechesis.
Section
3. The commission shall implement the policies and regulations
of the Archdiocesan Faith Formation Commission and the Office of
Faith Formation and Education. In the development of its
policies, the faith formation commission must insure that these
follow the intent and spirit of the established policies of the
Archdiocesan Faith Formation Commission.
Section
4. The commission is the voice of the parish communities in
catechetical planning, goal setting, and policy development in
accord with the intent and spirit of the Archdiocesan Faith
Formation Commission.
Section
5. Functions:
a. To develop and implement a comprehensive catechetical plan
that
supports the six tasks of catechesis:
1) promotion of knowledge of the faith.
2) liturgical education,
3) moral formation,
4) teaching to pray,
5) education for community life, and
6) missionary initiation.
b. To implement the directives of the General Directory for
Catechesis, the National Directory for Catechesis, and
applicable
archdiocesan policies in regard to the defined areas of
catechesis:
adults, elderly, young adults, adolescents, children of
catechetical
age, early childhood,
family, persons with disabilities,
the marginalized
and Catholic schools. (Direct responsibility for
Catholic
schools resides with the Cedar Valley Catholic School
Board.)
c. To develop ongoing goals and objectives based upon the needs
of
the parishioners which are supportive of the teaching
mission of
the church and directives of the Archbishop.
d. To set policies in conjunction with archdiocesan directives
and in
collaboration with the Faith Formation Leader(s) (DRE,
youth
ministry director, adult faith formation director, etc.) for
their
respective programs.
e. To develop, oversee and review faith formation budget and
annual
financial reports according to archdiocesan
directives.
f. To collaborate with the Parish(es) Finance Council(s),
presenting its
proposed budget, for review and approval.
g. To receive regular reports from those responsible for each
area of
catechesis.
h. To invite, support, and recognize the gifts of trained
volunteers
within catechetical programs.
i. To practice stewardship of resources, by collaborating with
neighboring parishes, clusters, deaneries, etc. when appropriate.
Article
III
Membership
Section 1. Members of the system faith formation
commission shall be the pastor(s)/pastoral administrator(s) (ex
officio) and
5 elected members, plus
4 appointed members, for a total of
9 lay members (more than 50% of the lay
representatives must be
elected)
Each parish listed in Article II, section 1 will elect one
member; each Parish Council will nominate one Council member.
Nominated members need to be appointed by the Waterloo Catholic
Faith Formation Commission.
The Hispanic Community at Queen of Peace Parish, as defined in
the bylaws, will elect one member to the Waterloo Catholic Faith
Formation Commission.
Advisory positions, as defined in the bylaws, will be advisory
to the Waterloo Catholic Faith Formation Commission.
Each pastor/pastoral
administrator will serve on the Waterloo Catholic Faith
Formation.
Section
2. Members of the commission shall be elected and appointed for
a term of three years and may be reelected for a second term. A
commission member having served two consecutive terms may again
be a candidate for commission membership after a lapse of at
least one year.
Section
3. A member of the commission who is absent from two consecutive
regularly scheduled meetings shall, unless excused by action of
the commission, cease to be a member.
The
Archdiocesan Faith Formation Commission, with the approval of
the Archbishop, may remove a member(s) from the system
commission.
Section
4. Election of new members shall be held annually on or before
the third Sunday of May, according to procedures specified in
bylaws. New members take office at the first meeting of the
commission in the new fiscal year (after July 1).
Section
5. Appointed members are nominated by an established membership
committee of the commission comprised of a pastor, chairperson,
executive officer, and one additional commission member. Members
nominated are confirmed by a majority vote of the current faith
formation commission.
Section
6. Vacancies on the commission shall be filled by appointment by
the commission.
Section
7. Members shall be knowledgeable and supportive of all the
tasks and areas of catechesis.
Minimally one pastor/pastoral administrator is an ex officio
voting member of the faith formation commission. Pastor/pastoral
administrators’ membership is defined in the commission’s
constitution and bylaws. No pastor/pastoral administrator can
have more than one vote.
Article IV
Officers
Section
1. The officers of the commission shall consist of chairperson,
vice-chairperson, and secretary. The officers shall be elected
annually by commission members in the spring before June 30.
Officers assume their responsibilities at the first meeting of
the commission after July 1.
