Reflections

Reflections

Two provocative and disturbing moments for me in the days just before the snow and ice:

Moment #1: I had just returned home, being troubled by my refusal once again to respond to another ubiquitous request by a local man for “some help”for a meal. Unintentionally, I began reading some random thoughts by Pope Francis from an interview in 2017 in which he described my attitude of that day’s resistance perfectly. The Pope noted that we all justify our refusal to help by saying to ourselves, “if I give him some money, he’ll just spend it on a glass of wine.” ( And all the while, I use alcohol and sleeping pills to cushion my already warm and well-fed life.) Pope Francis went on to say, “If a glass of wine is his only happiness in life, then so be it.” He went on to tell the interviewer that there are “many ways to justify one’s actions when not giving alms.”

Yes, I know all about enabling behavior, and I know all about teaching a man to fish instead of giving him one. I have many good reasons for refusing to help. And… I am aware of my infinite capacity to rationalize and justify what I just don’t want to do.

Moment #2: As I was leaving the church last Sunday after everyone had gone home, and just as the first bit of precipitation had begun to fall, I noticed a car being parked in a crazy, diagonal way in front of the church by the Blessing Box. I was across the street locking up Salt and Light and saw a woman with a plastic bag fun of cans that I assumed she had taken from the box. I had said something to myself about taking what you need and leaving the rest, when I saw her reach into her car and bring out a second, and then a third plastic bag, both filled with cans. "She must have a real racket,” I mused, as I continued locking up.

Then I looked more closely and saw that she had begun emptying the three sacks and putting the cans and boxes in the Blessing Box until it was overflowing. As the rain was beginning to turn to sleet, I finished locking up and walked across the street to tell her “thank you”. But she drove away as quickly as she had arrived.

And I was left with with a vague sense of being terribly blind and incapable of seeing something so very important.

Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.

Other Matters of Importance

Election of Of Our New Bishop- February 3

During this year’s Annual Diocesan Council (February 2-4 at St. Andrew’s School, Ridgeland) we will be electing a new bishop to succeed the Right Reverend Brian Seage as the 11th Bishop of the Diocese of Mississippi and chief pastor and overseer of the diocese. Among many other responsibilities, the bishop is, technically, the head of all mission congregations (like Nativity) and the Vicar of such congregations only serves in the bishop’s place “vicariously”. But at any point, the bishop can choose to assert his/her authority and become the “hands on” leader in any particular mission. Thus, Nativity needs to watch this election closely!

Your Vicar, as well as Les and Jan Nichols, will serve as Nativity’s delegates to this year’s Council. A full report of the proceedings will be given when we return.

Nativity’s Annual Congregational Meeting- Sunday, February 11.

After worship on February we will hold our canonically required Annual Meeting to elect two new Mission Committee members (Mary Beth Pulsifer and Eddie Wood have been nominated, thus far), review our 2024 budget and discuss the ongoing life of this special faith community. Please make every effort to join us.

Immediately following the Annual Meeting we will celebrate our common life with a special luncheon in the Salt and Light building. Joe York will cook Boston butts as the entree and Juawice McCormick will bake King Cakes( a nod to Mardi Gras) for our dessert. Drinks will be provided. The rest of us will be providing various side dishes that we will sign up for on a spread sheet that will be shortly available at the church.

This will be our inaugural “big event” at S and L! We’ll make a few mistakes, learn a lot and have a wonderful time!

Are You Interested in Helping….?

Salt and Light ministries-After completing most of their work, the Salt and Light Decorating Committee will be reorganized into a group that will look to facilitate the ongoing use of the facility- social, programmatic, outreach, etc. This is a restart for our “across the street” ministries. There will be some carryover of those who had previously expressed interest in such activities, but this is a chance for new folks to join in establishing and coordinating these ministries. Sign up sheets will be in the church.

Jail Ministry-After our wonderful pre-Christmas trip to the local jail, some interest was expressed in developing an ongoing jail ministry. If you are interested in talking about the development of such a ministry, please see the sign up sheet in the rear of the church. After we see if there is an interest, a meeting will be called to discuss the nature and direction of such a new ministry.

Providing Food for Hannah McCormick and Ryan Pierce-These parents of our newest member of Nativity- Homer Pierce- would greatly appreciate meals from the Nativity community during this wonderfully rich (and exhausting!) time of their lives. A link to the Meal Train website is here.

Mission Committee Approves Grant to Rural Uganda Medical Clinic

Continuing its international outreach begun last year, the Mission Committee on Tuesday approved a $1,000 grant to the Community Health and Education in Rural Africa (CHERA). This program, one that your Vicar has been associated with for over 15 years, does remarkable work in rural Uganda. A description of the Safe Motherhood Project, a unique initiative generated out of the medical clinic in Kasese, Uganda, to isolated Rwenzori mountain communities, is available on the table in the rear of the church. It is to that specific work that this year’s grant is directed.

Stay warm and safe!

God willing and the ice clears, I’ll see you Sunday!

Blessings and Peace,

Duncan

(601)260-1937

Dmgrayiii@gmail.com