Nativity of Our Lady Catholic Church
912-437-4750
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Diocese has audited Nativity

1/16/2014

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The Diocese of Savannah is trying to improve its stewardship of resources. As part of this, several parishes and Catholic schools will be audited each year. Nativity of Our Lady was one of the first to be looked at by the new diocesan team, together with St. Francis Xavier Parish and St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in Brunswick.

The auditing team spent three days in August in Darien, looking over everything. They spent several weeks in Brunswick, where most of Nativity's records are stored.  This was a "structural and procedural audit", looking at how we do things. The Draft Report was sent to the Finance Council on December 18. The Council held an initial meeting on December 19 with Mr. Jon Bokina, Diocesan Audit Manager. We have held several meetings since.

Here are some highlights from the report.
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Among our strengths:

  • Nativity has a dedicated staff and many dedicated volunteers.
  • The parishioners of Nativity support their church in an exemplary fashion. There is great participation in fund raisers, etc. The parish bested its BAA goal.
  • Nativity actively supports St. Francis Xavier Catholic School.
  • Nativity Mission has a functioning Finance Council, Pastoral Council, Liturgy Commission and Building & Maintenance Committee. Minutes are kept and summaries are published online and in the bulletin.
  • Financial information is made available to the parishioners.
  • All accounts are balanced every month.
  • There were found no "hidden" or "off the record" accounts.
  • All disbursements are carefully recorded by the parish secretary Gloria Whatley, approved by the pastoral administrator Fr. Bob, and made in a timely fashion by the SFX Finance Office Maggie Shafer.
  • The offertory counting team meets every Monday and counts each Mass seperately.

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Among our weaknesses:

  • There is inadequate physical security: some doors have no locks, some locks are too simple, some windows are too easy to break into, the safe too exposed. etc.
  • There have been many ups and downs these last several years, making it hard to have a clear picture of Nativity's real situation over a 5-year period.
  • Communication between Nativity Mission and St. Francis Xavier Church is bad.
  • There is unacceptable uncertainty about how Fr. Bob is expected to divide his time between the two parishes or how his salary is to be paid.
  • There is a great discrepancy between how many members the diocesan office thinks Nativity has, how many members the St. Francis Xavier parish office thinks Nativity has, and how many members Nativity's own staff thinks we have.
  • The Nativity Finance Council has not been granted adequate oversight over Nativity's investments.

The audit made many concrete suggestions. The diocese suggests, among other things, that:

  • We look at using an envelope system for the collection
  • We improve the security of how we handle the collection after Mass
  • We streamline the way we do the counting on Monday
  • We make a three year plan (extended budget)
  • The Finance Council look at all Letters of Employment and ensure compliance with all laws and policies
  • Written policies be developed and published

In the coming weeks, the Finance Council volunteers will be working extra hard to digest the audit report, write our response and implement any improvements. We will present a much better picture of things at the Nativity Town Hall Meeting on February 15.

The Finance Council
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Schedule for December 8-15, 2013

12/6/2013

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Dear parishioners,

There's lots of things going on! Here is an overview of this week's events at Nativity of Our Lady Catholic Church:

Saturday, December 7, 2013 -
  • Feast of St. Ambrose, Doctor of the Church
  • Pearl Harbor Day
  • Red Door Yard Sale, 9:00 - 2:00
  • Confessions at 4:00 p.m.
  • MASS at 5:00 p.m.
  • Coastal Cuisine & Wines of the World Fundraiser for SFX School - St. William's on SSI - 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, December 8, 2013 -
  • Second Sunday of Advent
  • Liturgical Theme: HOPE
  • MASS at 10:00 a.m.
  • FLETC Mass at 4:00 p.m.

Monday, December 9, 2013 -
  • Solemnity of Mary's Immaculate Conception, Patronal Feast of the USA
  • Office Hours 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  • MASS at 7:00 p.m.
  • Note: the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is transferred to Dec. 9th this year; for Catholics it is the patronal feast of the United States of America; it is not a holy day of obligation this year.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013 -
  • Confirmation Preparation at 5:00 (please note new time!)
  • Pastoral Council meeting? Or will this meeting be moved to Dec. 17?

Wednesday, December 11, 2013 -
  • Memorial of St. Damasus
  • Open Church 9:00 to 3:00
  • Finance Council meeting at 9:30 a.m.
  • Office Hours 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  • Fr. Bob's office hours, 11:00 to 2:00

Thursday, December 12, 2013 -
  • Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of All the Americas
  • Spanish Mass for OL Guadalupe at SFX Church, 7:00 p.m.

Friday, December 13, 2013 -
  • Feast of St. Lucy
  • Office Hours 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
  • Theology for Young Catholics, 6:00-7:30 p.m. Topic: the Occult

Saturday, December 14, 2013 -
  • Memorial of St. John of the Cross
  • Confessions at 4:00 p.m.
  • MASS at 5:00 p.m.

Sunday, December 15, 2013 -
  • Third Sunday of Advent
  • Liturgical Theme: JOY
  • MASS at 10:00 a.m.
  • FLETC Mass at 4:00 p.m.



