Parish office
Parish office (regional and Rectory , evangelical predominantly township office ) is in many Christian churches the central regional administration of the local parish or parish . The parish office manages all ecclesiastical affairs of the members of each parish there. In addition, the personal, financial and organizational tasks of the parish are carried out there. Roughly speaking, the parish office can also be seen as the central secretariat of the parish with a wide range of tasks.
Tasks and responsibilities
Administration of church affairs for parishioners
The original task of the parish office is the administration of the ecclesiastical and confessional affairs of the members of the respective parish. This includes u. a. the administration of ecclesiastical registers for the granting of Catholic sacraments , such as B. baptism , communion or church wedding .
Likewise, the parish office prepares a church membership document on request (so-called parish certificate). B. is always required for job applications in the Catholic Church sector.
Finance
In the area of finance , the parish office is authorized to give gifts in money, e.g. B. for the personal dedication of masses (so-called mass grants) or to receive donations for the parish. For this purpose, u. a. In the parish office, a smaller barge was run from a commercial point of view.
Furthermore, the local finances of the church are administered in close cooperation with the central local financial office of the church (so-called rendantur ). B. settle outstanding bills of the parish.
An important part of the financial management in the parish is also the issue of donation receipts regarding the amounts of money or donations in kind donated to the local parish.
human Resource
The parish office administers the personal affairs of the cooperation of the respective parish, such as B. sextons , organists , parish secretaries, caretakers and cleaning staff. In addition, the parish office is also responsible for all employees of Catholic kindergartens that are located in the parish area. However, the parish office is not responsible for the personal matters of the clergy or so-called pastors such as B. priests , deacons and parish officers , as these are administered nationwide by the respective diocese (or diocese).
The task of the parish office in the personnel area is also the personnel management , such as B. the recruitment and dismissal of staff, the creation of personnel deployment plans and duty rosters, the approval of vacation, the receipt of sick leave and the coordination of training measures. The preparation of pay slips and the payment of wages and salaries is usually the responsibility of the central payroll office of the respective diocese .
public relation
In addition to the administration and creation of notices, print product displays and posters, e.g. B. also the creation of regular so-called parish news, which usually in the form of a small brochure or even just a leaflet provides church members with current news from the parish and the current measurement times as well as other church appointments of the community.
Support of local church bodies and volunteers
The parish office works closely with all local church bodies. In particular, the parish council and the church council are supported by comprehensive parish office services. For example, participation in and preparation of committee meetings in the form of invitations as well as the creation of written minutes of the content of the respective meetings should be mentioned.
In addition, the employees of the parish office are also the central point of contact for all volunteer employees of the parish in matters of their respective tasks within the parish.
Other tasks
In addition to general secretarial work, such as B. the making of oral or written correspondence also the provision of general information about the parish and the community life. The parish office is also responsible for updating the church chronicle. This will u. a. important historical events from the parish preserved in word and writing for the future, such as B. a change of the leading pastor, the construction and major renovation of buildings or certain institutional changes of greater importance.
organization structure
As a rule, the leadership of the parish office is the responsibility of the respective lead pastor , who is also the head of the parish as a whole.
Due to the constantly increasing shortage of priests and the often associated overload of the pastors, a so-called administrative management has recently been appointed as the head of the pastor's office. The administrative management takes over the majority of the administrative tasks of the leading pastor, to whom it is in turn directly subordinate and therefore bound by instructions. The leading pastor therefore still has the highest overall authority for the entire parish.
The non-executive employees of the parish office are usually referred to as the parish secretary. They are subordinate to the respective pastor or - if available - to the administration.
The administrative management - or, if not available, the leading pastor - are also subordinate to all other non-spiritual employees of the parish, such as B. sextons, organists, caretakers and cleaning staff. In addition, the head of administration or the respective senior pastor is also responsible for all employees of Catholic kindergartens and their direct superior.