St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at Beacon Harbor

On Sunday, March 17th, our youth group will meet for lunch after the 10:30 service. Following lunch, they'll head out and put together a St. Patrick's Day celebration their friends at Beacon Harbor.

Last month, we had a huge turnout for the Mardi Gras celebration - so much that we were over capacity for the space.

This month, Beacon Harbor has asked that we bring just EYC members and designated adult volunteers. For this reason, the scheduled parade has been canceled.

In the future, we look forward to hosting our Beacon Harbor friends at our space where we have more room!

Youth Mission Opportunities

As followers of Christ, we are called to go out into the world and serve. So, EYC is looking to find opportunities to do just that, including a few mission trips. Well, maybe one mission trip and one local mission to show that mission can take place here at home and away. Just like the idea that our neighbors are those who live next door and in the next state.

Here soon, we will look for mission opportunities here in Greenwood. With the help of Brantley Snipes, EYC will find a project that would be beneficial to our neighbors in Greenwood. We are also looking to join a Diocesan mission trip to help our neighbors in Florida with Hurricane relief. This trip, most likely, will take place in late July. Wherever we look, we should be able to find a way to serve.

Fat Tuesday Pancake Supper

On Tuesday, March 5 at 5:30pm, we’ll finish off the celebratory season of Epiphany with a beloved Nativity tradition and one last party. We’ll have crafts for the kids, pancakes and sausage for all ages, and Carnival music on the speakers. As we begin to wind down, Peter will lead a short Mardi Gras parade into the church as we bury our Alleluias for the season of Lent. We’ll bring them back out at Easter!

December Youth Group Update

December is here, and for EYC this means that it is time for the Nativity Christmas Pageant. There is excitement in the air as we have already been planning and rehearsing. For some, this will be their last time to be a part of the Christmas Pageant, and for others this will be their first. But for all, it will be fun and joyful.

One of the great things about the Christmas Pageant is that EYC members can reflect on who they are and who God has called them to be by acting out the story of the Nativity. By acting out this story, our EYC brings parts of themselves to this story of our Lord. More importantly, this Nativity pageant immerses them in the story by pulling them directly into it as they act it out.

Please help us by making sure that the EYC is here the next two Sunday nights so we can practice. And, please pray for the EYC and all of those who are involved in the Christmas Pageant as we work on this joyous event.

Youth Group Update

The EYC had a great September as we participated in several outreach activities. These included our first trip to Beacon Harbor and the Greenwood Canned Food Drive. When we were not participating in outreach, we were taking time to reflect on “who God has called us to be.”

We are taking time over the next several weeks to ask the question, “who am I?” We have started by looking at our relationships with each other, with our friends, and with our families. We have spent time exploring our “likes” and “dislikes” and our “hopes.” We will continue this exploration of “who am I?” over the next several weeks by exploring our Christian identity.

The EYC will help with the Blessing of the Animals on October 7th. Please bring a pet and enjoy this fun-filled, Spirit-led service. We have heard that we could have pet pigs here to be blessed! After the Pet Blessing, EYC will stay to enjoy a meal and game.

EYC will host a Halloween themed party for Beacon Harbor on October 21. Our September visit meant so much to the residents of Beacon Harbor that we are still hearing from them about it. To say that they are excited about the Halloween Party would be an understatement! The plan is to have cupcakes, candy corn, and punch while we listen and dance Halloween themed music. We will also decorate pumpkins and make paper Halloween masks. This should be a wonderful time as we continue to nurture these relationships.

Youth Group

All Nativity youth and friends grades 6-12 are invited to our first Sunday evening gathering of the new school year on Sunday, August 19. Join us for dinner at 5 pm and programming with Phillip, Brantley, and others at 5:30 pm. We'll play games, we'll get to know more about Phillip and how he found his way to Nativity, and we'll close with prayer as always. The EYC is always in need of adults willing to provide dinner. If you can help feed our youth, sign up for a spot on the sheet in the church kitchen.

1-Day Youth Mission Trip

Nativity youth grades 6-12 will join the youth of St. James' Episcopal Church for a day of outreach work at Delta Streets Academy. We'll gather at 8:45am in the Nativity parking lot and then Phillip Parker and Steve Iwanski will travel with the kids over to the new Delta Streets location downtown and help staff, students, and families prepare the new building for the new school year. The day concludes with worship. Bring a little money for lunch downtown.

A Note from Peter (May 2018)

The Rev. Peter Gray

Late last month, Steve Iwanski shared with the EYC that his time as Nativity’s youth minister will come to a close in late October. In June, Steve will have served faithfully on the staff of Nativity for four years. During that time, he has built deep relationships, led mission trips, organized parish wide fellowship and Vacation Bible School, carried youth to Diocesan retreats, worshiped with us, helped our kids take leadership in worship, nurtured our older kids' spiritual growth, and played ceaselessly with the little ones in our WeeYC. He has done all this while perfectly balancing warmth, accessibility, and maturity. Steve's ministry among us has truly been a blessing.

