Nativity Newsletter

Nativity - Spotlight - Jean Bynum

I caught Jean Bynum yesterday afternoon not long after she had spent all morning working in her yard and garden. “I can’t work hard outside but for about half a day now.” lamented the 95 year old Bynum. I laughed.

Of course there is no way to cover her 95 years, so I asked her a few questions about her background. “I grew up poor in southern Arkansas, northern Louisiana, Texas area. We didn’t have running water or electricity in the house and used an outhouse. We had a refrigerator that ran off kerosene. It kept food from spoiling but not cold enough to make ice. My mom cooked on a wood-burning stove.” When asked what she thought contributed to her longevity, she didn’t hesitate, “I didn’t think I would live past 40. I guess it’s because we were poor and everything we ate was organic. We only ate what we raised or caught. Our only fertilizer was from the animals and we didn’t use pesticides.”

I first saw this photo of Jean on the bucking bronco riding bareback several months ago, and was curious to know more. (Jean informed me that most people think she is riding in the photo. She pointed out that the photo was taken as she was being bucked off.) Jean and her siblings started riding at an early age. In fact, when she was 7 years old and started school, she rode a mule to school every day. When she was 14-15, she started riding bulls or broncs for “mounting money”. Her mother thought she would be killed, but her dad thought it was great.

“What is ‘mounting money’?” I asked. “There were several amateur rodeos that would pop up where they would pay you to ride whatever they put you on.” She went on to tell me about the mule scramble she participated in once. “Five people were put on a mule which would make the mule buck. I was bucked off and suffered a concussion. When I woke up, I was in the ambulance,” said the ever tenacious Jean. “I told them to turn around and take me back. They put me in a car with a lady and told me to stay there. The woman restrained me with her arm and I bit her. I only know about this from what others have told me. I don’t remember any of it.”

After graduating high school during WWII, she thought she was going to work for John Deere, but they gave the job to someone else. This really made her mad. She then looked for opportunities to make some mounting money. One day she received an invitation from South Texas to be a part of the Wild West Rodeo in Mexico City. She took advantage of this all-expense paid trip to Mexico City. Jean said “this green, naive girl from southern Arkansas, didn’t know a word of Spanish. I didn’t even know which one was the lady’s bathroom.” After a number of rides, she found that her sponsors had not paid bills and the Mexicans wouldn’t let them leave. Eventually with help from the American Consulate, she was able to get out of Mexico. She continued to ride bulls or bareback broncs until she became pregnant with her third child.

Unfortunately, Jean soon found herself a single mom to three children. She worked at Safeway in Dallas but looked for work closer to home. She took a job at an ammunition plant in Texarkana so that she could be near family to help with the kids. There was an explosion at the factory that damaged her hand and to this day she still feels the effects of the incident.

At age 53, Jean received her BSN and was a NICU nurse in Dallas until she retired at the age of 74! All three of her children went to Ole Miss. The two girls received their Master’s there and her son went into the Air Force after graduating from Ole Miss.

In 2014, after living in Oklahoma for many years where she and her husband farmed, realization struck that they could no longer take care of everything so they moved to Water Valley to be close to her daughter Kay who lived in Oxford. Jean had spent a great deal of time in this area visiting her kids while they were at Ole Miss, and visiting Kay, so she was very familiar with the Oxford/Water Valley area. Jean’s husband passed away a few years after moving here. “I love Water Valley. It’s small enough and I’ve made many friends here. I live alone and still drive. I can and put up vegetables like I am still feeding a big family.”

Jean grew up in another denomination but after some upheaval in the church, she started looking for a church that was more inclusive and less judgmental. “I found it here at Nativity. I really love it here. I love this little church. People are so nice, so real, and nonjudgmental from what I can tell.”

I asked Jean what keeps her coming Sunday after Sunday and climbing those steps to the church. She said “for the message and for the fellowship.”

