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Church of the Nativity has a long history of assisting our local, national and international communities.
The following is a list of ministries that the congregation supports with contributions of time, energy, materials, and money.
Our Ministry to the Deaf
From its inception, Nativity has welcomed those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
On request, the 10:30 Sunday service and other church events are signed in
American Sign Language
by a professional interpreter. The Rector is fluent in ASL, and as a result
of classes in ASL at Nativity that began in 1987, some hearing parishioners know ASL as well.
Millenium Development Goals
We subscribe to the ONE Campaign,
through which the Episcopal Church supports the
Millenium Development Goals.
For further information about MDG activities in our diocese, click
here. Also, our Assistant Rector, Jay Lawlor,
and
Jeff Sachs are
co-founders of the
Millenium Villages Faithful Action Initiative.
Principal Programs
Honduras Medical Missions
In 1988 Hurricane Mitch, the fourth-strongest hurricane on record in the Atlantic,
devastated the Choluteca department (province) of southern
Honduras. Our
diocese began a relationship with seven isolated villages in the highlands
of Choluteca, near El Corpus, that organized
as Las Comunidades Unidas (the United Communities).
Our diocesan Chartered Committee for Global Mission
has coordinated 16
medical missions
to these communities. Nativity has participated in all of them.
Most recently, six members of Nativity visited Honduras in January 2008.
- Our health-care professionals provide direct medical and dental diagnosis
and treatment.
- We train health promoters in each village to care for their fellow
residents until we return the following year.
- We distribute over-the-counter medications that are common to us but quite rare in this area.
- To prevent disease and increase health, we distribute vitamins and flip-flop shoes,
and we teach sanitation techniques to adults and children.
Many Nativity parishioners assist with the
complex logistics that these trips require, such as the repackaging of vitamins
and medications that are obtained in bulk in the U.S.
This commitment to sustained ministry in specific communities allows us to develop
lasting relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ, from whom we learn so much.
It also enables us to see the improvements in their health over time.
Farmworkers
Since 1982, the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry has responded to the physical,
emotional and spiritual needs of migrant farmworkers in North Carolina and their families. This
Ministry serves thousands of Hispanic farmworkers each year through spiritual
programming, free immigration services, English classes, a women's
group, food and clothing distribution, extensive migrant camp outreach
and more.
Nativity members are deeply involved with the work of Episcopal
Farmworker Ministry through its Sister Communities Program.
This program creates ties between faith communities and specific migrant
labor camps to foster positive cross-cultural
connections, to combat farmworker isolation, and to give church members the
first-hand experience and information necessary to become committed
farmworker advocates. Nativity works with the McLamb camp, a community
of 35-50 men.
Ongoing Opportunities for Your Participation
Inter-Faith Food Shuttle
The Inter-Faith Food Shuttle collects
surplus food from area groceries and restaurants for preparation and
delivery to agencies that feed the hungry in our community.
Jill Bullard, a member of Nativity, co-founded this organization in 1990 and serves as its
Executive Director. Nativity has provided a core group of volunteers since inception.
Wake Medical Center
Nativity provides blankets for newborn children born to impoverished mothers at
WakeMed.
Women's Center
Nativity provides travelers' amenities such as soap and shampoo to the
Women's Center of Wake County.
Red Cross
Nativity sponsors an annual blood donation.
African Team Ministries
African Team Ministries exports art and craft items
for sale to raise funds for
ministries inside Africa. Nativity sells these items in the spring.
Hope Africa
Nativity is establishing a long-term relationship with
Hope Africa, the outreach arm
of the Anglican Diocese of Cape Town, South Africa.
Stephen Ministry
Stephen Ministers are caring Christians who provide on-to-one
care to those experiencing a crisis or difficult times. Recipients of care from Stephen Ministers are both within
and outside our congregation.
Center for Volunteer Caregiving
Formerly known as the Wake Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, the
Center for Volunteer Caregiving works to enable the elderly
and infirm to maintain independent living for as long as possible. Caregivers make friendly visits, provide
transportation for medical appointments and groceries, and give respite care.
