The St. Hugo of the Hills Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) is established in conformance with the Directives and Guidelines for Parish Councils promulgated by the Archdiocese of Detroit. As expressed in its Constitution, the Role and Purpose of the Parish Council is:

To set goals and objectives annually for the Parish and to prioritize those goals and objectives so that personnel, time, and financial resources of the Parish can be apportioned properly.
To assume responsibility of leadership, direction, and education within the total Parish Life, to the end of sanctifying all members of the Parish Community in the Life of Christ.
To be sensitive to the movement of the Holy Spirit among God's people.
To review Parish Programs from time to time in light of Archdiocesan goals.
To help the whole Parish meet the challenge of being a Church in the modern world.
To give life and direction to the four Commissions regarding objectives, policies, budgets and programs.

The four Commissions of the Parish Council are: Stewardship, Worship, Education, Christian Service. The membership of the Parish Council is made up of:

The Parish Council Chairperson
Lay members, including one to represent the youth (15-21 years of age), selected from the Parish at large
The Chairperson of each of the four Commissions (see above names)
The Pastor, Associate Pastor, Pastoral Associate, and a representative of the religious

The challenge of building a Christian community and of setting its direction both presume extensive avenues of communication and participation. Individuals interested in participating in the Parish Council as a lay member should have:

1. an understanding of Church from a "person in the pew" perspective;
2. a vision of Church which goes beyond the Parish boundaries;
3. an openness to the working of the Holy Spirit in self and others;
4. the courage to voice opinions and offer constructive assessment while respecting differing ideas;
5. a willingness to invest at least one evening per month for Council Meetings and Parish activities.
6. a desire to help promote better contact and communication among the people of the Parish.

The lay members of the Parish Pastoral Council do not represent a zone but, rather, are representative of the Parish as a whole. Each year on Pentecost Sunday three (3) lay members are selected by lot to serve a three year term with the youth representative being selected to serve a one (1) year term. In addition, once every three (3) years, one individual is selected to represent the parishioners who live beyond the Parish boundaries. Any registered member of the Parish who wishes to serve on the Parish Pastoral Council may submit his or her name to the rectory at least three (3) weeks prior to Pentecost Sunday. Those members selected undergo an orientation program at the beginning of their term.

Parish Pastoral Council Meetings are open to the Parish for observation but not participation. A parishioner with an issue for discussion must first go to the proper Commission where it will be discussed and brought to the Parish Pastoral Council later if deemed advisable. If the issue is not resolved satisfactorily, it may then be brought to the Parish Pastoral Council as an Agenda item.

Parishioners are encouraged to seek out any member of the Parish Pastoral Council to discuss items of concern and that Parish Pastoral Council member will assist the parishioner in directing the issue to the appropriate Commission. Once a year the Parish Pastoral Council hosts an open meeting for all parishioners at which time there will be an opportunity to share concerns. Parishioners are encouraged to keep abreast of the proceedings of the Parish Pastoral Council by reviewing a summary of the proceedings of each Parish Pastoral Council Meeting which are published in the Parish Herald.

Highlights from Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) Meetings
The following are the Parish Pastoral Council Minutes in PDF file format. Click on the date to view. You will need Acrobat Reader, which you can download free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

June 19, 2007
January 16, 2007
September 19, 2006
April 25, May 16, and June 15, 2006
May 16, 2005
April 18, 2005
January 10, 2005
December 13, 2004

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