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Writer's picture: NativityWV EpiscopalNativityWV Episcopal

Reflections-


As I reported last week, this past weekend Les and Jan Nichols and I represented Nativity at the 198th Annual Council of the Diocese of Mississippi. That’s a long time for the Episcopal Church to be operating in Mississippi and a lot has taken place during those 198 years. The theme of this year’s Council was “Telling Our Story”, and Bishop Wells used part of the time of her opening address on Friday night to give examples of the resilient nature of the church in this diocese. These are our stories, she said, and we forget them at our peril. She highlighted Trinity Church in Yazoo City that had endured floods, fires and tornadoes and had been rebuilt four times. She showed videos from the tornado destruction at Chapel of the Cross, Rolling Fork, and the groundbreaking ceremony for the new church. She had considerable footage of the Mississippi Gulf Coast churches following Hurricanes Camille and Katrina. 

Because she hasn’t yet visited Nativity ( she’s coming February 22-23!), she doesn’t yet know the resilience that is part of our story, as well. Fire, tornado and a decision to close the church “for good” in 2003. Then came a remarkable rebirth in 2017 that was able to manage the Covid challenge sufficient to become as healthy as any church in the diocese. It’s enough to make you believe in resurrection, and

it is a remarkable story that we need to keep telling over and over again! 


Telling our individual and collective stories ( to ourselves, mostly, and to others if they will listen!) helps us to realize that we have within us the capacities to deal with whatever life sends us. We’ve been there more than once, as a people and as individuals, and we are made of more resilience and tougher fiber than we are sometimes able to notice.


 We Christians also have a  story that we need to tell again and again and again. In this sacred story there were natural disasters and pain and heartbreak and tragedy arising from human failings, but God was forever present, redeeming and giving hope.  We can never tell that story too many times.

I am grateful for Bishop Wells’ invitation to tell our stories. I hope you will have some time to tell her a bit of yours when she joins us in a couple of weeks.


Other Matters of Importance-

Annual Congregation Meeting : Sunday, February 16 following 10:30 worship-

As per the canons of our church we will be gathering for our annual meeting to elect new Mission Committee members ( nominees thus far: Barbara Phillips, Laura Pitre, and April Hammonds), hear a report on our finances including a 2025 budget which needs to be accepted by the congregation, and discuss a variety of other matters. Please plan to join us!

Bishop Wells Visitation- February 22-23:

    Saturday (22nd)@6:00 pm- Bishop meets with old and new members of the 

                 Mission Committee for dinner, conversation and planning in Salt &Light;

    Sunday (23rd) @9:15am- Bishop meets with congregation for open-ended 

                 conversation;

                              @10:30am-Bishop is celebrant, preacher and will administer 

                 the apostolic rite of confirmation;

                               @ 11:30am- luncheon in honor of Bishop Wells and the newly 

                 confirmed. PLEASE NOTE: THERE IS A SIGN UP SHEET IN THE SALT 

                 AND LIGHT BUILDING FOR THOSE WILLING TO BRING SALADS, SIDE

                 DISHES AND DESSERTS. MEAT AND DRINKS WILL BE PROVIDED.

Church Directory is Now Available!-

 After more than a year in production our Nativity Church directory is available online. Many thanks to Jenni Campbell for her many long hours of work to make this a reality. An instruction sheet that tells how to access the directory will be available in the rear of the church and in the Salt and Light building, beginning this Sunday. Robbie Fisher will be available to take additional photos of individuals  and families to include in the directory on Sunday, February 16 and 23 in the Salt and Light building.

Immigrant Ministry-An Emerging Network:

An emerging network of persons interested in being a constructive force in the confusion and fear of this moment is forming in North Mississippi. If you are interested in knowing about what is going on and how you might be helpful, please consider joining the Vicar and others for a meeting at First United Methodist Church in Oxford ( 102 Dylan Avenue- near mTrade Park) from 1:30-5:00pm on Saturday, February 15. Representatives from El Pueblo, a United Methodist Church initiative that has addressed the needs of the immigrant community in South and Central Mississippi for 20 years, will be meeting with interested persons from our region.

Mardi Gras Parade- March 4 @ 5:00pm!

