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PPC Overview
The Second Vatican Council, recognizing the fundamental dignity and equality of all the baptized, declared that it is the right and responsibility of the baptized to participate in the life of the Church, including its governance.   The Council urged pastors to seek and make use of the advice of lay persons and to assign duties to them, allowing them freedom and room for action, including action on their own initiative.  Pastors and parishioners are to work together to build up the parish as a living Christian community. 

It is primarily through the Holy Trinity Parish Pastoral Council that the pastor and the baptized share responsibility for governing Holy Trinity Parish.
The Holy Trinity Parish Pastoral Council, established at the direction of the Archbishop of Washington DC and operating according to its constitutions and by-laws, is advisory to the pastor, who by law is responsible to the Archbishop for the care of the parish and its integration into the life of the larger Church. 

The Council’s primary responsibilities are to assist the pastor in articulating the mission of the parish, to determine the needs of the parish and to recommend means that are responsive to those needs, and to oversee the parish’s efforts to implement that mission.  The Council does this by prayer and reflection, planning, and setting goals and priorities; and by motivating, supporting, and evaluating the efforts of those other parish groups and persons which are charged with carrying out the parish’s mission.  In other words, the Parish Pastoral Council has a planning and evaluating role in the parish; others in the parish are responsible for implementing the parish's plans.  

The Holy Trinity Parish Pastoral Council is composed of the pastor and at least 15 adult members of the parish who are notable for their commitment to the parish and the larger Church.  Council members are elected by parishioners to serve three-year terms, renewable once. 

The Council meets nine times each year, normally on the evening of the first Tuesday of the month.  Its meetings are open to the public.  Minutes of these meetings are available upon request.