Reflections
As Les and Jan Nichols and I prepare to to travel to Ridgeland this weekend for the Annual Diocesan Council, I want to take a moment to reflect a bit on the significance of what will be going on, both symbolically and substantively, as people from Episcopal Churches across Mississippi gather at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School.
I have written and talked a lot about the election of a new bishop, and this is, of course, the headline event of the weekend. We will also be saying “Goodbye” to Bishop Seage and thanking him for offering himself in service to God and this diocese over the past nine years.
But we will also be electing lay and clergy to a variety of leadership positions in our diocese. We will adopt a budget for FY 2024 and be updated via reports on a wide variety of matters. There will also be time for connecting and reconnecting with friends, colleagues and family from across the state, and in some cases, the nation and the world. It is about the gathering, itself, that I’d like to share a few thoughts.
We will gather as Parishes, Missions, Parochial and College Chaplaincies and youth programs across the state. It is a moment in which each participant can actually see the reality of being part of a church that is so much more than their particular local incarnation. Beyond this gathering in Ridgeland, a Mississippi deputation ( including Nativity’s own Robbie Fisher), will meet this summer in Louisville, Kentucky, with deputies from across this and fourteen other countries to conduct the business of the Episcopal Church and elect a new Presiding Bishop. At this “General Convention”, as it is known, a participant can come to understand how the Episcopal Church manifests itself in profoundly different ways on New York’s Wall Street, on a Native American reservation in North Dakota or on Main Street in Water Valley, Mississippi.
This ecclesiastical journey outward takes us, eventually, to Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England, where every 10 years all the bishops of the Anglican Communion( representing 46 provinces and almost 80,000,000 Anglicans/ Episcopalians from all over the world) gather for worship, conversation and prayerful reflection on how the church can be most faithful in a rapidly changing and increasingly divided world. My time at this “Lambeth Conference” in 2008 was, both personally and professionally, profoundly important and grace-filled.
When we gather at our small church every Sunday and say prayers from the Mississippi and Anglican Cycles of Prayers we are saying that we recognize that we are part of something so much bigger than ourselves and are surrounded, always, by a great cloud of witnesses.
For me, especially in times of frustration and disillusionment, it is all so wonderfully comforting.
Other Matters of Interest
The Reverend Ann Whitaker-Celebrant and Preacher: February 4
Ann will also be leading the Gospel of John Bible study in the Salt and Light building at 9:30 on Sunday.
Annual Congregational Meeting-February 11
We will hold our Annual Meeting in the church after worship next Sunday, February 11. We will elect 2 new Mission Committee members to replace Alexe van Beuren and James McCormick whose terms have come to an end. Thank you so much, Alexe and James! We will also receive our 2024 budget and have a conversation about the ongoing life of Nativity.
Following the meeting a pot luck luncheon will be served in the Salt and Light building. Boston butts will be cooked by Joe York ( thus, our working title: “Butts and Buffet”) and Juawice McCormick will provide King Cakes for dessert. Drinks will be provided. For the rest of us who will be bringing side dishes, a sign up sheet is in the back of the church.
Mardi Gras Celebration and Parade- February 13 @5:15
The First Annual Mardi Gras Celebration and parade will commence from the church at 5:15 on February 13(please note slightly adjusted time) We will gather at 4:45. Bikes, wagons, strollers-decorated or not- are welcome. Some costumes, masks and beads will be available as we gather to parade, but feel free to bring your own! A brass band from the high school will be leading the parade. We’ll be carrying an “Alleluia!” banner, and afterwards will bury it on the church grounds as we prepare to move into the penitential season of Lent the next day-Ash Wednesday.
We will parade down Main to TIN at 106 South Main where we will enjoy gumbo, red beans and rice, another musical group and art projects galore!
In preparation for this celebration a decorating workshop for masks and umbrellas ( open to all ages!) will be held from 10:00-2:00 on Saturday, February 10, at TIN.
Invite you friends to join you in what we hope will be the beginning of an exciting and fun tradition in Water Valley!
Ash Wednesday Worship-February 14 @ 5:30
A celebration of the Holy Eucharist with the Imposition of Ashes will be held at Nativity on Ash Wednesday, February 14 at 5:30pm.
Lenten Retreat at St. Peter’s-February 23 and 24
The Rev. Lowell Grisham, a native of Oxford and long time rector of St. Paul’s, Fayetteville, Arkansas, will be leading a Lenten retreat at St. Peter’s February 23 and 24. Lowell is a very skilled retreat leader and a long time friend of the Vicar. Brochures and registration forms are in the rear of the church.
Blessings and Peace,
Duncan
(601)260-1937
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