The Search Committee met on February 22, 2024 to continue their work on the Parish Portfolio. We are making great progress and are close to completion. Our next step will be to present it to the Vestry. Once we receive the Vestry’s comments, we will finalize the Parish Portfolio for their final approval.
The committee wanted to share the word cloud below which represents words parishioners used to respond to the following: Look back over your entire life . . . recall a time when you most appreciated the ministry of a priest. What was happening? What did you appreciate?
Next Steps:
The Search Committee will complete the Parish Portfolio.
The Search Committee will present the Parish Portfolio to the Vestry for review and approval. The goal date for completion and approval is mid-March 2024.
The Parish Portfolio will be posted to the Diocese’s website and Nativity’s website. The goal is to have the portfolio posted in April 2024.
Communication
Need more details about the search process? More information can be found on Nativity’s Clergy Transition Page. Have a question for the Search Committee? Please ask it here.
The Search Committee met on February 15, 2024 to continue their work on the Parish Portfolio. The committee will continue to meet weekly until its completion. The committee also updated the Vestry on its work during the Vestry’s meeting on February 20.
The committee wanted to share the word cloud below which represents the most popular words parishioners used to respond to the following statement: Name the three things you value most about Nativity’s congregation.
Next Steps:
The Search Committee will complete the Parish Portfolio.
The Search Committee will present the Parish Portfolio to the Vestry for review and approval. The goal date for completion and approval is mid-March 2024.
The Parish Portfolio will be posted to the Diocese’s website and Nativity’s website. The goal is to have the portfolio posted in April 2024.
Communication
Need more details about the search process? More information can be found on Nativity’s Clergy Transition Page. Have a question for the Search Committee? Please ask it here.
The Search Committee met on February 7, 2024 to begin their work on the Parish Portfolio. During the preparation process, the committee thought it would be fun to share word clouds generated from the questions posed to the congregation during the February 4 congregational meeting. The word cloud below represents the most popular words Nativity used to answer the question: Remember a moment that was a high point, when you felt Nativity was doing God’s work and fulfilling its mission… What was happening?
Next Steps:
The Search Committee will complete the Parish Portfolio.
The Search Committee will present the Parish Portfolio to the Vestry for review and approval. The goal date for completion and approval is mid-March 2024.
The Parish Portfolio will be posted to the Diocese’s website and Nativity’s website. The goal is to have the portfolio posted in April 2024.
Communication
Need more details about the search process? More information can be found on Nativity’s Clergy Transition Page. Have a question for the Search Committee? Please ask it here.
On Sunday, February 4, Nativity had a productive and well-attended congregational meeting to collect important and needed information for the preparation of our Parish Portfolio. We also heard from many who were unable to attend via a questionnaire that was sent out after the meeting concluded. The Search Committee is so grateful to all who participated in this process. We very much value your input!
The Search Committee collected and compiled all the responses generated from the meeting and the questionnaire. We then met on Wednesday, February 7, to review the data received and begin preparing the Parish Portfolio.
Next Steps:
The Search Committee will complete the Parish Portfolio.
The Search Committee will present the Parish Portfolio to the Vestry for review and approval. The goal date for completion and approval is mid-March 2024.
The Parish Portfolio will be posted to the Diocese’s website and Nativity’s website. The goal is to have the portfolio posted in April 2024.
If you have any questions, please feel free to fill out this form.
The Search Committee met with Canon Catherine Massey of the Diocese on January 18 to discuss the next steps in the transition process. The immediate next step — and perhaps the most important — is determining what qualities our parishioners would like to see in our new Rector. We would like to ask for your help by attending a special congregational meeting at Nativity at 10:30 am on February 4. Please note we will have only one service that day at 9 am with the congregational meeting being held directly after the service in Corlett Hall.