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Concerning Second Collections

12/3/2013

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The Finance Council discussed the number of second collections at Nativity. The diocese has increased the number of mandated special collections to 17 plus the Bishop's Annual Appeal. Besides these, here at Nativity we support the Five Loaves and Two Fishes Food Pantry with a food and funds drive every month. This means 30 special collections a year, which is most Sundays of the year. We believe that this is too many.

The Finance Council wishes to implement the following policy: As a general rule, only one special collection will be highlighted each month (not including the BAA). In those months where there are multiple special collections scheduled, we will choose one of them to highlight. The other special collection will receive 5% of the general collection without further ado. This rule does NOT apply to the Holy Land Collection on Good Friday, the Priests' Retirement Collection of Easter Sunday or the Catholic Schools Collection of Christmas Day. This new policy will affect between 2 and 4 collections each year.

Otherwise our policy remains the same: Nativity of Our Lady parish joyfully supports all special collections mandated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Diocese of Savannah, as well as our local decision to support the McIntosh County Food Pantry (which is not a collection, rather a box by the door). All special collections will be announced (at least) one week in advance in the bulletin and in the announcements at Mass. There will be only one pass of the collection plate - both the regular Sunday offering and the special collection envelopes will be collected in the same pass. The Food Pantry collection is "silent" - although announced, there will be no passing of the plate, rather people are encouraged to put their offering directly in the appropriate collection box in the vestibule. The results of all collections (including those receiving 5% without fanfare) will be announced each week in the bulletin. Donations to Fives Loaves & Two Fishes will be gathered and announced about once a month.

The Pastoral Council also approved this policy suggestion at its meeting of October 22.

Finance Council, November 13, 2013

List of special collections

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New cellar door

11/6/2013

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On Tuesday, the building committee replaced the wooden door covering the church's outdoor cellar entrance. The old door was rotting, and when the young people removed it to reveal the "dungeon grating" for the Haunted Sanctuary, the old door fell apart.

Thank you to Kieran McMullen and the building committee for a job well done!

At left:
Kieran McMullen builds a new cellar door. Nativity of Our Lady, Darien, GA.
November 5, 2013.

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Building Committee Meeting of October 16, 2013

10/23/2013

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The Building Committee approved its bylaws for submission to the Pastoral Council. It will be published here once officially approved.

We propose the following guidelines:
  • Except in an emergency, any repair or maintenance expense greater than $100 needs the approval of the building committee.
  • Any expense above $500 needs the approval of the Finance Council.  [Editor's note: the Finance Council amended this to $1000.]

Future of the Parish Hall and Church Building

There has been some talk about expanding the parish hall, or even of making the church bigger. The building committee has been given the task of looking into this. Recognizing that increasing capacity has both a significant cost implication and a significant lead time, before proceeding any further the Committee wants to consider:
  • What capacity social hall do we envision needing 2 years from now.
  • What capacity social hall do we envision needing 5 years from now?
  • Are there any other uses that need to be considered for this space (e.g. classroom, office, kitchen, storage)?

The building committee will have much more to say about this in the coming months.

Respectfully submitted,
Carlos Inacio
Edited by Fr. Bob Showers



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Protection of Children, Youth and Vulnerable Adults

10/17/2013

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2012-2013 Charter Audit Results - Bishop Hartmayer has been notified by StoneBridge Business Partners, the accounting firm contracted by the USCCB to conduct annual audits of all dioceses, that the Diocese of Savannah has been found compliant with provisions of the Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children for the July 2012 – June 2013 audit period. This an accomplishment that can only be achieved through the dedicated efforts of numerous employees and volunteers at the parishes, schools and outreach centers across the diocese. Of special significance is the fact that nearly 2,000 additional volunteers became certified to minister to minors in our diocese during this audit period. Thank you for actively participating in the diocesan safe environment program.

- Diocesan Office for the Protection of Children and Young People
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We need more readers!

6/14/2013

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Dear parishioners,

As I prepare for our liturgical workshops, and as Lisa and Gloria prepare the ministry schedules, I can see that the place where we have fewest people is ON THE LIST OF LECTORS. We have fewer than 10.

WE NEED MORE LECTORS!


I know that reading in front of a congregation can be scary, and that not everyone has the gift to read well in public. But please consider serving the People of God as a lector (that is, reader) at Mass. Call (912) 437-4750 or click the button to sign up for the Lector Workshop on June 16.