When Steve began work as Nativity's youth minister, he was newly married, had just completed his time teaching at J.Z. George High School, and was a part-time bookseller at Turnrow. Four years later, Steve is the manager of Turnrow, the founder of the Greenwood Shakespeare Project, the incoming President of the Greenwood Little Theater, and Sarah and Steve's son Nate will be two in July. To everything there is a time and a season, Ecclesiastes reminds us, and Steve is entering a new season with different opportunities for ministry.

In June, Nativity will welcome the Rev. Phillip Parker, freshly-graduated from the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, as a part-time Priest Associate and Youth Minister at Nativity. Before seminary, Phillip lived in Southaven and worked as an outpatient therapist for youth and families in Tunica through the Region One Mental Health Center. Last summer, he served as the chaplain to the young adult staff at Camp Bratton-Green. The Executive Committee and I interviewed Phillip, and we are excited about his professional background and also his warmth, his kindness, and his commitment to nurturing the spiritual development of our kids.

Phillip and his wife Amanda are the parents of two children: Connor, who will be entering the 9th grade next year, and McKenzie, who will be in the 4th grade. Amanda will be working as a Special Education teacher in Marks, and the family will live in Sumner where Phillip will be the clergy-in-charge for Church of the Advent. This unique arrangement of sharing staff is not totally novel for us, since our churches already share a youth group! Three Sundays per month, Phillip will preach and celebrate in Sumner. One Sunday per month, he will be present at Nativity for both services and the Sunday School hour. This arrangement will allow him the opportunity to worship with our youth group and build relationships with adults and younger children on a regular basis. On those Sundays, lay leaders at Church of the Advent will lead Morning Prayer.

The overlap of Steve and Phillip's time this fall is purposeful. I hope that Steve's continuing presence will help our youth be at ease as they get to know Phillip and build relationships with him. In addition, I hope that Phillip will gain an appreciation of our existing youth programming by shadowing Steve for a bit before he begins designing his own Sunday evening programs.

As you can tell, I am grateful for the excellent ministry Steve has done these past many years, and I am excited about the opportunities that Phillip will bring upon his arrival. If you have questions, please be in touch! In the meantime, hold Steve, Phillip, and our youth in your prayers!

Peter+

Nativity Easter Egg Hunt and Ice Cream Social

Saturday, March 30, our youth group will hide eggs all over Nativity for the benefit of our
pre-school and elementary aged children. And, because candy isn't enough sugar, we'll also
be feeding them ice cream! With toppings! But before we do all this, we'll need to recover our “Alleluia!” banner so that our celebration of the resurrection can begin! The fun begins at 3pm. EYC kids check with Steve on when to report to make preparations.

A Note from Peter (May 2017)

One of the constants in my life in the Episcopal Church has been the springtime tradition of Youth Sunday. We did it growing up at St. Peter’s, Oxford; as a youth minister at St. Philip’s, Jackson, it was my job to corral the EYC into the roles of usher, preacher, etc.; and at Nativity, Youth Sunday remains a must-see event.

This year, Youth Sunday falls on May 14, and as usual, our young people will help carry the roles of lector, usher, and intercessor at the 10:30 service. Their presence around the altar will remind us, if we’ve forgotten, that the Church is much broader than the boring grown folk who sit in vestry meetings. Each of us – from screaming infant to senior warden – is as essential to this church family as the next. Youth Sunday reminds us of this.

Our custom at Nativity is to celebrate Youth Sunday the Sunday before graduation, which almost always falls on Mother’s Day. And because the task of preaching typically falls to a senior, our Youth Sunday sermon is often an occasion for graduating students to thank their mothers, the congregation, and others. Nonetheless, what I most look forward to in these youth sermons is hearing how our young people read, interpret, and connect the scripture of the day with their experience and life of our church family.

This year, we don’t have any Nativity seniors. Evan Lindsay is a regular at EYC, but he’s a member of Church of the Advent, Sumner. When the issue of preaching came up, this presented a problem for a moment, until finally we decided: we don’t need a graduate; we need a preacher! I am grateful that Ellie Knight accepted my invitation to preach to us on May 14. Perhaps all of you know Ellie already, but what you might not know is that she’s already taking up the mantle of church leadership, serving on Happening Staff this March. I am thrilled to hear how she wrestles with scripture, and what word of encouragement she brings from it to us.

One of the great gifts of this church family is the way that it raises up young leaders, nurturing them in the faith, and then sending them out into the world to love and serve the Lord. I look forward to celebrating them with you in a few weeks!

Peace,
Peter+