Newly-Elected Parish Council Chairpersons Meeting in Cape Town

by Admin · November 12, 2025

Bishop Sylvester David speaks at a meeting of newly-elected Parish Council Chairpersons in Cape Town

By Alison Dunn – The Archdiocese of Cape Town held a meeting for the newly elected parish pastoral council chairpersons of each parish on Saturday, 8 November at St Joseph’s Home in Montana, Cape Town.

Following on from recent Parish Council elections and the appointment of new chairpersons for the next three-year cycle, this day was planned specifically as a welcome and training session for new PPC Chairpersons. Attended by over 115 delegates, which included a number of Parish Priests and Deans, the day was filled with reflection, positive engagement, a great deal of listening and much social interaction. All of this was enhanced by excellent hospitality from St Joseph’s.

This gathering was held in place of the usual Archdiocesan Pastoral Council meeting and was facilitated by the Parish Alive Leadership Team. All delegates were placed in groups according to deaneries, which was of enormous help to the many new leaders, as they could interact with others within their deanery. Each parish was provided with a printed Training Manual, which guided groups through each session.

The day began with a lively opening prayer session, followed by an inspiring and thought-provoking talk by Bishop Sylvester David OMI, auxiliary bishop of Cape Town, giving encouragement and motivation to new parish leaders. Six sessions then followed, each using different methods of interaction to engage with the following subjects:

The Holy Spirit
Community Needs
Mission
Structure
Governance
Catholic Social Teaching

The theme of Evangelisation was present throughout and enhanced by beautiful, eye-catching posters on the walls of the hall, as a great incentive to all parish leaders.

While many new PPC Chairpersons arrived daunted and apprehensive about the expectations of their new role, it was evident that there was a great feeling of being supported and assisted in that role as the day progressed. This is just the beginning of many such training occasions, for individual parishes and the whole group, in person and via webinars, and delegates (of which as many as 70% are new to the role of Parish Leader), left in the afternoon with an enormous feeling of “help is at hand”.

Our thanks go to the Parish Alive Leadership Team for their proactive assistance on all levels of Parish Leadership: Nick Bickell, Adrian van Stolk, Karen Parkin, Dominique Yon, Brandon Abrahams and Mariana Fortuin.