OUTREACH AT NATIVITY
Church of the Nativity is known as an outreach-oriented parish. Three areas of outreach have emerged over the years as predominant—food security, earth care, and social justice. We favor support to organizations with whom we can engage personally and multi-generationally, such as the Interfaith Food Shuttle, Episcopal Habitat Build, and Rise Against Hunger. We have a history of supporting non-profit grassroots organizations for which even modest support means a lot, organizations within which Nativity parishioners frequently play leadership roles.
The Outreach Ministry Team meets once a month and welcomes new ideas and new members. Each December the Outreach Team sponsors a Week of Giving, a time when parish members can read descriptions and watch videos about the organizations Nativity supports and consider adding their personal or family support. As a culmination of Week of Giving an in-person Day of Giving is held where representatives of these groups are available to talk with parishioners during a festive gathering in the parish hall.
Below is a list of outreach projects Nativity is involved in. Click on each of the projects for more detail.
Food Security
12% of people living in Wake County are food insecure and about 20% of all school children have been food insecure, with about 25% of all school children on free or reduced price lunch. Surprisingly, these figures are not much better than those of developing countries around the world. Nativity supports organizations in the Capital Food Area Network implementing a plan to eliminate area food insecurity.
- Inter-Faith Food Shuttle
- Leesville Elementary Pride Packs (food pantry)
- Windsor Spring Grocery Bags for Seniors
- MLK Day of Service
- Rise Against Hunger
Earth Care
Care for the environment is central to Nativity’s parish culture. Solar panels supply electricity to two of our buildings, and we are a leader in the Zero Waste Church movement – visit the Zero Waste Church website. Almost all refuse at the church—food, paper products, beverage containers—is composted. The compost either goes into our community garden or is picked up by an industrial composting operation. Use of the resulting compost in planting increases yield and sequesters carbon from the air.
- Environmental Stewardship
- North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light
- Nativity Community Garden
- Audubon NC
Social Justice
Nativity has embraced the drive towards social justice in local and international communities. Our approach focuses on listening, learning, creating safe space, facing difficult truths, reconciling, moving forward in love. This approach suggests that being judgmental or consumed by guilt is not productive. In this regard we follow the lead of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry—“if it’s not about love, it’s not about Jesus.”
Lifelong Development
Nativity supports the local Episcopal campus ministry that helps young people make an often difficult transition to lifelong spiritual development. On the international level, Nativity supports a number of organizations working towards sustained development in economically challenged places. In all these programs, Nativity has at least one member on the board of directors or advisers with close ties to the organization.
- Episcopal Campus Ministry
- Haiti Reforestation Partnership (CODEP)
- US-Uganda Orphans Education Fund
- Abukloi