A recent study out of the UK found that the average adult will say the phrase “I’m fine” 14 times a week. Despite this, only 19% said that they actually meant it. The words are so built into our daily conversation that they can feel scripted. “I’m fine” is a comfort zone, security blanket, go-to […]
Category: What’s new at Nativity
A church here in our community (not pictured above) advertises “Ashes To-Go,” a drive-thru exercise in minimalism when it comes to approaching Lent. I am not criticizing our neighbors in the least, they are observing the season according to their own custom. I just won’t be emulating them. Lent is an ancient tradition observed throughout […]
Our current message series is looking at families…specifically our families and their relationship to our faith. God created the family and wants our families to be places where we come to know him and learn to love and serve him. When we refer to “family,” of course, we recognize they come in every flavor. Perhaps […]
This week brings the decade to a close, and that brings reflection on what has passed. Such reflection is especially worthwhile for us at Nativity because this has been such a consequential period. While I could easily fill many lists with the important reasons for such unprecedented health and growth at our parish, here are […]
This year marks our 15th celebration of Christmas Eve at the Maryland State Fairgrounds. Each year has looked a little different but, over time, a true tradition has emerged from what was once an audacious experiment. A tradition that many of our parishioners have grown to cherish. There are many dedicated devotees out there who […]
This week we begin one of my very favorite seasons of the year. To mark the season we are launching a new message series called “Light,” all about … light, which will also be the theme of our Christmas Eve celebration this year. As an Advent gift to our parishioners, we are distributing a little […]
It seems like the fall season is a sprint. It just moves so quickly. And then, of course, the holidays are upon us, ready or not. In fact, we have a saying around here that beginning on the day after Halloween we need to be thinking and acting like Christmas is here. That’s why this […]
This weekend, our parish will celebrate our annual “Kick-Off” weekend. Kick-Off is meant to be just that: a celebration of a new year. We’ve found that most families, especially if kids are involved, plan their year from September to June. So, we go out of our way to make this weekend (the weekend after Labor […]
One of the key pillars of our mission at Nativity is to reach the unchurched and influence other churches to do the same. That means we need space to welcome the unchurched as well as visitors from across the country and around the world that come to us each week. Less than two years ago […]
At Nativity we believe every member is called to ministry, both here at home and out in the world. We call ministry to the world Missions. We believe this is a charge to serve in our own community, elsewhere in our region, and even to the ends of the earth (You will be my witnesses […]
