Pulpit Talks
As a leadership body charged with articulating the mission of the parish, the Parish Pastoral Council is called upon to develop a communication plan to educate the parish about the essential areas of parish life. These areas will be the central reflection at the parish assembly. Parish members should come to the assembly having already been acquainted with the essential areas of mission.
Pulpit talks given before Mass or at announcement time are a good way to spread the word and provide a form of publicity for the assembly. There are other methods as well, but we describe this method in detail:
Parish Pastoral Council members decide which areas of parish life they wish to present to the parish during mass. It is recommended that two people work on each area. The talks are given over a series of weekends at all masses. Parish Pastoral Council members may also wish to delegate this responsibility to others if they feel other parishioners have the gifts for this kind of talk.
Pulpit talks are usually five minutes and include:
- Why this area is essential to parish life
- How this area has been significant for me in my life
- Invitation to come to assembly to discuss this area and all of parish life in the future