Reflections

Reflections

The last two Sundays have been so very special and and reminded me again of just how remarkable is this small church community of Nativity. The baptisms on All Saints Sunday and the large number of friends and visitors that joined us last Sunday made for two joyous occasions where we, in both formal and informal ways, invited others to join us in the healing and reconciling work of Jesus. Yes, it was wonderful to have the overflow crowds on both Sundays, but it was even more exciting to imagine how Nativity is becoming a place where the spiritually hungry can find a home and be empowered to be instruments of justice, hope and  joy in a hurting world. 

One consistent refrain of newcomers and visitors when I talked to them is how they much they feel welcomed and at home at Nativity. That welcome is critical to our corporate worship, a moment where we defy the individualism ( and subsequent isolation) of our contemporary culture to remember that we are not alone. God is truly present, but so are the kindred souls who travel with us, carrying many of the same burdens, but daring to believe and live as though there is hope and purpose to be found. We need each other in so many ways, and by showing up week after week we take our place in the multitude of saints who have traveled this same human journey and dare to say to one another: “I understand. You are not alone.”

Your gracious hospitality to all who have found their way to Nativity is a source of extraordinary grace. Thank you for being such instruments of God’s love.

Other Matters of Importance:

Welcome to the World, Catherine Dickson! -

Virginia Anderson and Andy Dickson are now proud parents of a new baby girl, Catherine Dickson, born November 5. For several weeks at Nativity we have been praying for a safe delivery and birth, and last week our prayers were answered. 

We are now putting together a schedule of those who would be willing to prepare a meal for the new parents. The meal schedule can be accessed at the following address: takethemameal.com. IMPORTANT-use 2581 as the user password to access the schedule. 

Thanks for helping us make things a little easier for these new parents, and thanks for making Catherine feel at home in this world!

Thanksgiving Meal for Residents of  Yalobusha County Jail:  November 23-

Laura Pitre has wonderfully organized this new jail ministry initiative. There are still spots available for those who would like to help out with this effort. You may contact Laura at laurahoffman10@yahoo.com, or (662)417-9246 if you are interested in helping. 

Pre-Christmas Party at Reynolds Home- December 7

As a part on Nativity’s ongoing efforts to nurture our common life and fellowship, Tommy and Liz Reynolds will once again be hosting a pre-Christmas party for the Nativity family at their home (1720 North Main) on December 7.  We’ll begin with appetizers and drinks at 5:30pm, followed by dinner at 6:00. All ages are invited!

REMINDER- It will be very helpful to our hosts to know how many of us to expect, so let Liz know if you are planning on joining us. ( emfreynolds@9gmail.com/ 662-473-6044)

The Rev. Ann Whitaker - Celebrant and Preacher- November 17:

As I conclude my two year consulting program in the Diocese of South Carolina, Ann Whitaker will be our celebrant and preacher on November 17. We are grateful for Ann’s ongoing presence among us and appreciate her unique gifts so freely shared.

GoFundMe Effort for Spring Hill North Missionary Baptist Church:

 Our sisters and brothers at Spring Hill are in the final phase of their efforts to rebuild their sanctuary. Even without insurance payments( a matter being litigated), the congregation, with community support, is within about $30,000 of finishing their project. Nativity’s own Joe York is producing a GoFundMe video that the congregation hopes will get them past the financial finish line. Nativity’s Vicar will be a part of the video, and Nativity’s Mission Committee has already made a commitment to further support this project.

Stay tuned for how all of us can be supportive of this effort to build up the Body of Christ in this community.

Blessings and peace,

Duncan

Dmgrayiii@gmail.com

(601)260-1937

Reflections

Reflections

Since, in place of a sermon on Sunday, I will be doing a teaching on the Holy Eucharist as part of our “Friend Sunday”, let me use this space to reflect briefly on  the election we have all gone through in recent days. Though many in our community of faith are upset, angry and deeply disappointed at the outcome, others are happy with the way things turned out. Such is the nature of the roller coaster ride of our national elections. The intensity of our feelings have deepened  in recent cycles, but the joy and disappointment remains the same.

As many of you know, politics was one of my possible career choices, and I tested that vocation in successful campus elections at Ole Miss and two years on Capital Hill in Washington, D.C. I continue to keep my political insight sharp with a weekly “coffee club” of former state and national political leaders and consultants. I write all of that to say that I am not naive about politics and the role and function of government. I also believe, as former Senator Howard Baker once said, “Politics is a good and noble profession.”

But one of the reasons I left Capital Hill and returned to Seminary is that I realized that I would rather put my deepest hope in the death and resurrection of Jesus, than in the ebb and flow of the electoral process. Government can be, and in its best moments has been, an instrument of good, and the building up of our common life. But even in its best moments, like all human efforts, government run, even by our absolute favorite

politician and party,  falls short of the Kingdom of God. To think otherwise, is to move us into something that has,  in our day, become known as “Christian Nationalism”. It has taken many different names and forms through the centuries, but the common thread is to equate God’s purposes and kingdom with a particular government.

