Parish Policies

  1.  Smoking Policy: smoking is not allowed in either building at any time or near the entrance.

  2.  Computer usage: computer equipment may only be used by SMCC personnel.

  3.  Office Machines: office machines may only be used by SMCC personnel.

  4.  Weddings: all couples wishing to be married at SMCC must first confer with the Pastor, Associate Pastor, or Deacon.  Archdiocesan policy recommends a six-month preparation period.

  5.  Funerals:  A) All funeral schedules must be approved by the Pastor or Associate Pastor.  B)  Funeral brunches are offered according to availability.  Please see guidelines for specifics.

  6.  Use of Buildings: the use of buildings is limited to official parish functions and gatherings sponsored by parish committees. We do not rent the buildings for such activities as driver’s educations, exercise classes, day care, First Communion, Confirmation or graduation parties, wedding showers, etc.

  7.  Parish Assets: equipment may not be removed from the church properties.

  8.  Fundraising: requests must be approved by the stewardship committee.  Requests forms are available in the parish office.

  9.  Reserved Seating:  Seats are not reserved for individual groups or families for special events such as Anniversary celebrations, First Communions, family gatherings or other events.  SMCC personnel do have the option to reserve seats for specific functions such as Confirmation, RCIA, and for seating required to accommodate liturgical ministers at Holy Day and special event liturgies.

  10.  Speaking at Mass:  Parish groups wishing to speak to the assembly during a weekend Mass must request permission, in writing, two weeks prior to the requested date.  Speakers must limit their speeches to no more than three minutes and must submit the speeches with the permission request.  The request must contain the following:  Date requested, group represented, name of speaker, purpose of speech, and written copy of speech.  Submit requests to the Liturgy Coordinator who will coordinate with the Pastor.   The Pastor reserves the right to decide if a request is granted.

  11. Commissions:  All Commissions functions must directly support the Mission and Goals of the Parish Council.  As such, the Commissions develop objectives flowing from the Parish Mission Statement and Goals and provide these objectives to the Parish Council in September of each year.  Additionally, the Commissions provide an annual evaluation of objectives and programs to the Parish Council each June.   As stated in the Archdiocese of Detroit Parish Pastoral Council Guidelines and Handbook, Commissions “report regularly to the Parish Pastoral Council on the status of their objectives, planning, and implementation…”.

  12.  Scheduling:  The Pastoral Staff creates a Master Calendar for the parish each May that covers July – June of the upcoming year.  As resources are finite and in great demand, we prioritize the various organizations and their needs.  The Parish Calendar is first populated with the following functions:  Worship, Religious Ed, Christian Service, Adult Formation (including Bible Study), Youth, Sacramental Preparation and Pastoral functions.  Once all those functions are assigned, then the Knights of Columbus, Parish Nurses, St. Vincent de Paul, Social Committee, and Bereavement Support dates and functions are added.  Finally, out of parish functions such as AA and other outside groups (i.e., Hospice) are scheduled if resources remain available.  All groups must submit to their staff liaison, in writing, requested functions and dates for July – June by May 1st of each year.   The completed schedule will be communicated by mid-June.  Activities that come up during the year cannot be scheduled without the review of the Parish Pastoral Team and require the approval of the Pastor.

  13.  Building Set-ups:  SMCC maintenance staff will set-up the Social Hall  for all parish functions.  That includes all pastoral functions:  Worship, Religious Ed, Christian Service, Adult Formation, Youth, Sacramental Preparation, etc. and all parish-related groups: Knights of Columbus, Parish Nurses, St. Vincent de Paul, and Social Committee.  Whenever possible, functions shall be scheduled to alleviate the need for multiple weekend set-ups.  If this is not possible, it is the responsibility of the Building Manager to schedule maintenance personnel as necessary to complete all set-ups.

  14.  Keys to the Parish Buildings:  The Building Manager is responsible for management of the building keys.  Master keys for the church are provided to all SMCC personnel only.  Three additional people have keys to the church, the Head Usher for the 8:00 a.m. Mass, (currently Bernie Martin) and two backup ushers (currently Fred Knapp and Dave Overholser).  Our policy is that any additional keys given for one-time events are documented and the person receiving the key must sign for it.

  15. Building Use and Security:  As the buildings are used throughout the day, evening and weekends, it is necessary for SMCC personnel to be responsible for opening and locking the building at various times.  It is our policy that the SMCC staff member responsible for the function be present during their functions to ensure the building is open for volunteers and securely locked following the functions, even if the function is completely managed by volunteers.  For instance, if the Christian Service commission is running a Capuchin bakers bake sale, Christian Service must be present to lock the building after all volunteers have cleaned up and left.  Building security following functions is the express responsibility of the function holder.

  16.  Budgeting:  SMCC uses the incremental budgeting method, often called line item or traditional budgeting.  Incremental budgeting takes this year’s budget as a basis for next year’s budget and makes adjustments to each item for anticipated cost or activity changes.  Each department head is provided with their budget numbers quarterly.  At the beginning of the fourth quarter of the fiscal year current numbers are given to each department with a request to evaluate prior activities and costs and submit a budget for the upcoming year. It is important that the budget be constructed by the people who are close to the action and know the ins and outs of programs and activities. A final, balanced budget is submitted for approval, first to the Stewardship Committee, then to the Parish Council.  The completed budget is submitted to the Archdiocese in May of each year.

  17.  Tithing:  SMCC is a Tithing parish.  The Tithing Program is managed by the Christian Service Coordinator, with a Tithing Committee.  The Tithing Committee includes the Pastor, Stewardship Committee chairperson, Financial/Business Manager and other invited parishioners.  The Committee meets twice a year to review, add, or delete agencies and to review the Tithing program overall.  Specific procedures exist for determining the agencies for Tithing.

Approved by Parish Council on 1/18/11