Join with your Nativity family and other members of our community in this fun-filled event that will parade down Main Street and gather at This Is Noteworthy for great food and fellowship. Bicycles, wagons, and all ages are welcome to join in our craziness as we prepare for the penitential season of Lent.


See you Sunday!


Blessings and Peace,


Duncan

(601)260-1937


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Writer's picture: NativityWV EpiscopalNativityWV Episcopal

Reflections


This week Les and Jan Nichols and I will be on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to gather with representatives of all the Episcopal churches for our Annual Diocesan Council. This annual affair has been described by an old clergy friend of mine as the Episcopal version of the “ Neshoba County Fair at prayer”. 

There are, indeed, some striking similarities: food and fellowship and reconnecting with old friends in the context of presentations and reports about our common mission and ministry. There will be workshops on a variety of matters and exhibits that will tease our imaginations as we think through our ministry at Nativity. 

We will have the opportunity to elect our clergy and lay leadership for the coming year ( though there will be no election speeches). You will recall that it was at this very gathering a year ago that we elected our new bishop, the Right Rev. Dorothy Sanders Wells. Bishop Wells will be making her first Diocesan Address to the whole church on Friday night, a moment in which she will describe her emerging vision for our Church in Mississippi. It will be a significant moment.

All that we do will be framed in common worship, culminating in a Eucharist on Sunday morning with combined choirs from the Coast churches. But for me, deeper than the particulars of the presentations, addresses and elections, is the outward and visible sign of our being connected to something far beyond ourselves.

Nativity’s banner will be carried in procession in our opening worship on Friday, along with the banners of the 90 other Episcopal churches in Mississippi, reminding us that we are not alone as we seek to be faithful in this challenging moment. Bishop Wells, as an icon of that unity, also serves as a symbol of the wider relationship we have with the Episcopal Church in our own nation and the 14 other nations that are part of what is known as TEC ( The Episcopal Church). Broadening our connectedness, Bishop Wells also allows us to see that we are a part of a world-wide Church called the Anglican Communion, that has much national autonomy, but looks to the Archbishop of Canterbury as our spiritual leader. In this connection we are not simply a very isolated small church in a small community in Mississippi. We are part of a Church of some 80 million members, the third largest denomination in the world!

This a far cry from some cultural and religious traditions in our region that roots its worship and mission and decisions within a single congregation. I try never to say our tradition is better, but I am clear that it is different…and that is why I love going to Council so much!

The Reverend Ann Whitaker will be our preacher at celebrant at the 10:30am worship this Sunday. I’ll see you back on Sunday, February 9.

Other Matters of Importance:

Church Painting in Progress- 

Painters have begun freshening up Nativity with a new coat of white paint, all in time for Bishop Wells’ visitation on February 23! Several have made financial contributions to get this project started. If you would like to contribute to this renovation project,  please make your checks out to “Nativity-Church Painting” and place them in the Sunday offering or mail them to Church of the Nativity; 609 N. Main Street; Water Valley 38965.

Annual Meeting at Nativity- February 16 

We will hold our annual congregational meeting after worship on Sunday, February 16. Plan to join us as we hear reports from the past year, elect new Mission Committee members and formally receive the 2025 financial budget from the Mission Committee. Nominations for new Mission Committee members formally received by the Mission Committee include Barbara Phillips, April Hammonds and Laura Pitre. ( Food note: Because we will be going all out the next week with Bishop Wells, there will be coffee, but not much else, during our coffee hour).

Bishop Wells to Visit Nativity February 22-23!

As we welcome our new bishop to Nativity, the old and newly elected members of

the  Mission Committee will meet with her for a working/ planning/get acquainted dinner on Saturday night at 6:00 at the Salt and Light building. At 9:15 on Sunday Bishop Wells will meet for informal conversation with members of the congregation. At our 10:30 Sunday worship she will be administering the apostolic act of confirmation as well as praying over any who wish to reaffirm their baptismal vows. After worship ( and this is where we want to do something special) there will be a luncheon in her honor in the Salt and Light building. A signup sheet is in the S and L hallway for volunteers willing to bring salads, side dishes or desserts. Meet and beverages will be provided.