The meeting will be facilitated by Canon Massey who is walking alongside Nativity in our search process. We will use the information from our meeting to complete a Parish Portfolio which is a picture of ourselves, what we hope to become, and most importantly the kind of rector we will call. Once completed, the Parish Portfolio will be made available to interested rectors on the Diocese’s website and also will be posted on Nativity’s website.
We encourage everyone to attend this meeting if they are able. However, if you are unable to attend, we will send out a survey immediately following with the same questions to ensure everyone has an opportunity to have their voices heard. This survey can also be used by attending parishioners who may have additional thoughts they wish to share after the meeting concludes.
Please RSVP using this Google Form to let us know if you will be coming to the congregational meeting. Bagels and drinks will be provided.
Please know that the Search Committee very much values and needs your input to successfully complete the search. Please help us by attending this important meeting and/or by completing the online survey that will be sent immediately following. Thank you in advance for being part of this exciting time at Nativity!
Next Steps:
The Search Committee will write and complete the Parish Portfolio. Our goal date for completion is mid-March, 2024.
The Parish Portfolio will be posted to the Diocese’s website and Nativity’s website. Our goal is to have the portfolio posted in April, 2024.
This is your Vestry’s final update for 2023 and my last as your Senior Warden. Beginning January 1, George Douglas will be Nativity’s Senior Warden, and Dave McKinnon the Junior Warden. I know I speak for Bill Sena, the 2022–23 Junior Warden, and Anne Krouse, the other Vestry member rotating off the end of this year, when I say what a privilege it has been to serve you and the Nativity community as wardens and vestry members. Thank you for your support and trust in us.
The Vestry would also like to extend a huge thank you to our wonderful staff who have worked extraordinarily hard since October 29. We are especially grateful for their providing the beautiful services throughout the week leading up to Christmas — starting with the Service of Lament and ending with the Advent IV Service and three Christmas Eve services on December 24. The choir as usually, set the atmosphere for Christmas Eve, and the amazing duet by Helen Moses and Jo-Mari Burgess was breath-taking.
January 1 also marks the beginning of The Rev. Stephanie Yancy and The Rev. Dr. Cathy Deats’ service as Co-interim Rectors. We are in good hands with the leadership of the Vestry and of these two wonderful and dedicated priests. In their letter to the Vestry, they stated that Rev. Stephanie will work 3/4 time and Rev. Cathy 1/4 time. Stephanie will be in the office at least two days during the week and most Sundays; Cathy will be in the office one day per week and preach one Sunday a month. Rev. Stephanie will cover the other Sundays, along with Rev. Phillip. Others within the congregation will still have opportunities to preach, as has been our practice. Rev. Stephanie plans to attend all vestry meetings, pastoral support meetings, and staff meetings, while Rev. Cathy plans to attend all staff meetings and pastoral support meetings. Both will make themselves available for other meetings and any pastoral needs of the congregation.
A very important part of their ministry is to lead us through the tasks recommended for congregations experiencing a change in leadership. Those tasks include exploring our history and its effect on who we are today, creating opportunities for new leadership within the congregation, and exploring possible new directions in ministry. The goal is to prepare the Nativity congregation to welcome a new Rector and to thrive as we work alongside the person God is preparing to lead us.
Our message this week comes from our Co-Interim Rectors, The Rev. Stephanie Yancy and Dr. Rev. Cathy Deats. The Vestry would like to wish each and everyone of you and your families a very Merry Christmas!
Dear Friends at Nativity,
I am so pleased that your vestry has called The Rev. Dr. Cathy Deats and me to be your co-interim rectors! I loved my time with you a year ago when Stephanie Allen was on sabbatical. I am looking forward to being with you again. As I told the vestry, as an interim rector my responsibilities will be somewhat expanded from my responsibilities as your supply priest. In addition to leading you spiritually and providing pastoral care, as interim rectors it will be Cathy’s responsibility and mine to work alongside you as together we prepare the way for your next rector to be successful. (Shades of John the Baptist!) I don’t know exactly what preparing the way will look like for you. I do know that it will start with a lot of just listening to each other. Cathy and I will be listening for your hopes, your dreams, your fears, and anything else you want to share. I trust the Holy Spirit to be with us in those conversations, and to lead us in the right way.
