One Nativity 2035 Update

Happy and Blessed New Year!

We hope the joy of this Christmas season continues with you throughout the New Year.

We are writing to provide you a brief update on the One Nativity process, which was launched in July 2019 to identify ways to improve how we communicate, bolster, and sustain our parish mission. Our overarching goal is to ensure we remain a vibrant Catholic community well into the future. Fr. Patrick and Fr. Nick, along with parish and school staff leaders, have been very engaged and supportive of the One Nativity process.

With input and ideas from more than 150 parishioners and staff, including those serving on the Pastoral Council, Finance Council and School Advisory Council, the One Nativity team has been working to clarify a practical three- to five-year vision and plan for living out our new Nativity mission statement that was introduced this past fall.

This plan aims to reflect parishioner input, our strengths as a parish, and our opportunities — both within our parish community and beyond. We are reviewing our finances, facilities, program needs, and sacramental life, as well as our parish structure and communications. 

Under the signatures below, you’ll find the themes from our parish discussion events. We encourage you to visit the One Nativity 2035 page for more information. While there, you can also see a photo and list of the One Nativity members to hear more about what the group has been learning, and what they see as the opportunities and vision for our future, based on parishioner and staff input.

We look forward to sharing more information with you in February and March as next steps are identified and the One Nativity planning process continues to involve more parishioners. 

Thank you for your continued and thoughtful support and prayers. Also on the reverse side, you’ll find a discipleship prayer shared by a parishioner during a parish discussion event. We conclude each of our One Nativity meetings with this prayer, and invite you to join us in utilizing it in prayer and reflection in the weeks and months to come.   

May the Holy Spirit continue to guide all of us in living out the beautiful mission of our parish. 

Sincerely,

Jerry Brennan
Co-chair, One Nativity 2035
Nativity Parish Trustee

Erik Thurman
Co-chair, One Nativity 2035
 
Dan Flanagan
One Nativity 2035
Nativity Parish Trustee

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Key themes from the October 2019 parish discussion events and meetings

• Nativity has a rich sacramental life, and parishioners and staff expect this to continue — and grow — as a priority. 
• There is an existing intention to reach all ages within the Nativity community.  And, there is desire for greater faith formation opportunities for the parish as a whole and stronger youth ministry outreach and programs to engage high schoolers and young adults in the parish.
• Continuing to support Nativity school and parish families who need financial support is a priority.  The school is an important ministry of the parish and helps to build Nativity’s strong sense of community.
• Parishioners are engaged in many different ways and some have a desire to engage even more — and they would like to involve more people.  Although there is a strong desire among many to be actively involved in the parish, it can be very challenging to have enough volunteers on a continued basis.
• Parishioners are interested in better understanding and clarifying the roles of parish leadership councils, staff, clergy, and lay leaders for increased awareness, accountability, and collaboration. 
• Parishioners recognize that there are capital needs of Nativity that need to be addressed in a sustainable way.
• Parishioners appreciated the opportunity to discuss ideas and would appreciate additional opportunities for more open and honest communication.

 
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A version of this letter was also inserted into the January 5, 2020 parish bulletin.