Thank you,
Fr. Bob
Sign Up for Workshop
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Pastoral Council Notes

5/17/2013

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The Pastoral Council met Thursday, May 9th at 7:00 p.m. in Nativity Hall.
  • Membership lists - A small committee is working together with a parallel committee from St. Francis Xavier church in Brunswick to help coordinate the official parish membership list, the Southern Cross mailing list, the diocesan BAA list and the diocesan chancery office's mailing list. All these lists should agree. There is also some confusion about who is a member of what parish, and some people are listed as registered members of several parishes. Letters will be sent out in the near future to all members to verify our records.
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  • Bishop's Annual Appeal - We are working very hard to get 100% participation for the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. Currently we are at 81.58% participation, by far the highest in the diocese. As of May 9, members have pledged $12,090, which exceeds our goal by $3,749. These funds will be returned to the general parish operating fund. Only 14 families from our parish have not responded at all.
  • It was decided to continue to sell the Egg Rolls & BBQ Sticks from the Blessing of the Fleet. Please see Gloria if you are interested.
  • We appointed an Ad Hoc Committee working together to update the Nativity Pastoral Council constitutions and bylaws. (Committee members: George Trexler, Jan Seavey, Fr. Bob Showers, Gloria Whatley). We will delay new council elections until they have completed this task.
  • The Finance Committee (rep.: Jane Heying) is working on next year’s budget and will meet again on May 22 at 9:00 a.m.
  • Both the Pastoral Council and the Finance Council have proposed a Long Term Resource Planning Committee, to consist of one or two members of both councils plus other parish members. The LTRPC will look at our buildings and other real assets to better plan long term expnditures, taking into accouont the growth of the parish.
  • The Five Loaves & Two Fishes Food Pantry continues to take food and monetary donations to St. Andrews every month. (Nativity's rep.: Oscar Brinckmann)

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  • Protection of children, youth and vulnerable adults - raising awareness: The Pastoral Council will arrange for a VIRTUS training session at Nativity in the future. Anyone involved in church activities with minors in any way MUST be VIRTUS certified. Beyond this, however, the Pastoral Council and Fr. Bob encourage all parishioners involved to attend a session. You will learn some important things.
  • It was decided to hold a yard sale on Saturday, June 1 st . We did not want to do this in July or August because of the hot weather. There is not much time so please bring your donations to the church hall and we will sort and price in the next couple of weeks. We will need volunteers. Please sign up.
  • The "Filipino Ministry" will start planning for the St. Lorenzo Festival (held in September) in the near future.
  • Fr. Bob and the Pastoral Council will invite the bishop to come to Nativity and hold confirmation here in 2014.
  • Theology for Young Catholics will meet in May, either on May 17 or on May 31. (Fr. Bob queried the youth to determine the best date.) The topic will be: Should the Catholic Church ordain women to the priesthood and/or the diaconate?
  • The council approved the purchase of a commercial vacuum cleaner, a laser printer, and new chairs for the hall.
  • Cleaning - The Nativity church hall is in need of weekly cleaning. It has been very hard to get enough volunteers, since it is a big job. Perhaps it would be better to hire someone. It was decided to collect bids to see if this is a feasible solution.

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Announcements for May 12, 2013

5/14/2013

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  1. Happy Mothers' Day to all mothers! Congratulations to all who were born of a mother.
  2. Sale of leftovers after the Blessing of the Fleet - There are both spring rolls (lumpia) and barbecue sticks (shish) for sale. Spring rolls can be bought in any quantity for $1/roll. The BBQ sticks are frozen in groups of 50 or 75; unfortunately, we cannot thaw them out to break them into smaller quantities without ruining them. However, if you are planing a party or other big event and can use some really good shish kebabs, we can arrange a good price. You can buy these items after any Mass or from the office during regular office hours.
  3. Red Door Yard Sale - back by popular demand! We will hold a yard sale on June 1st, the first Saturday of the month. If you have any items to donate, please bring them to the church hall after a Mass or during office hours. More info soon.
  4. The next meeting of Theology for Young Catholics (more info) will be either May 17 or May 31. Please vote for a date by responding to the e-mail Fr. Bob sent (a "Nativity Doodle Poll"). If you did not get an invitation, it means that the Office does not have your e-mail address! Please send it to fr.bob.nativity@gmail.com
  5. Be sure to sign up for the appropriate liturgy workshops on June 2, 9 16 & 23. This workshop is OBLIGATORY for all new liturgical ministers; it is an open invitation to all others. We have some important things to discuss (including some small changes to how we do the Mass), so all are urged to attend.
  6. The Pastoral Council met on Thursday, May 9. The minutes are published in this weeks bulletin (link) and will be repeated in the blog.
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Announcements for May 5, 2013

5/7/2013

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  • Congratulations to David Garcia, Luis Luccioni & Raymond Mills, who received their First Holy Communion at the 10:00 Mass. May you and your families be blessed!
  • We collect gifts for the Five Loaves and Two Fishes Food Pantry each first weekend of the month. Thank you for your generosity.
  • The next regular meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council is this Thursday, May 9 at 7:00 pm.
  • Next Sunday, May 12, 2013 is celebrated as the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord. It is also Mother's Day.
  • Sunday, May 19 is the Feast of Pentecost.
  • Corpus Christi is on Thursday, May 30, 2013.
  • The commissioning of Liturgical Ministers will be celebrated on Sunday, June 30 during the 10:00 Mass.
  • The Nativity Parish Community wishes a bon voyage to all those who are leaving us for the summer or are going on vacation. Safe trip especially to John & Sandy, who will spend the summer in Pennsylvania. See you all in the autumn!
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