Reflections

Reflections

When I talk with young people about the Episcopal Church, I find it helpful to begin with their questions. That allows me to know what they are really interested in and not waste my time and theirs with lots of things that I may think are important, but about which they have very little interest. Today I was having just such a conversation, and a question was asked, “Why do we pray?” It was a wonderful question, and more foundational than a question about “how” to pray that would come from an adult.

I began with the easiest part. “We pray because Jesus asked us to,” I said. Of course, that begs another question that he was too polite to ask, “Why did Jesus ask us to pray?”

We talked about prayer as the means by which we open ourselves to God, and in so doing, we develop and deepen a relationship with God. I shared my own thoughts about how prayer is not a magic light switch, and the way prayer “works” is, ultimately a divine mystery. But my experience, and the witness of the community of faith for thousands of years is that in prayer my relationship with God in Christ grows, my relationship with those for whom I pray deepens, wisdom comes as a gift, my perspective on life is altered, and, on occasion, miracles happen.

We talked about the repetition of liturgical prayers and how that repetition slowly, but surely, shapes our view of life and nurtures the relationships we share with others gathered for that common prayer.

I could have talked for a much longer time, but those youthful eyes that were so very bright when the question was asked, began to glaze over, and I knew the window of curiosity had closed.

How would you respond if you were asked that question? More importantly, make the question very personal: “Why do I pray?” Or, if you are brave enough, ask yourself, “Why do I not pray.”

I’d be glad to talk with you about your responses.

Other Matters of Interest:

The Rev. Ann Whitaker at Nativity-

This Sunday,September 29, Ann Whitaker will be our celebrant and preacher at the 10:30am worship service. She will also be leading our 9:30am Bible study class on the Gospel of Luke. Your Vicar will be the guest preacher at St. Paul’s, New Orleans- my first post-retirement congregation.

Blessing of the Animals: Saturday, October 5 in Pocket Park at 10:00am-

This annual celebration in conjunction with the Feast of St. Francis always points us toward the presence of God in “all creatures great and small.” Our thanks to James McCormick and daughter, Hannah, for updating our publicity sign and posting it at Pocket Park. All sorts and conditions of critters are welcome!

Coffee Hour Sign-Ups Needed-

A sign up sheet for making our Coffee Hour “happen” through October is available on the table in the entrance hall at the Salt and Light building. Please help us keep this time of fellowship alive and well at Nativity.

Day Trip to Carrollton and North Carrollton: October 4-

Marybeth Marchbanks, a member of St. Peter’s, Oxford, and a regular visitor to Nativity, has organized a day trip to Carrollton for anyone interested in exploring that historic community. The mayor of Carrollton will serve as guide and hostess to tour the Carroll County Courthouse, the Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian churches ( all built before 1900) and Cotesworth, the antebellum home of Senator J. Z. George. Additional information will be in an insert in Sunday’s bulletin. If you are interested contact Marybeth Marchbanks at marybmarchbanks@yahoo.com, or Margaret-Love Denman at mldg@denmans.us.

Third Quarter Pledge Statements Being Sent-

Those who have made a financial pledge to Nativity will be receiving an update in October on the status of their pledge through the third quarter. This practice is the normal operating procedure for most churches and will become our standard practice at Nativity going forward.

Blessings and Peace,

Duncan

Dmgrayiii@gmail.com

(601)260-1937

Reflections

Reflections

I’ve been reading a recently published little book with the provocative title, “Why Church?-Christianity as It Was Meant to Be”. It begins with a brief, but insightful, description of what the author, Scott Cordell, describes as three transformational periods in the history of Christianity: Early Christian Expansion, Christendom(the merger of church and culture that lasted until the Enlightenment) and the current dramatic church growth in what is known as the Global South.

Cordell says that none of these models are particularly useful to the post-modern culture that we in the West find ourselves in. What he sees as key to the spiritual growth of individuals, the numerical growth of Christianity and the transformation of culture in our day,  is the Holy Eucharist. He then precedes in most of the remaining chapters to tell why he believes this is true.

That got me to thinking about how we do things at Nativity. Certainly our common life is centered in the Eucharist, but recently, several have asked me specific questions about why we say or do certain things during the Eucharist. I last did a teaching/reflection on the Eucharist during worship more than two years ago. It’s probably time to do this again.

A second thought then merged into the first. As central as it is to our common life, the Eucharist-to a new visitor- may be incredibly intimidating. Is there a way that we can make it less so? I would like to try something that will meet both of these needs.