Section
2. All members of the commission are eligible for any office.
Section
3. The duties of the officers shall be as follows:
a. The chairperson shall preside at all regular and special
meetings of
the commission; shall be executive head of the
commission; shall
appoint committees; and, in general, shall
perform the duties relative
to the office of chair.
b. The vice-chairperson shall perform the duties of the chair at
the
request of or in the absence or incapacity of the chair.
c. The secretary shall be responsible for the minutes of commission
meetings; maintain a written record of all acts of the
commission;
conduct, receive, and dispose of all correspondence
as directed;
preserve reports and documents; and, in general,
shall perform all
duties incident to the office of secretary.
d. The executive officer shall be the Director of Faith Formation
or
Director of Adult Faith Formation and shall serve as advisor
to the
commission and administrator of the commission’s
policies. The
executive officer keeps the commission informed as
to the condition
of the faith formation and education programs
and may propose the
adoption of needed policies.
The executive officer is not a member of the commission and does
not have a vote.
Article
V
Meetings
Section
1. The commission shall meet regularly at a time and place
specified in its bylaws. Special meetings may be called by the
chairperson as needed or by a majority of the members.
A
member may participate by electronic means only in circumstances
where physical attendance is impossible or impractical and only
if the individual's participation meets the following criteria:
a) prior approval is obtained from the chairperson/designee, b)
the member is able to participate in the entire meeting, c) that
all members at the meeting sites have equal access to hearing
the conversation, d) that the majority of members are physically
present at the regular meeting location, and e) that the member
participating through electronic means is physically in
attendance at the regularly scheduled meeting location for 75%
of the meetings within a program year (July 1 - June 30).
Section
2. A quorum, a majority of the entire commission, is necessary
for the transaction of business at meetings; a majority vote of
those present shall be sufficient for any decision or election. Proxy
voting is never permissible.
Section
3. All meetings of the commission are open unless designated as
being executive sessions. Decisions made in executive sessions
must be presented and voted on at open sessions before becoming
effective.
The
right of non-members to address the commission shall be limited
to those whose petition has been approved for the agenda in
advance of the meeting.
Section
4. A written record of all acts of the commission, maintained by
the secretary, shall be preserved in the archives.
Article VI
Conduct
of Meetings
Section
1. As a Christian community, the commission will endeavor to
arrive at consensus in its deliberations. Formal decision-making
will utilize parliamentary procedures as outlined in Robert’s
Rules of Order or another procedure of the commission’s choice.
Section
2. The ordinary order of meetings shall be:
Part A. Opening (welcome, prayer, and inservice/study.
Part B.
Visioning and Catechetical/Faith Formation Planning
Part C.
Administrative Issues (approval of minutes and reports; old
business; new business; information, communication,
delegations; future agenda items)
Part D.
Closing (future agenda items; tasks/assignments,
adjournment)
Article
VII
Approval
This
Constitution must have the approval of the Pastoral Councils
and the Archdiocesan Office of Faith Formation and Education.
Article
VIII
Amendments
Section
1. This constitution, except required components, may be amended
by a vote of two-thirds of the total membership of the faith
formation commission and approval by the Pastoral Councils and
the Archdiocesan Office of Faith Formation and Education.
Section
2. Amendments must be presented to the commission at least one
meeting prior to voting on such.
Article
IX
Bylaws
Section
1. Bylaws in accord with this constitution may be developed to
further specify the internal operation of the commission.
Section
2. Bylaws may be developed and amended by a vote of one more
than a simple majority at any regular meeting with a quorum
present.
Section
3. Bylaws and/or amendments to bylaws must be presented at least
one meeting prior to voting on such.
Approved by
Blessed Sacrament Pastoral Council, Feb. 16, 2010
Queen of Peace Pastoral Council, April 20, 2010
Sacred Heart Pastoral Council, April 28, 2010
St. Edward Pastoral Council, April 15, 2010
• • •
Bylaws
of the Waterloo
Catholic Faith Formation Commission
I.
Decision Making
(a) A
majority of WCFFC members constitutes a quorum.
(b) In
absence of a quorum, no formal action shall be taken except to
adjourn the meeting to a
subsequent date.
(c) In
special circumstances, consensus may be achieved through
electronic communications.
1. Passage of a motion will be determined by consensus of the
group.