In full disclosure, let me say that I am one of those who, even with the distance and perspective of 72 hours, is “upset, angry and deeply disappointed”. I believe that is a perfectly natural and normal response for one so passionate about politics as I.  However, I do not want to stay there, and I will not let those emotions deter me from the ongoing work of justice, hope, love and reconciliation to which Jesus has called me. I will pray for our President-elect that he might lead this country wisely and justly, and I will continue to live, as faithfully as I can, as a follower of the One who declared that,  

    “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good 

           news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and 

           recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the 

           year of the Lord’s favor.”  Luke 4:18-19

I’ll conclude this reflection  with the words of the systematic theologian who has most influenced my theological perspective, Reinhold Niebuhr. Niebuhr took human sin very seriously and was clear about the limits of even our best efforts. He once wrote,

      “Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore, we 

       must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes 

       complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore, we must be 

       saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished 

       alone; therefore, we must be saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as 

       virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint.

       Therefore, we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.”

                          -Reinhold Niebuhr; The Irony of American History

So, my dear friends: “Go forth into the world in peace. Be strong and of good courage. Hold fast to that which is good. Render to no one evil for evil. Strengthen the faint-hearted. Support the weak.  Help the afflicted. Honor all persons. Love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit…”

                          -You Know Who;  Every Sunday morning

Other Matters of Importance-

This Sunday is Friend Sunday:

   Our liturgy which is so meaningful to us is often confusing and intimidating to visitors. Therefore, in an effort to be helpful, I will be doing a teaching on the Holy Eucharist in place of a sermon this Sunday. I will also have a book available for newcomers and visitors that unpacks the meaning of our liturgy more completely.

Bring and friend to church, and see what you both can learn!

Jail Ministry-Thanksgiving Meal-Brief Meeting After Worship:

    We still need a number of people willing to cook for our “Thanksgiving” luncheon for residents at the Yalobusha County jail on Saturday, November 23.

Please talk to Laura Pitre (662-417-9246) if you would be willing to help in this effort. Laura will be convening a short meeting after worship this Sunday to talk about the logistics of this special ministry moment.

Mission Committee-Tuesday, November 10 @6:00pm:

    Our regular monthly meeting of the Nativity Mission Committee will be held this 

    Tuesday, November 10 @ 6:00pm in the Salt and Light Building. This is always 

    an open meeting, so any member of Nativity is welcome to attend.

See you in church on Sunday!

Blessings and Peace,

Duncan

(601)260-1937

Dmgrayiii@gmail.com

Reflections

Reflections 

On Sunday we will celebrate the lives of the saints of God, those known and famous, and those whose witness has been more intimate and personal to us. Each has in his/her own way been an instrument of God’s grace in our lives.

We’ll be singing two of my favorite hymns: “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God”- a hymn that evokes in me memories of my youth choir singing those words in the midst of my father’s civil rights leadership in the 1950’s and 1960’s:

   “They loved their Lord, so dear, so dear, and his love made them strong;

     And they followed the right, for Jesus sake, the whole of their good lives long.

     And one was a soldier, and one was a priest…”

The other hymn is one that has been sung at many funerals of my personal saints,

“For all the Saints”, and always touches me in a place beyond words where I feel enormous gratitude for what they have given me:

    “Thou wast their rock, their fortress and their might:

    Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;

    Thou, in the darkness drear, the one true light…”

This second hymn goes on to say something that is so terribly important for me/ us to remember:

    “O bless communion, fellowship divine!

     We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;

     Yet all are one in thee, for all are thine…”

There is an eternal communion with those who have gone before us and those who will follow. It is a part of the mysterious reality of our celebration of the Holy Eucharist that we believe that we are joined at the altar “with Angels and Archangels and all the company of heaven…”. We are not, nor will we ever be, separated from those who have been the bearers of God’s love. In “church speak” we call it the “Communion of Saints”, but our heart knows its truth even if we don’t have the theological language.

And so on All Saints Sunday, as we baptize Dawn Denham and Townsend Harlow into this fellowship, we will remind ourselves of those who have touched us in years past- and our unique place in this extraordinary story of hope and courage and love. Alleluia!

Other Matters of Importance:

Prayers and Pledge Cards-

On this All Saints Sunday, if you have personal saints that you would like to be remembered by name during our Prayers of the People,  please write their names on the prayer list in the rear of the church.

Also, this will be our formal Ingathering of our financial pledge commitment cards for 2025. The Mission Committee will, of course, accept your pledge commitments at any time, but Sunday gives us a special liturgical opportunity to offer “ourselves, our souls, our bodies” for the ministry of Nativity for the coming year.

November 10: “Friend Sunday”-

While our Eucharistic liturgy is beautiful, it can also be very intimidating to those unfamiliar with its language and customs. Thus, I will be- in place of a sermon-doing a teaching on the liturgy that should be helpful to those who are both attracted to, and intimidated by, our worship. Invite a friend who might be searching for a spiritual home to come to worship with you that day. I will also have a very accessible book on the Holy Eucharist to give to those who would like to dig deeper.

Lunch for Those in Jail: November 23-

Laura Pitre is coordinating our new ministry to those in our local jail. After lengthy conversations with the Sheriff’s Department we have decided that our first formal outreach will be to prepare a home cooked meal to be delivered to the jail on Saturday, November 23. There will be a sign up sheet in the back of the church for specific dishes that will be needed for this lunch. Help us launch this new ministry with gifts from your kitchen!

“I was in prison, and you visited me…” Jesus

See you Sunday!

Blessings and Peace,

Duncan

Dmgrayiii@gmail.com

(601)260-1937