HIV/AIDS Care Team
Nativity volunteers form a Care Team to provide emotional, practical, and
spiritual support to a person in our community who lives with HIV/AIDS.
Team members receive training and support through the
Alliance of AIDS Services - Carolina.
Meals on Wheels
Meals on Wheels serves nutritious meals and provides
social and educational opportunities to the frail, homebound elderly, and handicapped citizens of Wake
County in congregate nutrition sites in order to improve health, reduce isolation, and prevent inappropriate
institutionalization.
Opposition to the Death Penalty
Our Rector has served as Chair of the Board of Directors of
People of Faith Against the
Death Penalty, the focus in North Carolina of opposition to
the death penalty. Members of Nativity often participate in vigils outside
Central Prison in Raleigh on the nights when executions take place. Members of Nativity
have also participated in a pen pal project with inmates on death row.
Support of Diocesan Institutions
Episcopal Housing Ministry
EHM develops neighborhoods
of affordable, service-oriented
housing for low and moderate-income families. Nativity participates in the
St. Nicholas Project to provide Christmas gifts to children residing at EHM.
Episcopal Campus Ministry
ECM is an opportunity for worship, spiritual reflection, Christian education,
fellowship, pastoral and peer
counseling, and service opportunities for the students and faculty of
North Carolina State University,
Meredith College, and
Peace College. Those who become involved in ECM frequently
become clergy and parish leaders. Other than staff salaries, the entire ministry is supported through donations.
Nativity provides funds for this ministry and other assistance such as facilities repair and meals.
The Episcopal Church also supports St. Augustine's College, a historically
African-American institution in Raleigh.
Thompson Child and Family Focus
In 1886 the Episcopal Church founded an orphanage in Charlotte. Formerly known as Thompson Children's Home,
this ministry continues today at several locations in Charlotte and one in Goldsboro.
Thompson provides services for children who have been
abused, neglected, or abandoned. Nativity takes a
special collection for this ministry in November and provides additional funds.
Penick Village
Located in Southern Pines,
Penick Village is a retirement community that
includes outreach as a fundamental part of its mission. Nativity takes a
special collection for this ministry in May, and members of Nativity have served
on its Board of Directors.
Others
Through its voluntary contributions to the mission program of the diocese,
Nativity assists in diverse activities from college chaplaincies to urban
Hispanic congregations. Nativity has provided designated funding for
Episcopal Relief and Development Fund after Hurricanes Fran
and Floyd in 1996 and 1999, which devastated eastern North Carolina,
and again after the tsunami disaster in Asia.
Programs of Prior Years
- Uganda Education: The Rt. Rev. Samuel Kamya,
Anglican Bishop of West Buganda in the nation of Uganda,
called our attention to the needs of his war-torn, HIV-ridden nation and asked that we provide funds to educate 57 Ugandan girls
who are orphaned and poor. In his opinion, education of women -- a rarity in such a
poor country -- is necessary for living conditions to improve there. Nativity met this request, permitting the
girls to complete the equivalent of high school. Some were able to
continue on to university. Members of Nativity exchanged photographs and letters
with the students they individually sponsored. This ministry continues as an independent 501c3 entity,
the US-Uganda Orphans Education Fund.
- Montagnard Resettlement: Nativity resettled several Montagnards in Raleigh in the early 1990s.
- Habitat for Humanity: Nativity has participated in HFH construction
in Raleigh.
- Haven House Youth Enrichment Services: Nativity partnered with churches in Wake County to mentor children
considered to be "at risk." More information
- Appalachian Service: Youth from Nativity have participated in construction projects of
Episcopal Appalachian Ministries.
- Project Tanzania: Nativity supported Project Tanzania of WRAL-TV in the 1990s.
- Peace and Justice: Nativity has participated in the
Episcopal Peace Fellowship and
Episcopalians Against Racism, a local initiative.
Nativity has also engaged in Kairos and other
prison ministries including donation of Christmas gifts for children with a parent
in prison.
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