Ministry to Growing Families

The Episcopal Church Women are working to consolidate all of Nativity’s ministries to growing families under one umbrella. These include, reaching out and praying for expectant parents and those considering adoption, delivering celebratory yard signs when the child comes home, organizing meals for the family, and creating personalized banners for the day of their baptism. If you would like to join this ministry, contact Lindsay Powers at 466-1114.

The Choir Corner: Pentecost

David Williamson, Choirmaster and Organist

As we speedily fly through the Great Fifty Days of Easter, seemingly faster each year, I'm putting in a new communion hymn on The Day of Pentecost from the contemplative Taize' Community. The community is an ecumenical monastic order in France, near Cluny, founded by a Swiss Protestant, who felt called to minister to young people and work towards greater cooperation among Christians.

Their worship and their songs were made to be accessible to the brothers and pilgrims, using mantras, short repeated phrases like antiphons. Usually a cantor provides the rest of the text of the psalm or Canticle. We have used "Ubi Caritas" for a while now. For Pentecost we will use "Veni Sancte Spiritus." Both were written by the late French organist Jacques Berthier, who composed much of their music. In the past fifteen years or so this invocation of the Holy Spirit has gradually replaced the "Veni Creator Spiritus" as the musical prayer at the laying on of hands at ordinations, so many of you have probably already heard it.

Rogation Sunday

Since the late 5th century, Christians in Europe have set aside a few days in the late spring to
ask God’s blessing for a fruitful growing season. In some locations, the faithful lead a
procession around the fields. In other places, this ancient tradition is all but forgotten. In
Greenwood, we gather for an outdoor Eucharist with appetizers and beverages!

Sunday, May 6 at 5pm, join us at the home of Bob and Paula Provine, 11178 County Road 94. Bring an appetizer to share and a symbol of how you’ll be working with the earth this summer. It could be seed, a trowel, dirt from the farm, or a catfish! We’ll offer all of those gifts at the altar as we ask God’s blessing on us and on the good earth God has given into our care.

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+

Flower Arranging Workshop

The Nativity Flower Guild is sponsoring two flower arranging workshops on April 12th, 1:00-5:00pm and April 14th, 8:30am-12:30pm. Lark Brown recently attended a workshop taught by members of the Washington National Cathedral Altar Guild and she will be sharing their secrets for simplifying traditional designs most often used on church altars. Everyone will make an arrangement, so please bring your own clippers.

Rogation Sunday

Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 6 for Nativity's annual Rogation Sunday celebration, an ancient church tradition of blessing seeds and fields, and asking God's blessing for the growing season. This year we'll gather at the home of Bob and Paula Provine, 11178 County Road 94 off Money Road at 5pm. Bring a beverage, an appetizer to share, and some farming or gardening item to have blessed when Peter celebrates a simple outdoor Eucharist.

The Choir Corner: The Great 50 Days of Easter

David Williamson, Choirmaster and Organist

In our 10:30 service, we typically sing the Gloria ("Glory to God in the high-est...") at the beginning of worship, just after the opening sentences. During the Great 50 Days of Easter, however, we are instead singing the Easter Canticle, the Pascha nostrum (which means Our Passover) in place of the Gloria. We are singing a metrical version of the Pascha nostrum by the Rev. Carl Daw, which sets it to the familiar tune "Sine nomine," which you know as the same tune as "For all the saints." Daw's Paschua nostrum first came out as an anthem in the 80's, and I was overjoyed that it became available for congregational use by being included in the popular, authorized supplement to the hymnal, "Wonder, Love, and Praise" from which the choir often sings.

Presiding Bishop Curry: Easter 2018 Message from the Holy Land

Hello on Palm Sunday from St George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem.

There is a passage in the 27th Chapter of Matthew’s gospel where religious leaders, political leaders come together once again after Jesus has been crucified and executed, after he had been buried in the tomb. Once again they come together to seal the tomb, to make sure not even a rumor of his resurrection will happen.  And this is what some of them say:

Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may go and steal him away and tell the people he has been raised from the dead. And the last deception will be the worse than the first.

