Dear Parishioners,
Today, I come to you with some exciting news for our parish community. Molly Bellmont has accepted the position of Coordinator of Faith Formation & Evangelization. We are very excited for her to begin! Some of you already know Molly as she and her family are members here at Nativity. For those who have not met her, please allow Molly to introduce herself so that when she starts on July 8, our community will be able to be more familiar with her.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Bill Duffert
I am thrilled to be joining the Nativity of Mary Parish staff as the Coordinator of Faith Formation and Evangelization. This Catholic community is near to my heart as our family has been fortunate to be a part of it since 2012. My husband Kevin and I have four children: Charlotte, Margaret, Hazel, and John. All of them have attended our parish school here at Nativity. As for myself, I was born and raised in Bloomington, attending St. Peter’s Catholic School and Church in Richfield as a child, and I proceeded to finish the remainder of my education at the Convent of the Visitation High School in Mendota Heights. Throughout my childhood, my faith leaders, from Father Kivel at St. Pete’s to Sister Mary Regina at Vis, have taught me how to be the hands and feet of Christ to others by emulating Jesus’s teachings of compassion, love and grace.
My journey to this current role that I am in today is an unconventional one. I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Spanish and Chicano Studies. I knew in my heart I wanted to serve others. Out of college I began working at a nonprofit law firm for low-income Latinos. I then had a few other careers grounded in service. However, most of my adult faith formation in my career began at Mary Kay Cosmetics, a company that is heavily rooted in Christian values, prioritizing faith and family. I became a Sales Director and built a large team, surrounding myself with driven and faithful women who helped empower each other to keep those treasured priorities in order. Eventually, I decided to stay at home and raise our four children. During those years I became very involved with the Nativity school community by volunteering in several ways. I later became a substitute teacher, working with students of all ages. I grew to love Nativity more and understood there was something special about our Catholic community here.
However, the turning point in my Catholic faith began about five years ago when I recognized just how much our world needed the Church. The secular world was filled with immediate gratification and riddled with fear, guiding our children and young adults to gravitate towards temporal desires rather than glorifying God by living out His plan for us. I understood as a mother and member of this faith community that it was paramount to not solely teach our children the Catholic doctrine but to fully embrace the notion of forming our Catholic faith, learning how to create and grow a relationship with God, who loves us dearly, asking that we trust and lean into to Him rather than our fears and the false promises of this broken world. So, I decided to get to work. I helped launch a Bible study with women at Nativity school. I also completed many studies of my own, learning from our church Fathers as well as our current Church leaders who are incredibly articulate about what God desires for us. He wants us to return that love and grow His church, living in His image and likeness, by following Christ’s teachings. I also got the chance to lead faith formation for our 4th and 5th grade group here at our Parish. It was then that I knew that if the opportunity ever arose to step into the Coordinator of Faith Formation and Evangelization role, I would seize the opportunity.
One thing I have learned throughout my journey that has led me here today is that my unlikely path to falling in love with the Catholic faith and the Church is not a unique one. Many are either coming back to the Catholic Church or are discovering it for the first time. Particularly, many young adults have a deep desire to have a connection with God and turn away from the empty promises of the secular world. My hope and prayer for our Catholic community here at Nativity is that I can help our youth learn to form their faith and develop a love for the Church and God through Christ’s teachings, as well as helping our young adults nurture an even deeper connection to their Catholic faith. We want to keep them close to the Church by engaging them in a variety of ways, helping to grow this beautiful community we have here at Nativity. I consider it an honor and privilege to be in this role, and I have much gratitude to all of those who have helped shape my faith journey thus far, many of whom are parishioners in this very community. I especially want to thank Father Bill for entrusting me in this position and I look forward to this exciting opportunity to grow our Nativity Catholic community!
—Molly Belmont