What a lady! What a treasure! How fortunate we are at Nativity to know her and call her “ours”.

Sunday, September 7, 2025

Morning Prayer - Michael Prager

Lessons:

Jeremiah 18:1-11

Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17

Philemon 1-21

Luke 14:25-33

Those who serve:

Lectors; Eddie and Dawn

AG - Erin

MC POD - April

Coffee Hour:

Set-Up: 1. Shannon 2. ________

Food: 1. _____ 2.______ 3._______

Clean-up: 1. Jack 2. _______

Announcements

Altar Guild: is recruiting. Please see Liz or Kathy at Coffee Hour if interested.

LEM or LEV: needed. If interested contact Michael Prager or Robbie Fisher.

Blessing of the Animals - Rev. Ann Whitaker - Saturday, October 4, 10:00 am - Pocket Park

Ladies Retreat - Rev. Jennifer Holder Friday, October 3 and Saturday, October 4

Based on Anne Lamott's book: Help, Thanks, Wow

Sign-up needed. see Kathy or Margaret Love

Reflections

Congregational Spotlight: Michael Prager

Spotlight: Michael Prager

I was born in the middle of a bombing raid in England in 1941. (and have been creating chaos ever since) I was baptized and confirmed in the Church of England. I attended several different churches and denominations until I settled as an Anglican, was a member of a Church Council (Vestry) and a church bell ringer for a number of years..

I became a Registered Dental Technician and subsequently graduated as a Registered Nurse. In due course I became a Director of Nursing at a teaching hospital and head of a nurse training school. Later I spent a period working at The Royal College of Nursing in London. Whist working at the RCN I was offered the opportunity of becoming a JP and Magistrate by HM. I accepted and after some training began to undertake the associated duties.

I relocated to Melbourne Australia where I worked in ER and HR at the Royal Melbourne Hospital until I moved to the State Health Department as a Senior Industrial officer and represented the Department as a member of the Nurses and Midwives Conciliation and Arbitration Board: and later in the Federal Industrial Court as an advocate for the Australian Nursing Federation (ANF).

Post the ANF I worked for the political office at the State Parliament as an advisor to one of the senior legislators. During this period, I was elected to the City Council and the position of Deputy Mayor. I was again appointed a JP, followed by an appointment as a Bail Justice.

–I met Brenda at church where I was a Liturgical Minister and she was the Director of Music. We clicked and the rest is history. I remained in these positions until Brenda and I relocated to USA and Oxford.

After retirement I became bored and updated my clinical credentials and worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in OR & ER at my local hospital. for the next 10 years.

Sunday, August 31, 2025

Morning Prayer: Joe York

Lessons:

Jeremiah 2:4-13

Psalm 81:1, 10-16

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Coffee Talk

Set-up: Shannon and Katelyn need help.

Food: Alexe and others who want to contribute

Clean-up: Jack and He needs help.

Sign-up sheet on the center Hall table.

Altar Guild

If you are interested in learning more about the Altar Guild, please contact Liz Reynolds or Kathy Shoalmire.

Community Spotlight

Spotlight: Jacki Kellum

This is a special week for me, I am opening my new arts space Jacki Kellum Studios & School of Arts at 26 South Main in Water Valley, MS, and in doing so, I am celebrating the answer to a prayer.

I moved to Water Valley a bit over two years ago, but it was only recently that I found an arts space. For more than two years, I had knocked on every door in the business district of Water Valley. I had pleaded for a place to hang my art, but nothing worked until it finally did. As usual, that happened when God was ready, and when God was ready, He provided me with an arts space with style. Once again, I am reminded of the scripture:

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

Waiting is difficult for me. Invariably, my nearly fatal flaw is my impulsiveness. I want my world to spin on MY time, which is often not God's time. But at some level, I have always realized that while I was waiting for God to work His miracles, He was preparing me to accept the miracles He had in store for me. Before, I was trying to put my cart before my horse, but during my wait, God had a plan.

