Reflections

Reflections Week of July 14, 2025

I am a native of Booneville, Mississippi.  When I was born, I weighed 11 lbs. 6 ozs.  My sister, who is eight years older than me, weighed 9 pounds plus when she was born.  After my birth my mother decided that she didn’t want to have any more children because she was scared of what the next child might weigh!

I grew up in my local Methodist Church where my father was Church School Superintendent for many years.  When I was a child I may have asked my parents once if we were going to go to church on Sunday; but never had to ask again.  Because of my parents’ dedication to the church, I have eight years of perfect attendance Sunday school pins – eight years in a row!

I was a band nerd growing up and played drums both in both my high school and college bands.  I still play to this day and sometimes even get paid for it!

I’m a graduate of Mississippi State University with a B.S. degree in Business.  My work background is 41 years spent in banking and workforce development.  All of those years were spent helping others in one way or another. 

I fondly call Nativity “Our Little Church” because even though we’re small in number, we do big things in our community.  A highlight is that former Bishop Duncan Gray married my wife Dawn and me at Nativity.  I am honored to be Nativity’s treasurer and to be a part of moving our church forward.

Lessons for Sunday, July 20, 2025 - Morning Prayer with Joe York, LEM

Amos 8:1-12

Psalm 52

Colossians 1:15-28

Luke 10:38-42

Announcements

Volunteers Needed. 

Watermelon Carnival Nativity Lemonade Stand - two hour shifts. Set-up will be outside of Salt & Light Building. See sign-up sheet on Sunday. We need at least 3 people per shift starting at 8:00 am and ending at 4:00 pm.

Coffee Hour volunteers are needed. See sign-up sheet in the Salt & Light Building.

Flowers for the altar. If you would like to place flowers on the altar, there is a sign-up sheet in the back of the church. Also, if you want the Altar Guild to purchase the flowers for you, there are envelopes in the back of the pew. Sally Lott McLellan has been very gracious to offer her talent of flower arranging at no charge. A minimum donation of $40 is requested. Any left-over funds will be used by the Altar Guild for special occasions such as Christmas and Easter.

Church Administrator named.  The Mission Committee has designated Kathy Shoalmire as the church administrator. This is a non-paid position. She will continue to work with Alexe to get the newsletter out along with some other administrative duties. Kathy can be reached at kathybshoal@icloud.com or by text at (662) 801-6695.

Please let Kathy know now if you have prayer requests. We have two lists: 1. Public list and 2. Private list only shared with the Daughters of the King, who have taken a vow of confidentiality.

Coming Soon. Blessing of the backpacks by Rev. Ann Whitaker on 7/27/25.

Announcements! On August 10th, Bishop Dorothy Wells and former Bishop Michael Curry will meet in Jackson, MS for a conversation about Emmett Till.

Nativity Newsletter

Meet our Mission Committee Members. Each week we will focus on one member of our Church of the Nativity Mission Committee. Barbara Phillips agreed to go first and let us know her thoughts about Nativity and something about herself. Here is what she has to say.

BARBARA'S THOUGHTS ABOUT CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY

A friend sent a note to me including this idea - “We are always looking forward to a future where we will find the things we’re looking for.”  The assumed universality of the idea kept bugging me and, eventually, connected with my experiences and feelings about my relationship with this Church of the Nativity. 

Yes, the “Church of the Nativity” is a lovely structure. Looking at it last Sunday, it seems to want to be in a lovely village in the English countryside. And here it sits in Water Valley. As lovely as it is and as much as I appreciate the beauty of its simplicity, the meaningful relationship isn’t with the “Church” as building or its quirky renditions of the liturgies, rituals, and sacraments of the Episcopal Church. [Yes, “quirky” to a Cradle Episcopalian, ‘cause y’all don’t know how to behave) This “Church” is spectacularly and uniquely defined by the members of the congregation in their collective intentionality to form the Beloved Community.  

Instead of “always looking forward to a future”, the collective Spirit of the congregation seems to be to look in the present for the thing we are looking for. And more than that – we seem committed to being – not finding – what we are looking for.  As Armanda Gorman concludes in her poem The Hill We Cllimb:

we will rise from the sunbaked South, we will rebuild, reconcile, and recover in every

known nook of our nation in every corner called our country our people

diverse and beautiful will emerge battered and beautiful, when the day comes

we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid, the new dawn blooms as we free

it, for there is always light if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re

brave enough to be it.

Especially during these days and times, it surprises no one more than me that I have found my people in a quirky little church in Water Valley.