Cathy will say more about some specific tasks of interim rectors. The last thing that I want to say is that we will not be a part of the search committee or involved in any way in the search for your next rector. The vestry and the search committee will be the ones to keep you updated on the search as we go forward. Our official start date is January 1, however before she left Stephanie Allen had asked me to be your supply priest for the morning of Advent 4, this coming Sunday. So I’ll see you then!
Blessings always, Stephanie
Dear saints of Nativity,
I am very excited to be joining you on your next journey, called “interim” to remind us that we are in an in-between time. As The Rev. Stephanie Yancy pointed out, the main goal of the interim period is to prepare you for your future and enable you to discern the best match for you and your future Rector.
The Alban Institute identified five “developmental tasks” that can enable a parish to be ready to accept a new rector and move forward constructively. These are: 1. Coming to terms with [the parish’s] history. 2. Discovering a new identity. 3. Shifts of power [in parish leadership]. 4. Re-thinking denominational linkage. 5. Commitments to new leadership and a new future. As with any model of process, these steps are not linear and often overlap or recycle. The bottom line is that we are entering a time of remembering, visioning, exploring, and re-thinking ministry for the body of Christ in Raleigh known as Church of the Nativity.
Stephanie and I are here to support you, to comfort you, and to challenge you. We are prepared to lead, and you will find us to be both gentle and direct leaders. You can count on our honesty, our skill, and most of all, our care.
O Spirit of G-d, be present in our journeys. Be present in our days to come. Be present in our works and in our words and in our hearts. Be present in the bonds of our community, Lord Christ. Be ever at work among us and through us. Amen.
It is with great joy that we, the Vestry of Church of the Nativity, announce that we have called our Interim Priests. Yes, you read that correctly: priests.
The Rev. Stephanie Yancy and The Rev. Dr. Cathy Deats will share the Interim position, with Stephanie serving ¾ time and Cathy ¼ time. They will begin the first of the new year. More details about their shared position will come next week.
In addition to this great news, the Vestry has selected the members for our Search Committee. We had a large number of very qualified individuals put their names forward for this role, and we are deeply thankful for each and every one of them for their service to Nativity. The Search Committee members are:
Morghan Bosch
Beth Crow (Chairperson)
Matt Dutton
Susan Edwards
Robert Joines
Anne Krouse
Allison Martin
Sarah O’Connor
Emily Phillips.
This group will be meeting with Catherine Massey, Canon to the Bishop, in the first part of January to begin their work. All information about this transitional period will continue to come from the Vestry.
I was born and raised in Uganda, Africa as the only child of an Anglican Priest who later became Bishop. I attended Indiana University, Bloomington for my undergraduate degree and medical school in Indianapolis. I completed my residence in Family Medicine in Kalamazoo, MI. That is where I met my wife Tracey.
We have been married for 34 years and have 2 wonderful children. Erika who lives in Baltimore, and Jeremy.
I started a private practice in Baltimore, Maryland and we later moved to Rocky Mount, NC where, I practiced for 20 years. We moved to Wake Forest almost ten years ago. I currently practice with WakeMed at the Brier Creek location.
Prior to joining Church of the Nativity, we attended St. Andrew’s Episcopal in Rocky Mount. We have enjoyed our time here at the Nativity and have thrived spiritually.
I have served as an usher here at the Nativity and have participated in the ground works activities. I have also been part of the church Discernment committee for those seeking priesthood. I look forward to serving more.
The Vestry is in the final stage of selecting our Interim Rector and will make an announcement as soon as all legal procedures are completed. As stated last week, the Vestry will meet on December 12 to approve the selection of Search Committee members; that list will be shared once all parties have accepted their nominations.
