Bishop Seage Visits Nativity on Oct. 28

Since the earliest days of the Church, the faithful have had folks called “bishops.” They haven’t always worn funny hats, but what they have always done is bind together Christians in different congregations and in diverse parts of the world into one fellowship. It used to be that on Easter, bishops would celebrate Communion, and a little bit of the Body of Christ would be taken from the bishop’s altar and carried out for the inclusion in the Easter communion of all the churches to which he was connected. It was a sign of the Body being bigger than any one locale.

Sunday, October 28, our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Brian Seage will make his biannual visit to Episcopal Church of the Nativity. His presence is a reminder to us in Greenwood that as Christians (and as Episcopalians) the capital-C Church is way bigger than just what happens inside our four walls at Nativity. Bishop Seage spends his weekends traveling across Mississippi, visiting big urban churches and tiny rural ones. As he zigzags about, he reminds us that all of us are connected in ministry, in relationship, and in mission.

Bishop Seage will preach and celebrate at both the 8am and 10:30am services. At 10:30, he will confirm and receive some youths and adults as they make adult affirmations of faith and join the church officially. Some of those being confirmed or received have been here a while, some only a short time. Regardless, taking this step with the bishop present is a way of saying, “In this Episcopal tradition, not just Nativity, I’ve found a home and a place where I can grow in faith.”

Since Bishop Seage will be present at both services, we will welcome him with a large parish breakfast at 9am. If you can help provide hospitality for this event, please contact Frances Knight, who coordinates our Sunday breakfasts. Following breakfast, the kids will dismiss to Sunday School and adult forum will turn our attention to Bible Trivia! Since Halloween interrupts our family night schedule, Bishop Seage will be our guest M.C. for two rounds of trivia as we continue our march toward the Nativity Cup. This week's winner not only wins gift cards, but also will be featured in one of Bishop Seage's signature selfies!

It’s a lot going on and we have a lot to celebrate. Join the celebration!

Peace,
Peter+

New Service Opportunity for 5th-8th Grade Youth

For the Spring of 2018, we are creating a new service opportunity for our 5th-8th grade youth on Sunday mornings at 9:30am. Instead of Sunday School, these members of our church will be invited to assist with our youngest Godly Play classroom. As our 3k-5k Godly Play teachers can attest, we have lots of energy to manage in that room! Before assisting, youth will be invited to attend a brief training with our Godly Play teachers so that they can understand the particular format of the program and how they can be helpful. After attending the training, these youth will be scheduled as helpers just as adult teachers are. Our hope is that their participation will continue to nurture a spirit of service in our youth while also exposing them to the rich biblical teaching of Godly Play.

A Note from Peter (January 2018)

The Rev. Peter Gray

This January, I’m looking forward to a series of conversations on church security we’ll be having during Adult Forum on Sunday mornings. You may think I’m crazy, but I actually can’t wait to talk as a church family about what we need to feel safe in this church. I’m even looking forward to those moments when our differences of opinion and differences in experience lead all of us to feel uncomfortable.

Two years ago Bob Provine and I invited the vestry and the membership of Nativity into a conversation about same-sex marriage and its place within the liturgical life of this parish. My experience of that time confirmed an intuition I already held: that when a church family explores difference, rather than avoiding it, it has the opportunity to come out the other side with relationships that are stronger and deeper.

As we explore the issue of church security, my goal as a facilitator will be, first of all, to help us acknowledge our differences as a parish. What makes one person feel safe makes another feel insecure. One person’s need for security may come into conflict with another person’s need for hospitality. Hearing those differences loud and clear offers the opportunity to know one another more deeply and to find creative solutions we never would have imagined on our own.

After we’ve heard the different needs of our church family, our second task will be to brainstorm ways that we might meet these different needs with one course of action. A good plan won’t just address the concerns of one group of people, but will try to creatively thread the needle. After we’ve brainstormed together, a committee of church leaders, including myself, the Wardens, Charlie Swayze, and Danny Faught will huddle and fine tune a workable way forward that we can present to the congregation for feedback at a later date.

This process is based on a mediation model I studied for my annual continuing education back in October. That model is built on a couple of important insights. The first insight is that diversity is a fundamental part of creation; there’s no getting around it, even if it sometimes makes life more difficult. The second insight is that when everyone is in agreement, folks typically aren’t communicating, and relationships aren’t growing.

With that in mind, I hope you’ll take time to be with us Sundays at 9:30am in January. Our task is to answer some pragmatic questions about a contemporary topic. But our goal is really to grow in love with one another.

Peter+

A Note from Peter (July 2015)

Discernment, I’ve been told, is figuring out what is next and what is not next. The fallow time that is summer in the church is a blessing in that it invites us into discernment. Though our farmers are hard at work now, for those of us whose lives are tied to the school calendar, the summer provides a moment to stop and wonder about what it is that God would have us do next.

In our church family, a number of your leaders have been discerning with me the shape our Christian formation programming will take down the road. Christian formation is a term I use to encompass every part of our life together that helps us to grow in the knowledge and love of God. Sunday School is the obvious example, but youth group, children’s chapel, Emmaus small groups, and Mission Mississippi prayer breakfasts are all part of how we do Christian formation. Here are a few of the things your leaders have been working on:

Junior High Sunday School: Two years ago we made an attempt at starting a Jr. High Sunday School class. As we have more and more children in this age range, a number of us discerned it was time to make another go of it. Emily Riser has offered herself as the leader of this new class that will cover the 5th-8th grades. For her curriculum, she’ll be using Sparkhouse’s re:form, a program that invites emerging young adults to tackle questions together about the Bible, the creeds, Jesus, and other topical concerns. You can learn more at wearesparkhouse.org/teens/reform/core.

Adult Forum: Beginning this Fall, our Sunday learning for adults will take a slightly different form. We’ll move out of the current classroom and set up in the parish hall. Want to sit and listen and talk about the day’s topic while eating your breakfast casserole? Great! Want to sit and chat about the weather? Well, you might want to do that in the Bishop’s Hall. In addition to the new space, the teaching burden will be spread around a bit more. Look for programs led by yours truly as well as other Nativity members and friends.

Godly Play: This Montessori-based approach for our 3-6 year olds is off and running. Lindsay Powers, Kim Lassiter, Cindy Wilson, Tish Goodman, Sherrie Peel, and Kathy Whicker have agreed to be our teachers, and most of them will travel with me to Sewanee the last week in July for a four day training in the program. Look inside for ways that you can help fund the startup of this program!

Emmaus Groups: Many members had very positive experiences last year with these small groups that gathered on a monthly basis for fellowship and learning. Look to hear more in August about joining a group for the first time or reconvening last year’s group.

Wednesday Bible Study: Frances Lavelle and I have discussed beginning a simple bible study after the 10am Wednesday service. Would you be interested in that? Let me know!

Peace,
Peter+