Beverly's Church of the Holy Nativity Welcomes New Priest In Charge

On Nov. 1, 2013, Church of the Holy Nativity welcomed The Reverend Gina Volpe to serve as their new priest in charge. 

Mother Volpe was ordained to the priesthood in 1995 by The Right Reverend Frank Griswold, then Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago.  The first 10 years of her ministry, she was a chaplain at Vitas Hospice in the Chicago Northwest program.  In 2001, she won Vitas' National Founders’ Award in chaplaincy.  In 2004, Mother Volpe accepted a position at Midwest Palliative & Hospice CareCenter in Glenview.  She was promoted to clinical manager in 2005, and then to clinical director in 2010.  She served as a faculty coach in Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. This was a huge honor as the role of clinical manager and director is usually reserved for nurses.  

A native of Chicago's Westside, Mother Volpe attended St. Peter Canisius Grade School in the Austin neighborhood in Chicago as well as Mother Guerin High School (now Guerin College Preparatory) in a River Grove.  She majored in music and minored in Spanish at St. Mary of the Woods College by Terre Haute, Indiana.  After graduate studies in historical musicology at Illinois State University, Mother Volpe answered God's call to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church, and completed her Masters of Divinity at Seabury Western Theological Seminary in Evanston. Illinois in 1993.  She prepared for chaplaincy through Clinical Pastoral Education both at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago as well as at Bridgeport Hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

During her time in hospice ministries, Mother Volpe has served many parishes throughout the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago in many different capacities concurrently with hospice ministry.  However, after a very rewarding ministry in hospice for 16 years, Mother Volpe discerned that she was now being called to totally focus on parish ministry.  In 2011, she was called to serve as the Interim Rector of Church of the Holy Family in Park Forest.  As Holy Family called their new rector, Mother Volpe joyfully received the call from Church of the Holy Nativity in Beverly. 

Church of the Holy Nativity is located at 9300 S. Pleasant on the corner of 93rd and Pleasant.  The celebration of the Holy Eucharist is at 9:30 every Sunday morning followed by coffee hour and fellowship.  Sunday school for children is also at 9:30. 

-Submitted