Most Holy Nativity aiming to build new $4.2M church By Manuel C. Coppola@Santa Cruz Valley Sun | Posted: Wednesday, February 18,2015 8:12 am Born in humble surroundings on Easter Sunday in 1972 at the Stables at Rio Rico, the Most Holy Nativity Catholic Parish now hopes to break ground on a new $4.2 million church as soon as next year. And they will get a little help from their friends. Several parishioners from Our Lady ofthe Valley Catholic Church in Green Valley, a sister parish to MHN, attended a breakfast at the Rio Rico Community Center on Feb. 8 where they learned about some of the local challenges. They also saw first-hand how the parish has outgrown its present facility when they attended a crowded Mass earlier that morning, Itso happens that their pastor, the Rev. Father Francisco Maldonado, also is pastor of MHN. “For the longest time, I had the curiosity to know just where our pastor was running off to all the time when he’s not with us,” said Lois Gunderson of Green Valley. So one Sunday, she and her husband George took a road trip down Interstate 19 to find out. “We saw people standing outside and everyone was so pleasant,” she said. ‘As Maldonado was finishing Mass that day, Louise and George went to the door and were greeted warmly by “this tall, attractive nun,” Sister Guadalupe Jurado, who works closely with Maldonado in all matters related to the parish. While the couple was chatting with Jurado, George was leaning on his cane and a child pointed out that his shoelace was untied. As George began to bend over to tie his shoe, the little girl said, “Oh, let me tie it for you,” Gunderson said. That magic moment captured Lois’ heart. “At that point | said, ‘Sign me up; I'll help in any way I can,” she said. Last Sunday, about 52 of her fellow parishioners hopped on a bus and came down to break bread with the faithful in Rio Rico. Among them was Jerry Bodine, who helped a group of about six men known as the Stablemates evolve into a full-fledged chapter of the Knights of Columbus with more than 90 members in the last six years. Realizing the fundraising for the church presents a long row to hoe, both parishes plan to work together as much as possible. Addressing the breakfast crowd, Maldonado said, “These are two parishes but we are one Church. It makes me happy “to see you all praying and working as one. It brings me a lot of joy.” The capital campaign's slogan is “Building faith, building community, building our future” and the most pressing goal is to raise $2.1 million which triggers financing ‘opportunities that could lead to the first shovel of dirt being turned sometime in 2016, said Louis Chaboya, who is among those spearheading the project. This is not Chaboya's first rodeo. He was project manager for two new firehouses built for theTubac Fire District, which also includes parts of Rio Rico. Those were about $3 million each. ‘The church building will be constructed in the style of Sonoran missions and modeled after St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Sierra Vista, said Kadi Tierney, a senior consultant at Smith & Dale Philanthropic Counsel in Tucson, which is coordinating the campaign. Chaboya noted that the current church, which was never meant to be the permanent worship space, comprises 4,400 square feet and seats 280. Already, many masses have standing-room only and in five years the number of parishioners is pegged at 522. “Of the 300 children who want to enroll in the religious education classes each year, only 120 can be ccommodated,"Chaboya said. “Business growth has and will continue to drive population increases. Over 180 of our kids are going elsewhere for religious education and we want them here.” ‘The church born in a stable 43 years ago continues to evolve. The house of worship is just part of a master plan for the large tract of land the church owns on Avenida Coatimundi. The master dream is that it will eventually include an elementary school, a rectory, parish hall and offices.