Reflections
Coming this fall: “Sacred Ground-A Spiritual Journey of Race and Faith”
Over the past few years a variety of events have forced us to reflect in different and deeper ways on the impact of race in our lives. Over the past two years I have sought to offer to interested persons some structure and direction to these personal reflections by facilitating a personal, intimate and spiritual exploration of the ways in which the history of race has deeply impacted us as individuals and communities. I plan to offer this 11-week experience in Water Valley, beginning in August.
Almost fifty people have participated in the two courses that I have offered at St. Peter’s in Oxford. Evaluations have been very positive from participants:
“Hard work, but we’ll worth the effort.”
“I didn’t always agree, but it sure made me think.”
“Learning parts of my/our history of race helped me to understand so much.”
“It was a gentle challenge, and I could hear God’s voice in new ways.”
The curriculum being used is rooted in the faith tradition of the Episcopal Church and is being used in congregations in the Anglican Communion throughout the world. Members of other faith traditions, as well as those with no religious affiliation, are welcome to participate, but the course is shaped by a particular Christian ethos and perspective. Each of the courses I have led has had several participants from outside the Episcopal Church.
The eleven session course is designed for small group conversation that will provide a spiritual support community as participants begin to understand more deeply the role of race in their lives and its implications for the wider community. It is a multiple film- and reading-based program that will also use two primary texts: Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurmond( a spiritual mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, among others) and Waking Up White by Debbie Irving.
The classes will meet at the TIN building in Water Valley (16 South Main) every other Wednesday( mostly) from 7:00 to 8:15pm. The course will require a significant commitment of time and study, but as past participants have noted(see comments above), it’s worth the effort.
I will be hosting three introductory and orientation sessions to describe the course in more detail and provide a time for questions and discussion before one makes a commitment to the course:
Sunday, July 30 after Worship in the Salt and Light Building
Wednesday, August 2 @ 5:30pm in TIN building-16 South Main
Sunday, August 6 after Worship in the Salt and Light Building
As we move through the summer there will be various materials available on the table in the rear of the church that will describe the program in greater detail. Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments. Non-Nativity people are certainly welcome, so spread the word (and materials) among your friends.
Other Matters of Importance
Sunday, May 21-First Annual Nativity Rogation Sunday Blessing and Church Picnic
Immediately after worship we will travel to the home of Jenni and Mitch Campbell
(88 CR 332; Taylor, MS)-approximately a 12 minute drive- for a church picnic and a Rogation blessing of the fields and crops. Please bring a picnic dish. Jenni will provide drinks and dessert.
Begun in the 5th century in France, Rogation Days of Blessings of the land and crops were located around the days surrounding the Feast of the Ascension. This Rogation practice spread to the rural agricultural communities in England. The Vicar “beat the bounds” of the parish, processing around the fields, reciting psalms and the Litany. Today, in England, there are major festivals associated with the practice. In our own agricultural Mississippi Delta, most Episcopal churches celebrate Rogation days with great exuberance. Once, after my annual official bishop visitation to Calvary Church, Cleveland, had forced the cancellation of their Rogation Celebration, I got a letter in the fall from a Bolivar County farmer blaming my visit for his particularly bad crop that year!
Thus, what we will begin here at Nativity is rooted in a great festive liturgical tradition…and it’s going to be lots of fun!
See you there!
Stockpiling Supplies for Foster Children
We are beginning a partnership with the Foster Family community of Yalobusha County that may grow to include a variety of things. During the month of May we will be collecting a variety of supplies to provide to children who are being quickly relocated from one family to another. Tina Frizzell, in consultation with the Department of Child Protective Services, has compiled a list of supplies that are needed for this project. The list is in the rear of the church. It will be included in later newsletters.
Salt and Light Building-Steering Committee Being Developed
If you are interested in working with a group to develop policies, procedures and protocol for our new building, please let us know. It’s an exciting time, but we need to carefully think through how we will live creatively into our new facility. Please let me or James McCormick know if you are interested in helping with this.
Here are some things that have already begun to happen at Salt and Light:
-Festive Baptismal reception for Ariana.
-We will be hosting a major event for the Foster Parents Community later this month with a possibility of becoming the site for their monthly meetings. Foster children supplies ( see above) will be housed here, as well.
-Initial overtures to host a 12 Step program have been positively received.
-Plans to host a Scout Troop at Nativity have begun. Parents( or children!) should contact James McCormick, if interested.
Ordination of Tina Frizzell-May 27 at 10:30 am
Tina Frizzell, our deacon-in-training, will be ordained as a vocational deacon by Bishop Seage at her home church, St. Peter’s, Oxford, on May 27. The Nativity congregation is invited to the ordination that begins at 10:30 am. The Mission Committee is giving Tina a white liturgical stole as a sign of Nativity’s appreciation and affection. Though Tina will be assigned to St. Peter’s as her primary placement by Bishop Seage, she will continue to be connected on a monthly, but more limited capacity, to Nativity.
A Personal Commercial- Readings at This Is Noteworthy-May 24-7:00pm
At Becca Finley’s request I will be reading pieces from my once started, but never completed, memoir on May 24. The readings are part of TIN’s year-long series that showcases local writers- even unpublished ones!
Blessings and Peace!
Duncan
(601)260-1937
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