Reflections

Reflections-

As I was preparing for worship on Sunday, October 13, I saw a man walking up our handicap accessibility ramp who was bleeding profusely. Various people went to work to wash and bandage his wound. I received the following letter this week from Keith Pettway, a professor at Delta State:

“Dear Bishop Gray and the Congregation of Church of the Nativity:

Thank you and the congregation for your kindness helping a stranger bleeding in the gutter in front of your church on Sunday morning. We’ll not exactly, but it sounded more Biblical that way. It was a member of the congregation, Suzie, who saw the whole thing happen. Anyway, it seemed that Jesus was there the whole time directing, and watching over me. I will never forget it. I should nominate Nativity for the “Best Emergency Room in North Mississippi”! I am recovering nicely thanks to the expert care they gave me. It was a beautiful service and so wonderful to get to see Bishop Gray again, and meet all of you.

Nativity is a beautiful church with an even more beautiful congregation!

Thank you for being so kind to my former flute student ( and unofficially adopted child) Katherine Ouzts. She speaks so fondly of Nativity Church and all of you. So sorry we did not make it to your Coffee Hour. I wanted to stay but you know how wives are, and she wanted to get me home as soon as possible. 

Once more, THANK ALL OF YOU for taking such good care of a bleeding stranger found in the gutter in front of your church.

Bless you and Nativity Church.

Keith

Keith Pettway

Calvary Church- Cleveland, Mississippi”

There is a sermon being preached here. We’ll done, good and faithful servants!

Other Matters of Importance-

All Saints Sunday-November 3: A Celebration of Our Past and Our Future

   We will be remembering those personal saints-family, friends, teachers, etc.- 

   who have been  instruments of God’s grace in our lives. We will remember some 

   by name in our prayers that Sunday. If you have someone that you would like to 

   be mentioned in prayer, please write their name on the sheet in the rear of the 

   church.

   As we give thanks for those saints in our past who have been the bearers of the 

   faith for us, we will also be baptizing two persons into the fullness of Christ’s

   Body- a symbol of the passing on of the faith to new generations. 

   All Saints Sunday will also be the formal Ingathering of financial pledges for 

   Nativity’s 2025 mission and ministry. 

   It will be a wonderful celebration of our past, present and future here at Nativity!

If you'd like to sign up to bring a dish for the after-church Baptismal Luncheon, click here! 

Coffee Hour- Thank You to All Our Hosts!

   Over the past three months there has been a great response from those willing 

   to host in various ways our Coffee/Social Hour after worship. Thank you so

   much! There is a new sign up sheet in the Salt and Light building for hosts that   

   will carry us through the end of the year. Thanks in advance for your help.

Food Box Packing at Compassion Ministries-

   Thanks to all who showed up last Tuesday to help pack 140+ food boxes for 

   distribution to needy individuals and families. We learned a lot! Our next packing

   date has not been set. Stay tuned!

Personal Note of Thanks-

   Kathy and I are so appreciative of all who took the time to be at the tea that

   celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. Given by our children and shared with

   family and so many friends, this special event meant more to us than words can

   adequately describe. Thank you so very much!

See you Sunday!

Blessings and Peace,

Duncan

Dmgrayiii@gmail.com

(601)260-1937

Reflections

Reflections

This week 2025 financial pledge cards are being sent out to the Nativity congregation. If you do not receive one and wish to make a financial pledge to the ministry of this church, you may pick up a card and a letter from me on the table in the rear of the church.

As we live into this season of Stewardship at Nativity, it becomes terribly important to ask two questions, “What does it mean to be a steward?” and, more personally, “ What have I been given for which I now find myself a steward?”

Last night in the latest of the “Woven” series at TIN, Dawn Denham read a moving section of a book that she is writing about her father. She read to the audience about his early life as a disc jockey in the Washington, D.C. suburbs , the impact his life had on her and her challenges to care for him in his years of increasing dementia. I was reminded of how we are all stewards of the memories of events that have shaped us and the importance to us and others that those memories be shared and preserved.

I awoke this morning to a cool clear morning with the relatively clean air to breathe in, and was reminded again of my responsibility to be a steward of this beautiful earth that is a profound and foundational gift from God. I had had a good night’s sleep and climbed out of bed with minimal aches and pains, and reminded myself that this old body, too, was a gift,  and my stewardship of it in things done and left undone, suggests my faithfulness( or otherwise) as a steward of this gift.

The faith that nurtures us and that we celebrate week after week in a shared liturgy of word and sacrament,  is not something that we made up. It has been passed down to us through the life and witness of those near and dear to us, as well as from those countless others that we will never know. The religious tradition out of which our personal faith grows is a gift.  Our call is to be faithful stewards of this incredible gift so that those we  love, as well as those we will never know, can be pointed toward the living reality of Jesus Christ in their lives.

This season of Stewardship is about a grateful response to the gifts that we have received. If it can evoke in all of us a sense of “joy and wonder”, as the baptismal prayer says, it will be successful, regardless of the amount of money that is raised. If we raise hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the motivation has been simply guilt, we will have failed.

May the Lord of all things give us open eyes, open hearts and open minds to see, feel and appreciate the ultimate giftedness of life. May the Spirit that sustains us give us the wisdom to be faithful stewards of the grace that has been poured into our lives so that we might share the goodness and bounty of this life with all.

Other Matters of Importance:

Compassion Ministries- Food Packing Volunteers Needed October 22 @ 6:00pm

We are once again going to try to restart our food packing work in cooperation with First United Methodist Church. I made a mistake in my publicity of our last effort and  we were not able to help! I am still chagrined over that miscue. We’ll try again on October 22 at 6:00 pm when we will meet at the Compassion Ministries facility just north of Water Valley on Highway 7. We’ll need 5 or 6 people to help pack the food boxes. A sign up sheet will be in the rear of the church.

See you at church on Sunday!

Blessings and Peace,

Duncan

Dmgrayiii@gmail.com

(601)260-1937

Reflections

Reflections

This Saturday, October 5, we will remember and celebrate the witness of St. Francis of Assisi with our annual Blessing of the Animals at Pocket Park, beginning at 10:00am. All animals-human and otherwise- are welcomed to this worship service that should last approximately 20 minutes.

 We create this fun-filled moment on the Saturday closest to the Feast of St. Francis (October 4) to remind us anew of the unity of all creation and the divine spirit that is contained in all things-the wisdom that Francis taught and lived. The famous story of Francis preaching to the birds reflected his desire for all of the created order to know how much it was loved by God. In a time of increasingly environmental degradation, Francis reminds us that it is not mere survival that is at stake, but that our relationship with the love of God in Christ is also threatened by our wanton disregard for Creation.

I invite you to bring your animals-domestic pets or otherwise-to Pocket Park on Saturday. You might also want to invite a friend. Francis would welcome them as well! It may be a very good way to show the community of Water Valley the crazy joy that is housed in that little white church on North Main.

See you at Pocket Park on Saturday!

See you at Church on Sunday!

Blessings and Peace,

Duncan

Dmgrayiii@gmail.com

(601)260-1937