2. If a consensus is not reached, a passage of a motion requires a
simple majority (ie, one more than half the
voting members present,
provided each parish has at least one representative present.
(Adopted
January 2011)
II.
Membership Terms
Membership on the Waterloo Catholic Faith Formation Commission
shall be as specified in the Constitution of the WCFFC. As
provided by policy of the Archdiocesan Faith Formation
Commission, neither employees nor the spouses or parents
of employees of the WCFFC shall be eligible to serve on
the Commission.
Terms of
the lay members of the WCFFC shall be staggered such that
approximately one-third (1/3) of such terms shall end
each year.
Terms for Elected Members
Proposed membership terms during the WCFFC’s initial transition is as
follows:
May
2012 -- Blessed Sacrament elects one representative for a three
year term.
-- Queen of Peace elects one Hispanic representative for
a
three year term
May
2013 -- Queen of Peace elects one representative for a three
year
term.
-- St. Edward elects one
representative for a three year term.
May
2014 -- Sacred Heart elects one representative for a three year
term
Terms for
Appointed Members
Pastoral Council
representatives are nominated to the WCFFC at the discretion of
the Council. The nominee is a person who has a strong interest
in faith formation and is a current voting member of the
Pastoral Council.
(Adopted
January 2011)
III.
Meetings
The
Faith Formation Commission will meet monthly at 6:30pm at one of
the Waterloo parishes.
IV. Code of Ethics
Purpose:
The Faith Formation
Commission shall approve guidelines of instruction for effective faith formation to be provided for all parishioners.
This instruction will be offered to parishioners of all
levels regardless of age, capability, language, culture
or financial ability.
1. Commission members
will conduct the affairs of the Faith Formation
Commission in a manner that is ethical, moral and of high
standards.
2. Provide methods
for review to insure that the faith formation instruction
that is developed is faithful to the
teachings of the church and promotes
spiritual growth with an increased level of understanding.
3. Maintain open
communication at all levels of faith formation instruction
to provide continuity and change to the
curriculum when needed.
4. Establish policies
and procedures to ensure that the guidelines
established by the
Commission are administered with integrity and
equality to all parishioners.
5. The Commission has
the responsibility to protect the security of any
confidential matters discussed or
created by the Commission
members.
Members
should take care in handling confidential information and not
share it with others unless so directed
by the Commission or its
Officers.
Commission
members may not make statements regarding
Commission activities to the public without
authorization from the
Commission or its Officers.
6. Commission members
should avoid any situations that may involve a
conflict or the appearance of such between their personal
interests and
the performance of their
duties as members of the Commission.
(Adopted
January 2011)
V.
Hiring of Director of Faith Formation for a parish
Each parish
will have a Director of Faith Formation.
The Director will be
hired by the Faith Formation Commission. The commission’s hiring
committee will consist of:
1. the pastor of the parish
2. a Pastoral Council representative of the parish
3. the two Faith Formation Commission representatives of the
parish
4. the Pastor representative for the Faith Formation
Commission
5. one of the current Directors of Faith Formation, other
than the one that
is being replaced.
The
archdiocesan policies and procedures for the hiring process will
be followed.
VI. Hiring of Director of Adult Faith Formation for all Waterloo
parishes
The four
Waterloo parishes will share a Director of Adult Faith
Formation.
The Director will be hired by the Faith Formation
Commission. The commission’s hiring committee will consist of:
1. one pastor representative
2. one Director of Faith
Formation
3. one WCFFC member
4. one representative from
the Adult Faith Formation Advisory
Committee
5. one representative appointed by the WCFFC.
The
archdiocesan policies and procedures for the hiring process will
be followed.
VII. Hiring of a Youth Minister for all Waterloo parishes
The four
Waterloo parishes will share a Middle School Youth Minister and
a High School Youth Minister.
The Youth Ministers will be hired
by the Faith Formation Commission. The commission’s hiring
committee will consist of:
1. the Pastor representative for the WCFFC
2. the current, remaining Youth
Minister
3. one WCFFC
member
4. two representatives from the Youth Ministry Advisory
Committee
5. one Director of Faith Formation
The
archdiocesan policies and procedures for the hiring process will
be followed.
• • •
Return to Faith Commission Home Page
Posted 03.28.10 •
Last Update: 05.09.12
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