Outreach Committee Update

The new year is in full-swing, and the Nativity Outreach Committee wanted to share a quick rundown of where we as a church family finished our outreach program in 2018 and where we are headed in 2019. After speaking with community leaders across Leflore County and after many discussions within the six-member Nativity Outreach Committee, it was decided that our outreach focus for 2018 and 2019 would be on ministries to school-aged children. With that in mind here is where our outreach monies were spent:

• In November, the Outreach Committee teamed up with the Episcopal Church Women to fund catfish dinners for close to 600 families through the Community Food Pantry at a total cost of $2000.

• In December, after a request was made by Delta Streets, Nativity contributed $1200 towards Literature books that were needed for the high school English classes. These books were purchased from Turnrow.

• In January 2019, we received a request from ArtPlace to partially fund the work of a FoodCorps member, Rachael Harvey, as she works with students at Threadgill Primary. Rachael teaches classes, develops school gardens and helps students explore healthy eating. Our contribution to this ministry is $1875.

In the future, we will be discerning new areas where we can be helpful, not only financially, but as bodies of Christ in our community, with an ongoing focus on ministries to school-aged children. Our goal is to keep our congregation “in the know,” and also to present opportunities to volunteer. So stay tuned!

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+

A Note from Peter (March 2017)

With the 2017 Speaker Series this weekend and Nativity hosting Happening #85 the following weekend, one could be excused for forgetting that Ash Wednesday is March 1! But indeed it is, and so, at 12:05 and 5:30pm we will gather to pray for the world; to have ashes imposed on our foreheads; and for the invitation, once again, “to the observance of a Holy Lent.”

For the last ten years, my observance of Lent has always included listening to the St. Matthew Passion by J.S. Bach. This massive work of classical music recounts and reflects upon the story of the last supper, Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion. It was originally written to be performed on Good Friday in the church where Bach served as church musician. Truly, this is a piece of classical music meant to be an act of worship. It is crushingly beautiful, and at times inspiring, mournful, and surprisingly joyful in places. Each Lent, it allows me to dwell deeply in the story of our Lord’s suffering and death and his love for us.

My hope, this Lent, is to share that gift with you all in an adult forum class I’m calling “Bible Study with Bach.” We’ll read together Matthew 26 and 27, pausing periodically to watch a performance of the Passion from the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris. In the performance, you get a sense for Bach’s own spirituality, how he interprets the biblical text, and what he thinks it all means. And just like reading scripture with any other friend, how Bach reads the story might shape how you read the story. These days, when I read of Judas giving back the money for which he betrayed Jesus, I hear the depth of his repentance that Bach puts into music. When I think of Peter in the garden denying Jesus, I hear the mourning that Bach puts into Peter’s voice. Two years ago, my entire Palm Sunday sermon was inspired by the music Bach composed for two words St. Matthew wrote: “wept bitterly.”

I’ll be assisted in this undertaking by our friend Ben Arnold, assistant professor of music at MVSU and known to many as a bookseller at Turnrow. St. Matthew Passion moves me on a deep level, but when it comes to talking music history and theory, I get out of my depth very quickly. I am grateful to Ben for helping me out in that department. In addition, David Williamson has given an introduction to Bach and the Passion elsewhere in this newsletter. As David points out, all of you already know music from the St. Matthew Passion. It’s in our hymnal, and it’s in a lot of weddings too!

This offering begins March 19 and will continue through Easter Day. Whether you’re a big music lover or not, why not take this Lent and this opportunity to spend a little more time with the story that makes all the difference in the world?

Peace,
Peter+

A Note From Peter (February 2017)

For me, one of the great highlights of the last two years at Nativity has been the restart of the Nativity Speaker Series. I consider myself unbelievably privileged to be able to learn from, spend time with, and host some of the most influential religious thinkers of our day right here in Greenwood. Never in a million years did I imagine that I would be talking theology with Walter Brueggemann over a plate of chicken livers, and yet, there we were at the Crystal Grill last year before I took him to the airport!

The first weekend in March, Nativity will welcome the Rev. Dr. William Willimon for the 2017 Speaker Series for a program entitled Why Jesus? Born in South Carolina, Dr. Willimon is now known as one of the great preachers of our day. In 1996, a survey out of Baylor University named him, alongside Billy Graham, as one of the twelve best preachers in the English speaking world. He served as Dean of the Duke University Chapel for fifteen years before being elected the United Methodist Bishop of North Alabama in 2004. Since 2012, he has been back at Duke Divinity School as Professor of the Practice of Ministry.

A distinctive feature of Willimon’s preaching and teaching is the high expectations he has of the Church as it witnesses to and follows Jesus of Nazareth as Lord and Savior. Willimon is a fascinating fellow in that he has spent his career deep within the governance and structures of the Church but has never been confused as to Whom he owes his first allegiance. As Rusty Douglas said to me, “Willimon has been known to knock out a stained glass window or two!”

Friday, March 3, the weekend will begin with a light reception at Turnrow Books at 5:30pm. I am grateful to Lucy Swayze who is helping pull off this new feature of our speaker series. After enjoying fellowship and showing off our beautiful bookstore to out of town guests, we’ll head back to Nativity for the first lecture, “The Most Interesting Person in the World,” beginning at about 6:30pm. Saturday morning, we’ll have a light continental breakfast at 8:30am followed by lectures at 9am, “Jesus Christ: the Truth About God,” and 10:45am, “Jesus Christ: the Salvation of the World.” In between, Dr. Willimon will be available to sign books.

On Sunday, March 5, Nativity’s adult forum will be treated to some extra time with Dr. Willimon at 9:30am. All through February, we will be reading his book Why Jesus?, and on this day, he’ll lead a class that he has intriguingly titled “Jesus Christ at the Church of the Nativity.” Finally, at 10:30, he’ll be our guest preacher for the first Sunday in Lent. As we hear the story of Jesus’ trials in the wilderness, his sermon title is “Just Say No! Resisting Temptation with Jesus.”

It should be a wonderful weekend. I hope you’ll plan on taking advantage of this great opportunity and invite friends from near and far!

Peace,
Peter+