Making Church Matter

Preview: 2013

Some notes on what’s ahead this year. #1. The Book Probably the most important and consequential event in 2013 for me will be the publication of our book, Rebuilt(Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, Ind., 2013). The release date is in late February and we will be celebrating all weekend, February 23 & 24.  Since the […]

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2012

The year now ending has been a good and a great one for us at Nativity. So many things to remember and celebrate. We have been blessed abundantly by God in the past year as we continue to grow in every measurable way. The spirit of the parish has grown immeasurably. Here are a few […]

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Christmas 2012

Well, while the liturgical calendar tells us we are still celebrating the season of Christmas, and some annoying Christmas music persists in lobbies and restaurants, it kinda feels over. Anyway, our Christmas Eve celebration is over for sure, and I wanted to make a post here to express some gratitude and enthusiasm for what happened […]

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Christmas Countdown: 2 Days

Two more days of preparation for Christmas. This penultimate post is all about the single most important element in our service, when it comes to the experience of the service: music. Music determines how people feel in church.  And expectations are very high when it comes to Christmas Eve because Christmas and music go together. […]

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Christmas Countdown: 3 Days

Shortly I am off to the fairgrounds to survey the work that has been done today. That is my contribution…I comment on other people’s efforts after they’re done. It’s a very important part of the process. However, before I leave I wanted to update my Christmas countdown, with another look into our Christmas Eve Celebration.  […]

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Christmas Countdown: 4 Days

I am falling behind in my countdown… we’ve got 4 days to go, but since Christmas Eve is what we are really anticipating, it’s actually 3 days. Last evening I visited the Fairgrounds to see how things were progressing. What I discovered were dozens and dozens of member-ministers helping to set up….including about 50 high […]

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Christmas Countdown: 5 Days

Well, there was a flurry of activity today in preparation for Christmas and most of it comes in basically two styles: the people who are at the Fairgrounds cleaning up, setting up and decorating and the people back here at the office basically preparing the program. This is a post mostly about the latter. Maria, […]

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Christmas Countdown: 6 Days

Today we began the move to the Fairgrounds. The jumbo-tron on York Road in front of the Fair now announces our presence and our event. Once there we took possession of the Cow Palace and got to work (by “we,” of course, I mean not “me” but a lot of other people under the direction […]

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What's new at Nativity

Christmas Countdown: 7 Days

Despite the sadness of recent days, preparations continue for our Christmas Eve celebration at the Maryland State Fair. Each year Christmas Eve is a joyful celebration, but we always strive to be mindful of those who are not joyful. It can be a very difficult holiday for those who mourn. So we always try to […]

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