When I think about God's foresight and planning, I think about the Wee Little Man Zacchaeus who climbed into the tall tree that allowed him to see Jesus, who was passing by. Here is a possible rest of that story: Long before Zacchaeus needed a tall tree to see Jesus, God planted a sycamore, and the world [and ultimately Zacchaeus] waited for it to grow.

Most people do not know this, but God has placed me in one situation after another and through those situations, I have acquired many skills that I plan to offer Water Valley through my new arts space. Many of my programs will be free to the public. I endorse the notion that to whom much is given, much is expected, and for many, many years, God has graced me with many skills and has provided me with opportunities to teach those skills. The Free things I offer to Water Valley will be part of my tithe.

Let's look at some of the ways that God has been preparing me to open my arts space in Water Valley--Let's begin with Church:

I grew up as a Southern Baptist, and that church is where I learned many Bible stories and sweet songs. But while I was in college, I became Episcopalian. I have been affiliated with the Episcopal Church most of my adult life. Since I have lived in several places during that time, I have been part of several different groups of Episcopalians, but it was at the Church of the Nativity that I found my Church Home

At one point in the typical Episcopal service, the congregation is directed to "Pass the Peace" to one's fellow congregants. At many Episcopal churches, this peace-passing is a rather subdued--a rather stiff affair that barely deviates in tone from the rest of the service. At Church of the Nativity, Passing the Peace becomes downright rowdy as congregants jump up out of their pews and greet their friends who might have been sitting in a spot far away from them. At Nativity, Passing the Peace is a time of laughter and hugging and loud salutations across the building. At Nativity, Passing the Peace is a jubilant celebration of friendship, and that universal friendship at Nativity is how many of us have found not only a church but also a community of friends.

Soon after my marriage, God moved my family to Jackson for my now ex-husband to attend medical school. Because of another set of miracles in Jackson, I found the job of teaching art to the young children at St. Andrews Episcopal School. I grew in many ways through that job. First, I learned to love children's art. Second, I learned to love children's books.

I often tell people that I grew up in a cotton patch of a town. The only books that I remember from my childhood are The Little Red Hen and Chicken Little. The St. Andrew's Lower School has a vast library, and while I was teaching there, I read every children's book in that school's collection. Those books changed my life.

Since my time at St. Andrew's, I have become an enthusiast of children's literature, and during much of my adult life, I have worked as a storyteller for children. In thanksgiving for that gift, I am offering a free Story Time on Saturday Mornings at Jacki Kellum Studios, from 9:30 - 10:30. Story Times will begin Saturday, September 6, 2025.

Another miraculous thing happened while I was teaching at St. Andrews. During the Christmas season,  the children and I created the almost life-sized Nativity Scene that covered a large room. The children drew and colored all the characters who were in Bethlehem at the first Christmas, and  I painted the hills and night sky surrounding the City of Bethlehem. Together, the children and I transformed a large room into a child's perception of the Christmas Story. The result was magical. For that effort, Mississippi Magazine featured me in a large article, and I was named National Teacher of the Year. My dream is to one day begin replicating that scene in Water Valley.

Long after I taught at St. Andrews, I translated the Christmas Story into my picture book The Donkey's Song, which was published by Doubleday for Young Readers--a division of Penguin Random House. Everything about that book was a miracle. 

To God be the Glory. Great Things He hath Done." Nativity, Let's Open God's Gifts Together.

Sunday, August 24, 2025 - Rev. Ann Whitaker - will be serving

Lessons 

Jeremiah 1:4-10Psalm 71:1-6Hebrews 12:18-29Luke 13:10-17

Those who serve:

Lectors: Jack, Mary Beth

Altar Guild: Vivian

MC POD: Eddie

Flowers: Katelynn

Refreshments:

Set-up: Shannon

Food: Katelynn and Shannon

Clean-up Jen

Volunteer sign-up sheets are on the center hall table.