With Memorial Day fast approaching we face the end of our Spring season here at Nativity. It has been an exceptionally busy one for us. Take a look:
Pastoral Activities
We celebrated 150 First Communions, 85 High School Students receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation, and 25 Adults who were received into the Church at the Easter Vigil. This Spring has also seen dozens of infant baptisms, a number of weddings, and, sadly, more than the usual number of funerals.
This past week we wrapped up a successful school year for our kids and student programs, imparting a farewell blessing to our departing seniors. And, we’ve worked our way through several great message series and their accompanying Small Group curriculum. Our Adult Small Group program has experienced continued growth and the response to our push for more member-ministers was an outstanding success.
Rebuilt Activities
This season my associate Tom and I accepted speaking engagements for “Rebuilt” in Atlanta, Dubuque (Iowa), LA, New York, Ontario, Palm Beach, Rapid City (South Dakota), and Toronto. We enjoyed all these opportunities and the new friends we’ve made. Our Rebuilt Parish Association hosted two well attended webinars as well as many weekend visitors from member parishes. Tom and I continue to work on a new book about parish giving and stewardship.
Media Activities
“The Rebuilt Show” continues to air weekly on Catholic TV and in just a few weeks Salt and Light TV will be picking it up for broadcast in Canada. Most weeks we have been guests on BreadBox Media (Radio), and, earlier this spring, sat down with Cardinal Tim Dolan on The Catholic Channel (Sirius XM Satellite Radio, also broadcast on EWTN).
Staff Activities
Recently, we said a fond farewell to Evan Ponton, who has served as my personal assistant. Evan will be entering the Seminary in the fall, to undertake studies for the priesthood, and we wish him all the best. We are currently undertaking searches for some new staff positions, to replace Evan and identify new leadership for our Student Ministries. Last week our whole staff spent a day off-site, setting goals for 2017-2018. We also had a lot of fun doing it.
Vision Campaign Activities
This Spring we hosted “Vision III” with a goal of $1.5m, in order to reach a campaign wide goal of $15m, ensuring that our new church is built entirely debt-free. While the pledges received are still being tabulated, we have been extremely encouraged by the enthusiastic response to this phase of the campaign. We plan on making an announcement about results in the coming days.
Meanwhile construction continues everyday. The project is on schedule and on budget, for which we are grateful to all the talented and hardworking people on our building team. Behind the scenes our staff is already looking ahead to the weekend of September 9 & 10 when we open our doors for the first time. Hundreds of details need to be worked out between now and then, everything from what we call our new spaces, to how we use them. While a little daunting, these projects are interesting and engaging. And looking forward to the new building is most exciting.
Now, on with summer!
