When Sherry Stewart moved to Florida from New Jersey, she was looking for a way to serve the community.
Nativity Catholic Church opened that door for her, and she’s been working there for 45 years.
“When you move someplace, it’s good to come there and nativity is a very welcoming parish,” Stewart said. “It has many, many different ways that you can go into and many ways of meeting new people.”
One of those ways is Nativity’s annual pancake breakfast, something Stewart organizes around the time the church hosts Novemberfest, its fall carnival.
The pancake breakfast started up again four years ago after Stewart wanted to revive the community-building event.
About 15 years ago, the church hosted the pancake breakfast, but Stewart said it fizzled out. She brought it back to serve as Novemberfest’s kickoff event.
The all-you-can-eat breakfast, including pancakes, scrambled eggs, fruit and bacon, does cost around $6 a person, but Stewart said that’s just to break even since the event isn’t a fundraiser.
“We don’t go out to make a lot of money on that. It’s more of a companionship of bringing people together for breakfast,” she said.
For Stewart, it’s just another way for her to serve the church.
She wants to lead something that makes people feel as welcomed as she did when she first came to Nativity.
In the 45 years she’s worked there, she’s seen a lot of changes, including Novemberfest growing from a small carnival to a community staple.
While Novemberfest is a fun carnival for families from the Brandon area, she said it also fosters friendships among the volunteers and organizers.
“Great companionship and great friendship have been built there,” she said.
She added that one of the reasons she has stayed at Nativity for so long is the sense of belonging and unity built from different events and groups, including prayer groups, youth organizations, women’s groups and the Knights of Columbus, which helps make the pancake breakfast possible.
“They all offer something of unity with meeting new people and having friends that last a lifetime,” Stewart said. “Because the friends I have here are all from Nativity.”
