As we wrap up our annual summer clean-out of the parish, please enjoy a classic post: Often, parish leaders have a major weakness when it comes to keeping their church campus and space attractive for guests. It’s the same problem you have with your house: when you spend so much time in a place, you […]
When it comes to staffing at the parish (and probably everywhere else) it is hopefully a work in progress but always a work in transition. Here at Nativity, this summer has brought a few transitions and more than a few additions to our staff. Most of it comes as a blessing to our parish and […]
I am a big believer in summer projects around the parish. With the schedule a little lighter and a little less going on it’s the perfect opportunity to clean things up and clean things out. If we’re going to do any repairs, replacements, or construction, summertime is definitely the time to do it. I also […]
This time last year, I was reporting on this blog that our attendance was hovering somewhere around one-third of our pre-Covid congregation. We had anticipated that the post-lockdown attendance would be sluggish. But even so, we were surprised by all the empty seats each week. At that time, there were still so many unanswered questions, […]
The following is my homily for May 29, 2022, Ascension Sunday. This Sunday was to be the second Sunday of our message series all about “celebration.” Clearly, given the events of the past week, the topic of celebration is no longer appropriate. Instead, it falls to me as pastor, to bring words to our gathering, […]
Here at Nativity, Easter was very encouraging in terms of attendance and engagement. The next two weeks were decidedly not. Nor, for that matter, has 2022 as a whole provided much confidence in terms of any semblance of a return to pre-COVID normal. This is true for churches everywhere: the current attendance figures suggest most […]
Easter Sunday, and the whole of the Easter season, is always an opportunity for the parish, but never more so than this year, given the past two years of our COVID experience. Whatever size or style of your parish you will be welcoming visitors and first-timers, not to mention parishioners returning to church for the […]
The past two years have brought us all historic and largely unfortunate events and new realities: COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, escalating urban violence, a contentious and contested presidential election, deepening partisan divisions, economic instability, weather-related calamities, and now the tragedy in Ukraine. And, given cable news and social media, we are more aware of these […]
Our hearts break for the Ukrainian people, especially the overwhelmingly sad suffering of children, painfully on display with the evening news. All of us in the Nativity community are praying for an end to the conflict and the restoration of national boundaries that reflect the autonomy of the Ukrainian people. But no matter what the […]
A “spiritual campaign” is about getting people moving in the same direction for a greater purpose. It’s about accomplishing something that we could not do on our own, or without intentional direction. A spiritual campaign is marked by focused attention that leads to growth and momentum. By the end of a spiritual campaign, members of […]