Barbara Y. Phillips, a social justice feminist, is a writer, sometimes law professor, recovering civil rights lawyer, former Program Officer at the Ford Foundation whose creative nonfiction and other tidbits can be found at BarbaraYPhillips.substack.com. She was born in the Appalachia of southwest Virginia, grew up in Memphis with summers at the Virginia farm of her grandparents, and began her relationship with Mississippi during 1971 first as a Macalester College student engaged in an oral history project, returning after graduation as a community organizer to support the 1971 campaigns of Charles Ever for governor and the first major effort to elect Black local officials since the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. After a series of “returns” to the state since then, she has finally made Oxford, Mississippi and Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts her homes during retirement.

***************************************************************************

Prayer Request

Richard (father of Dawn Denham)

Steve (father of Katelyn Dilliard)

Pam (friend of Becky Kelly)

Bob ((nephew of Becky Kelly)

Don (brother-in-law of Becky Kelly)

Betty (aunt of Kathy Shoalmire)

Daughters of the King is an international order for women committed to prayer, service, and evangelism. The Nativity DOK members are Jacki Kellum, Liz Reynolds, Kathy Shoalmire, Karen Simard, and Anne Winebrenner. Fell free to share prayer requests with any of the members. We have all taken a vow of confidentiality and a commitment to daily prayer.

Lessons for Sunday, July 6 - Rev. Ann Whitaker, Celebrant

2 Kings 5:1-14Psalm 30Galatians 6:(1-6)7-16Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Announcements! On August 10th, Bishop Dorothy Wells and former Bishop Michael Curry will meet in Jackson, MS for a conversation about Emmett Till. Details here. 

Nativity Newsletter

Week of June 16-22

Soon after he came to us as Vicar, Duncan located the historic Parish Register which documents Nativity from its founding in 1869 by the people named in the church’s Trinity Window. Over the centuries, our church has had dozens of priests-in-charge, hundreds of members, suffered total destruction in 1984, rebuilt, then dedicated anew in 1985. Duncan Gray, III is woven throughout our recent history and will remain an integral part. We honor his legacy and all those who came before us as a part of Nativity by continuing the service of Christ through the Church.

Ann Whitaker preceded her sermon on Sunday with words of wisdom to comfort and guide us as we enter this current season of transition and another chapter in our Church’s history. We will grieve the departure of Duncan as a church family but also allow God’s grace to work through us to bring us together to build our future.

We do not face this future with uncertainty. Thanks to careful planning and shared leadership, we are equipped to move forward with both reverence and resolve. Here are some of the key steps in place for the remainder of the year:

Worship Committee. A team of six parishioners has been working to ensure our Sunday services have thoughtful choices of music, liturgy, readings, and preaching.

Clergy Calendar. Supply clergy (priests and deacons) have been scheduled for nearly every Sunday through the end of the year. A few Sundays will be Morning Prayer lead by our Lay Eucharistic Ministers, but for the remaining 27 Sundays in 2025, we plan to celebrate Holy Communion for 21 of those.

Diocesan Support. The Bishop visited with the Mission Committee and or congregation in February and is aware of our need for pastoral leadership. The Canon to the Ordinary, Gary Meade, will celebrate and preach at Nativity on June 29 and will lead a lay workshop to inform and grow our opportunities for lay leadership and participation on June 28th from 1:30 to 4:30. All are welcome. We have great support from the Diocese of Mississippi for canonical guidance, oversight and assistance.

These efforts and many others demonstrated by all of you reflect our shared commitment to honoring the rhythms of worship and fellowship that define us as a congregation—even in the absence of a permanent vicar. We are grateful for Duncan’s service, and we now carry the work • • • of ministry forward together. This is not a time of waiting, but a time of doing—with God’s help. We hope you will join us each Sunday as we continue to grow in spirit and in community.

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Morning Prayer at 10:30 a.m. Homily by Michael Prager “Coffee Hour” following the service. No one has signed up, so bring something if you are able.

Prayer Request: Richard Denham (Dawn’s father) Episcopal Church of the Nativity Mission Committee Prayer requests can be submitted on the pew card or by contacting Robbie Fisher (in person) or by email at robbiefisher@gmail.com

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

A Lay Leadership Workshop is offered for all who are curious about lay ministries in The Episcopal Church, especially those offered as part of our rich liturgical heritage. We will discuss and invite questions on the variety of roles available in our churches, including Lay Eucharistic Ministers, Lay Eucharistic

Visitors, Lectors & Intercessors, and Lay Worship Leaders. Other opportunities for lay leadership in worship include: acolytes, altar guild, greeters, and ushers. Our leaders will be David Benway, Diocesan Director of Lay Ministries, and Canon Gary Meade, Canon to the Ordinary

We will gather at 1:30 pm on Saturday, June 28 at the Church to begin our conversation. Training will be offered depending on the need and interest of those attending, but no one will be required to make a firm commitment to lay ministry. Just come to listen, learn, and discern. We will conclude by 4:30 pm.

You, your curiosity, and your questions are invited.

Click here to register.