A Brief History
In response to the growing Catholic population of the Bartlett area, the Most Reverend Carroll T. Dozier, first Bishop of Memphis in Tennessee, established a new parish on June 1, 1979, under the patronage of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Reverend William F. Stelling was appointed the first pastor of the Church of the Nativity. Taken from the territory served by St. Ann Church, the boundaries of the Church of the Nativity are generally north of Yale Road between Austin Peay Highway and Highway 70 and extending north and east to the Shelby County lines. The initial parish directory, published in 1980, listed 74 families . By the close of that year, the parish had its first pastoral council and finance council.
Although at the parish’s inception property had been acquired for the church at the corner of Billy Maher Road and St. Elmo Road, the earliest parish liturgical celebrations occurred at such diverse locations as the homes of parishioners, the model home of a nearby housing development, St. Elisabeth’s Episcopal Church, Raleigh Presbyterian Church and, quite memorably, Skateland Roller Rink. Almost immediately, plans were developed for a temporary structure which would give the growing church its own space for worship, education and fellowship . On May 8, 1981, Bishop Dozier gave his approval to the parish’s building program, funded by Nativity’s “Shepherds’ Response” Building Fund. Ground was broken on November 1 of that year, and the structure was first used for celebration on Christmas Eve, 1982. With the theme, “Nativity — a Celebration of a Dwelling with Christ,” the building was formally dedicated by the Most Reverend J. Francis Stafford, the second bishop on the diocese, on May 17, 1983. The structure represented the sacrifices of the over 200 families of the growing parish.
While it was designed as the first phase of a master plan, the building has served the parish well — chapel, worship space, classroom, meeting room, offices, fellowship hall, and numerous other functions — for sixteen years. The building features a fifty-foot bell tower of Arkansas fieldstone (together with a carillon bell system), Bethlehem Plaza (the site of outdoor festivities), and a narthex which has helped to build the community as a gathering space. In its present building, the Nativity community has welcomed new members through the sacrament of Baptism; educated and formed children, youth, young and older adults; brought the healing presence of Christ into the lives of many; celebrated the Eucharist, and comforted those who mourn. The planned new worship space will permit the parish to continue this ministry as an addition to the present structure.
In addition to Father Stelling, the Church of the Nativity has been served by the following subsequent pastors, Reverend C. Frederick Sauer, Reverend Robert D. Ponticello, Reverend Michael Morgera, Reverend William Burke, Reverend Keith Stewart, Reverend Robert Szczechura, Reverend Jacek Kowal, and our present pastor, Reverend José Cruz Zapata-Torres. It has grown to 550 families and approximately 1,500 members. The community’s mission remains largely unchanged:
In answer to God’s call to build a faith community, we — the people of Nativity parish — come together as a church family to share the gifts of God and to proclaim His Word through ministry, one to another and to the wider community in which we live, in celebration of the life of Jesus Christ.