Second Annual Mardi Gras Parade- March 4, beginning at 5:00pm:

In preparation for the penitential season of Lent ( Ash Wednesday - March 5) we will , again, start at Nativity with our Alleluia Banner, costumes, beads and noise makers. We’ll march to the This Is Noteworthy building where food, beverage and music will be waiting! Come join the fun. A little silliness in a world gone crazy might do us some good! Note: lots of beads and some masks will be available for free.


Blessings and Peace,


Duncan

(601)260-1937

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Writer's picture: NativityWV EpiscopalNativityWV Episcopal

Reflections


Wednesday night we began our class on the history, traditions and culture of the Episcopal Church. In my brief overview of our church’s history I made special note of the deep internal strife in the Church of England in the mid 16th century where Protestants and Catholics were, literally, at war with each other. The reign of Queen Mary I ( “Bloody” Mary) was particularly violent in the persecution of religious opponents. 

Into this deep division and violence Queen Elizabeth I  ascended the throne. Refusing to take sides in this religious conflict, she negotiated what came to be called the Elizabethan Settlement in which she said that the religious ( and political) unity of the church and nation would not be based on specific theological perspectives, but on prayer. Thus, worship and the Book of Common Prayer, became,  and continues to this day to be our church’s instrument of unity. This particular historical moment profoundly shaped the inclusive nature of our church- a church where diverse theological, cultural and political perspectives are brought into worship and offered to God in prayer.

This little trip down memory lane reminded me, again, of how much of our lives are shaped, not so much by the events of our lives, but by our response to those events. The same tragic moment can break one soul and empower another. But our response will be the critical element in shaping our lives. Elizabeth’s response to her national trauma gave shape to what would become a unique religious tradition that nourishes us in our moment in time more than 400 years later.

Key to our response to painful moments in our lives is the willingness to believe that God is forever present, holding us close. We dare to believe that death, in its many forms, is never the end, but can be an entrance into a life, heretofore, unknown. Our participation in the  life, death and resurrection of Jesus is what our common worship is all about. May it give us the courage to respond to the challenges of our lives with hope, healing and love.

Other Matters of Interest

Rescheduled Mission Committee Meeting - Tuesday, January 21 @6:00pm

Annual Congregational Meeting- February 16 

      We will gather for our annual business meeting as a congregation after worship on February 16. This is the occasion where we elect our lay leadership (Mission Committee members), receive and accept the Mission Committee’s recommended budget for the new year and hear reports from different perspectives on 2024. Please plan to be with us for this important gathering.

Visit by Bishop Dorothy Wells- February 22-23

      The Right Reverend Dr. Dorothy Sanders Wells will be coming to Nativity the weekend of February 22-23 for the first time. On Saturday evening she will be meeting with the Mission Committee for conversation and planning for the year ahead. Sunday morning she will be in the Salt and Light Building prior to worship at 9:15 to talk about a wide variety of matters with any members of the congregation who’d like to join her. She will preach, celebrate and administer the apostolic rite of confirmation at our 10:30 worship and be available for informal conversation afterwards at our coffee hour.

Second Annual Mardi Gras Celebration- March 4

      Mark your calendars now! We will prepare ourselves for the penitential season of Lent with a fun and crazy celebration of Mardi Gras on Shrove Tuesday, March 4. We will gather at the church to begin a parade down Main Street that will end at TIN where Becca Finley and her TIN community will host us with music, food and beverage and fellowship. We will also process our Alleluia banner that we will bury at the church afterwards. Find your wonderfully silly costume and join the procession! There will be some beads (“throws”)  and masks available for those semi-unprepared for Mardi Gras.

     We began this wonderfully crazy event last year and it was a great success. Rumor has it that and additional Krewe ( Mardi Gras lingo for group or club) will be joining Nativity’s own Krewe of Crappie for the parade and fellowship. Feel free to invite your friends and neighbors of all ages to join us. 

Flowers for the Altar- Sign Up Sheet in the Church

      There is a need for altar flowers through most of the year that can be given by members of the church as memorials to loved ones, to honor someone or in thanksgiving or a person of event. These flowers greatly enhance our worship and  are prayerful occasions to mark something special in our lives.

Coffee Hour Volunteers Needed

      Remember the ongoing need for volunteers to make coffee, provide snacks and clean up for our post worship coffee hour. A sign up sheet is in the Salt and Light building.

See you Sunday!

Blessings and Peace,

Duncan

(601)260-1937

    


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