Thus, I am going to call Sunday, November 10, “Friend Sunday”. This will be a time when I would like for us to make a special effort to invite a friend or neighbor to join us for worship. I will talk about the things we do in worship and why, both to instruct our own and to make it more accessible to visitors. 

Be thinking about who you might invite to church that day. I’ve given you two months advanced warning because it usually takes it takes a long time for us Episcopalians to summon up the courage to do something that even remotely resembles evangelism!

Other Matters of Interest:

Special Guest this Sunday-

The Reverend Andy Andrews, the Missioner for Beloved Community in the Diocese of Mississippi,  will be with us all morning long this Sunday, September 22.

9:30am-Andy will meet with us in the Salt and Light Building to listen to what we 

           have been doing in the area of racial healing and justice and to share with 

           us new ideas and insights from around the diocese.

10:30am- Andy will be our preacher at the Holy Eucharist.

11:30am- Andy will stay for our Coffee Hour for informal conversation.

Throughout my publicity about his coming, “Andy” is the title I have used. “Father Andrews”  or “Canon Andrews” just doesn’t seem to fit this very warm, good humored and grace-filled man. Come join us and welcome Andy to Nativity. You’ll be glad you made the effort!

October 5-Blessing of Animals in  Pocket Park @10:00am-

Our annual Blessing of the Animals in commemoration  of the Feast of St. Francis (October 4)will be held at Pocket Park on Saturday morning, October 5 . All live critters are welcome as we remind ourselves of the divine unity of all creation. For the safety of the Vicar( and others) animals should be on a lease, or otherwise restrained. Some human snacks and water( for animals) will be provided.

3rd Quarter Pledge Statements Being Sent in October-

At the request of the Mission Committee Robbie Fisher, Nativity’s Treasurer, will be sending out pledge statements shortly to give us all an update and reminder of where we stand with our pledge payments to date. This is the norm for most churches, but a relatively recent practice at Nativity.

See you Sunday!

Blessings and Peace,

Duncan

Dmgrayiii@gmail.com

(601)260-1937

Reflections

Reflections

An old friend and colleague, the Reverend Andy Andrews, will be joining us in two weeks ( September 22) for a conversation about racial reconciliation and congregational health and growth. As I pointed out on Sunday, I have known  Andy from his early childhood years in Greenville. What I didn’t mention was that our paths also crossed while he was a student at Ole Miss and I was rector at St. Peter’s. 

Andy has has a wealth of ministry experience, having served on the staff of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, as rector of St. Timothy’s, Southaven, and Dean of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Memphis. He was serving as rector of Holy Trinity, Vicksburg, when he was appointed by Bishop Seage in 2022 as the Diocesan Missioner for Beloved Community and Congregational Vitality, as well as Vicar of St. Christopher’s Church of the Ascension in Jackson. It is in this capacity that Andy has traveled the diocese using a variety of models to promote racial healing and to creatively engage with churches around congregational health and vitality.

A few months back Andy asked me if he could come to Nativity to 1) Learn what are the good things that are going on at Nativity around matters of racial healing and congregational development; 2) Share some ideas from other congregations on these matters; 3)Offer his unique perspective on things that we could focus on here in Water Valley.  I readily agreed for us to host Andy for three distinct sessions on Sunday, the 22nd.

Therefore, we will not meet Bible Study on that Sunday so that all interested persons( not just members of the Bible Study)  could join with Andy and me at 9:30 to talk about the good things that are happening at Nativity and learn from his perspective in an intentional, face to face session in the Salt and Light Building. Secondly, he will preach at our 10:30 am service, weaving the gospel message around the work he believes we are all called to participate in. At our Coffee Hour following worship, he will be available for follow-up informal conversations with all interested persons. 

Andy’s genuine warmth, deep compassion and wisdom will make this a very special day for Nativity. 

Mark it on your calendars now!

Other Matters of Importance:

Third Quarter Financial Statements Coming Soon-

Over the summer a few  people have inquired as to the status of their financial pledge to Nativity. Thus, upon the request of Nativity’s Mission Committee, our Treasurer, Robbie Fisher, will be sending out financial pledge statements through the third quarter (September 2024) to all Nativity members who have made a pledge.  The sending of periodic  pledge statements is the norm in most congregations and is a helpful reminder to us all to keep up to date on our pledge payments.

October 5-Blessing of Animals at Pocket Park on Main Street: 10:00am

Our annual Blessing of the Animals, in conjunction with the Feast of St. Francis, will take place on October 5. More details to follow.

See you Sunday!

Blessings and Peace,

Duncan 

dmgrayiii@gmail.com

(601)260-1937