It is easy to overlook, and sometimes convenient to forget, that Jesus was executed, Jesus was crucified by an unholy alliance of religion, politics, and economic self-interest.  

Politics represented in Pontius Pilate, governor of the Roman Empire, representative of that very empire and all of its power.

King Herod, who heard Jesus at one of the trials, representative of the Herodian and economic self-interest at the time.

The Chief Priest, representative of religious aristocracies who had a vested interest in the status quo.

These three powers came together - economic, religious and political - to crucify the one who taught love the lord your God, love your neighbor, and actually live that way.

The truth is the message of Jesus was unsettling to the world then as it is unsettling to the world now.  And yet that very message is the only source of hope in life for the way of the cross, the way of unselfish living, the way of sacrificial living, seeking the good, the welfare of the other before one’s own unenlightened self-interest. That way of the cross is the way of love. That is the nature of love.  And that way is the only hope for the entire human family.

The reality is the way of Jesus was a threat to the way that the world is, and hope for the way the world can and will be.

But on that third day after the crucifixion, when by the titanic power of God, by the power of the love of God, Jesus was raised from the dead.  God sent a message and declared that death does not have the last word. Hatred does not have the last word. Violence does not have the last word. Bigotry does not have the last word. Sin, evil do not have the last word. The last word is God, and God is love.

On our pilgrimage here, we stopped and spent two days in Jordan. In Amman, Jordan, we were able to spend some sacred and blessed and painful time with Iraqi Christians. These are Christians, many of whom are Anglican, who have fled their country in Iraq because of war and violence and hatred and desecration. They have given up everything, refusing to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ. And there in Jordan, with the help of the Anglican Church there and many other relief agencies, they are at least safe, hoping to find safe and permanent homes in other countries.

In the course of our conversations, and listening to them, at one point I found myself quoting a hymn, a song that many folk have heard around Easter, certainly in our country.  And I didn’t expect a response. You probably know how it goes – it says, “because he lives,” referring to Jesus and his resurrection, “because he lives, I can face tomorrow.” When I quoted that song, those who have lost their homes, people who have lost everything except life itself, those who have lost loved ones, actually responded to the words of that song. When I said, “Because He lives I can face tomorrow.” When I said Jesus is alive, He’s been raised from the dead, I saw them lift up their heads and respond with the words amen, hallelujah.

My brothers and sisters, evil could not stop him. Death could not stop him. Violence could not stop him.  For the love of God, the heart of God, the reality of God is stronger than anything else.  And Jesus really rose from the dead on that first resurrection morning.

God love you.  God bless you. And, may this Easter season be the first day of the rest of our lives. 

Amen.

The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church

The Presiding Bishop’s Easter 2018 Message | Episcopal Church

2019 Sabbatical Plans

Just as scripture commands the seventh day of the week, or Sabbath, to be a day of rest, for Episcopal clergy, every seventh year is meant to involve a period of rest and re-creation. This period, called a sabbatical,” lasts as much as three months and involves study, reflection, and other activities meant to nurture the pastor's soul. While Peter is eligible for a sabbatical this year, he is delaying his leave until the summer of 2019 when Giulianna will be eligible for hers.

With the vestry's approval, he has begun working with a small committee to make preliminary plans for Nativity's pastoral and administrative needs and also for what would be refreshing and energizing for Nativity in his absence. This committee, which includes Kathy Whicker, Sally Howard, Catherine Kidd, and Hank Lamb, is also working on a grant application which could help fund activities for both Nativity and the Gray family.

At its best, a sabbatical is meant to nurture the relationship between pastor and congregation and leave both energized and more ready for ministry at the conclusion. If you have ideas as to what would be refreshing for Nativity next summer, let the committee know!

The Early Church: Struggle and Formation

Our democratically chosen adult forum on the first three centuries of the Church's history continues through March with one interruption. On March 4, we'll learn about the worship of the early Church. After Spring Break, we'll regather on March 18 to hear about the Church's relationship to Rome, including its persecution in the centuries before it became legal.

On March 25, we'll hear about some of the controversies the Church faced as it clarified what it meant to call oneself a “Christian.”