Nativity of Our Lady Catholic Church
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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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Announcements for November 23-24, 2013

11/23/2013

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Thanksgiving is this Thursday. Blessed Thanksgiving!
  • Mass for Thanksgiving will be on Wednesday evening, November 27, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. Please note the time.
  • The parish office will be closed for Thanksgiving November 27-29. The office will open again as usual on Monday, Dec. 2 at 9:00 a.m.
  • There will be no Adult Faith Formation class on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, December 4th at 7:00 p.m.

Advent begins on Saturday evening, November 30th with the 5:00 p.m. Mass.
  • Everyone is invited to an Advent Pot Luck on Saturday, Nov. 30 after the 5:00 Mass. Bring those Thanksgiving leftovers or some other dish to pass! Guests are welcome.
  • The Liturgy Commission invites everyone to Advent Cider & Coffee after every Mass - both Sunday AND Saturday - in Advent.
  • On that first Sunday of Advent - December 1, 2013 - our choir and our youth group will be leading Carol Singing and Christmas Decorating at the Hospice of the Golden Isles starting at 6:00 p.m. Please consider giving an hour or two if your time to bring joy to the patients and staff of hospice.

Other announcements:
  • The next Red Door Yard Sale is on Saturday, December 7th. Please see the sign up sheet in the back of the church.
  • St. William's Catholic Church invites everyone to a fund raiser for St. Francis Xavier Catholic School: Wines of the World and Coastal Cuisine. Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013 starting at 6:30 p.m. Please see the bulletin for details.
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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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Announcements for August 18, 2013

8/17/2013

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·         A Thank You from Dr. Mermann - Your response to the Apple Tree was overwhelming! On Behalf of the SFX School community, I wish to extend my sincere thanks for the support we received with this year's Apple Tree from Nativity parish. Our children and teachers are blessed in many ways through your generosity and caring. May God bless you always. - Dr. Terry Mermann, Principal

·         We are now getting ready for this year's religion classes. Please see the bulletin for important information about First Communion, Nativity Tweens and Confirmation Preparation.

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Red Door Yard and Bake Sale

6/1/2013

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Wonderful weather, wonderful workers, wonderful customers - Nativity's Red Door Yard and Bake Sale went off without a hitch on Saturday, June 1, 2013. A new addition this time round was "Manicures & Pedicures by Ruby". The total intake was something more than $1000, which will be used to support St. Francis Xavier Catholic School.

Red Door Committee

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Kindergarten Graduation

5/31/2013

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PictureSt. Francis Xavier SJ, school's patron
Congratulations to the 21 new 1st graders at our Catholic School, St. Francis Xavier in Brunswick.
  • Bella Babbin
  • Ansley Beck
  • Hartley Brannon
  • Lila Chambers
  • Ella Cheeks
  • Landon Jackson
  • Arianna Lewis
  • Ridge Meredith
  • Mackay Minter
  • Durva Patel
  • Niyati Patel
  • Madison Phillips
  • Abi Plamondon
  • Cadence Quesada
  • Michael Rutledge
  • Priya Shah
  • Kevin Smith
  • Wesley Stanfield
  • Olivia Willett
  • Vince Wommack
  • Kip Agnew

They were graduated from kindergarten today at 10:00 with a fine ceremony in Francis Xavier Hall in Brunswick. Thank you to Mrs. Pepie Boyd & Mrs. Barbara Walters, their excellent teachers.

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Congratulations to all our graduates!

5/23/2013

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You did it!

And now: Set the world on fire!


Here's a video called "And now what?"

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