Transitions at Nativity Church and School

On vacation, lake waters in MN were smooth as glass, quiet and placid. Not so when I returned…at least the waters at Nativity Church. This past week, I felt like St. Peter, sinking in the stormy waters!

Closer to Home
While on vacation I received notice from Thomas Franklin, Nativity’s Music Director, that he was able to land a job much closer to his home, at a parish in Kentucky. That was great news for Thomas.  I appreciate Thomas especially because he responded with enthusiasm to the higher expectations that I had. For example, his monthly staff report and his acceptance and accomplishment of new goals were second to none! We wish Thomas the best and pray for him!
Julie Spangler Klug, whose excellence as a pastoral musician is known and appreciated by the Nativity Community, has agreed to step into the breach. Thanks to Fr. Dave, Director of Worship, for his leadership and help in this regard! Tim Levingston, who is currently an accompanist at the Church of the Resurrection and was the music director at St. John for a time, and perhaps some of our other musicians will also be helping. Thanks to Julie and Tim!

In the Home
Lisa McCoy, Principal of Nativity School, submitted her resignation last week. She has been the principal of Nativity for two years. The Nativity School community will recall that Lisa and her husband, Tom, welcomed their third child, Rowan into the world just over a year ago. Lisa was on Maternity leave for the first half of this past school year.
I met with Lisa weekly when she returned beginning to get to know her, I especially checked in at the end of the year wondering whether she was going to continue as principal. I was inspired by how she worked full-time and balanced that with her ministry as a spouse and mother!

Catholic School Principals are Pastors
 For, truly, being a principal alone is like being a pastor.  A Catholic school principal is first and foremost an image of Jesus, fostering both the vision of the Church and a specific parish while also injecting dimensions of their own faith.  In other words, like a pastor, principals proclaim and incarnate Jesus himself.  Principals ought to be great teachers, and as pastors do, they negotiate with the business manager and work to be outstanding managers of people, fostering relationships and being unafraid to have honest and difficult conversations.     
      
In addition to Lisa’s positive and hopeful disposition, I appreciate the extra work she did to assume and accomplish additional goals I asked of her. Lisa conveyed a sincere desire and vision to improve Nativity School. Her love for Jesus and his people, especially children, will be missed. We are grateful for Lisa, we wish her well and pray for her and her family! What about leadership at Nativity School this year?

Interim Principal
Mr. Jeff Warren will be the acting principal for Nativity this year. I don’t know of another assistant principal who spent half of their first year as an acting principal. Jeff can witness to that baptism by fire. He did yeoman’s work in that role! For the challenges that he met, he has valuable experience and he has the opportunity to apply his learning immediately. Our community will be there to support him too!

As he assumed his duties as assistant principal in January, I especially appreciated Jeff being a part of the Crescent Parish Leadership Team, an assignment Lisa delegated to him. He met every week with our parishes’ leaders, getting to know them and helping to lead our parishes. His love for Jesus and the Church is powerful, tested and true and his contributions were significant.

Interim Assistant Principal
  Wonderfully, we are calling out of retirement an experienced teacher and assistant principal to help lead Nativity School. St. Saviour Parishioner, Elaine Nolte, is a highly engaged and admirable Catholic. She has been involved in Catholic education for eleven years as a fifth and sixth-grade teacher and for eighteen years as an assistant principal. The story preceding her hire is to be noted.

A Severe Penance
  As an outstanding “practicer” of the Faith, Elaine received the sacrament of Penance last Saturday before Mass. Being inspired by a suggestion a few days earlier from a Crescent staff member to ask Elaine to help, at the end of the confession, I told Elaine that I was going to give her the most severe penance I had ever given: to be an interim assistant principal! Of course, she did not receive that as a penance. However, I did say that to her in jest. Her initial response was surprisingly positive, and she agreed to pray and think about it for a few days. Thanks, Elaine, for your openness to serving out of retirement!

Principal Search
The beginning of a school year is no time to search for a principal. In the new year, we will form a search team, pray and work to find a new principal for Nativity.

Waters Calming, Peace Being Restored
There you have it. Just as in last week’s Gospel, this past week’s stormy waters have been calmed by people with the faith of St. Peter, stepping out of the boat and figuratively and literally walking on the water for us. I feel inspired to be part of Crescent Parishes!
 
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Pat
 
P.S. Next week be ready to read Archbishop Schnurr’s witness and call to us about November’s Issue 1.
As well, if you haven’t visited our new Crescent Parishes (www.crescentparishes.org) website, please do so and participate in the scavenger hunt found there!