The Choir Corner: Methodism

Most of you know John Wesley as the founder or Methodism, but we Episcopalians still have one of his hymns in our hymnal. His brother Charles was the prolific hymn writer and the person who invited John to the group out of which the Methodist movement was born. Nevertheless, Charles remained staunchly Anglican until the end and was buried in his vestments.

Charles's son Samuel was the most brilliant organist of his day, scandalous, and for a time became Roman Catholic. We still have many of his gorgeous Anglican chants and organ pieces in out hymnal. He's famous for competing with the great Felix Mendelssohn at organ playing. No official result could be rendered because the men that were hand pumping the organs gave out.

Samuel's son, Samuel Sebastian, was the greatest organist and Anglican composer of his time (mid Victorian) and we still sing much of his music. The one likely most familiar to us is "The Church's One Foundation."

Send a message to David Williamson for more information and a listening list.

This is the Egmore Wesley Church in Chennai, India. Choristers are from all leading choirs of Chennai.

Melody: Samuel Sebastian Wesley 1874 [AURELIA]

Text: Samuel John Stone 1866 "The Church's One Foundation"

The Book of Esther at VBS

When's the last time you read the Book of Esther?

This short book of the Bible tells the story of a Jewish orphan who rises to become queen in the palace of a Persian king. Because of her strength and her character, she manages to save the Jewish people from danger while being faithful to the God she loves. The story has treachery, intrigue, celebration, heroes, and villains. In other words, it's perfect for Vacation Bible School!

June 19 through June 21, all hands will be on deck as we immerse ourselves in this piece of God's story. Beginning each night at 5:30 pm, we'll share a meal and then turn our attention to a carefully casted stage production. In the role of the conflicted King Ahasuerus: David Dallas. In the role of the crafty and deceitful Haman: shifty Steve Iwanski. In the role of Mordecai, Esther's faithful cousin and adoptive caregiver: the faithful Hal Fiore. And making her Nativity debut in the title role of Esther: our friend Elizabeth Hinckley. The action climaxes in a great banquet, and on our final night, you expect our actors to do a little dinner theater while we feast on better than average VBS fare.

Esther's story is the origin of our Jewish brothers' and sisters' holiday, Purim: a two-day celebration of God's care and protection for the Jewish people. With the help of Rachael Goldberg, we'll be incorporating a number of traditional Purim activities into our own exploration of Esther. We'll make Hamantaschen, a traditional stuffed cookie. For crafts, we'll make our own crowns and groggers, the traditional Purim noisemakers. Parents, you're welcome for that one. David Williamson has picked out some great Purim songs for us to learn from a 1960's-era Jewish youth hymnal. And for our Thursday evening feast, Billy Bowman is making brisket, a tradition of some Jewish families for Purim.

Put it all together, and we've got quite a special program being put together for kids entering 3K to 5th grade. Of course, we'll need all sorts of helper, but even if you're not going to help us corral kids and make crafts, you might consider stopping by anyway! I believe Nativity is at its best when folks of all ages gather to learn, play, eat, pray and sing together. And this year's Vacation Bible School offers us a chance to do all of that, all while getting to know the traditions of our Jewish neighbors a bit more. So, join us!

Peter+

Join the Nativity Virtual Half-Marathon Team

For months, a team of Nativity runners has been training for the sweltering Hotter than Hades Half-Marathon outside Leland, Mississippi. Cyndi Saia, Swayze Hicks, Katie Jones, Sloane Fair, Cindy Wilson, Harris Powers, Perry Whites, Hayes Harris, Charlie Swayze III, Louis Holbrook, and Peter will run the 13.1 miles and in their honor, the church will donate $500 per runner to Special Session, a camp run by the Episcopal Church in Mississippi that serves adults and children with special needs.

You can help raise money for Special Session and be a part of this team yourself, and you can do it in a way that doesn't require quite so much effort! Visit hotterthanhades.racesonline.com, and register for the "Virtual" Half-Marathon, which commits you to walking or running 13.1 miles between June 1 and June 15. Your $50 registration fee covers the cost of a t-shirt, and the rest of the proceeds go toward Special Session scholarships. Don't forget to choose Nativity, Greenwood as your team when you register!

Episcopalians Meet to Discuss Healing the Racial Divide

More than 100 Episcopalians from across Mississippi are in Canton, to talk about racial reconciliation. One of the guest speakers is Katrina Browne from Pennsylvania. She produced a documentary about her ancestors in Rhode Island, after discovering they were the largest slave trading family in U.S. history.  Browne says she and members of family retraced the Triangle Trade Slave Route from Rhode Island to Ghana to Cuba and it was life changing. 

"The majority of us have changed our careers as a result and are champions for the idea of reckoning process in this dialogue, so we go to churches, and schools, and community groups and museums and present and help facilitate dialogue," said Browne.

Mississippi Bishop Brian Seage says the nation is facing growing challenges surrounding race.  He points to comments made by actress Roseanne Barr comparing an Obama Administration official to an ape as an example.  

"And for her to say such incredibly vile things that insult a person's humanity the way they did. I found it very shocking," said Seage.

Anita George, a retired educator spearheaded the event. She says they're committed to diving into the issue of race and being open about how they feel.

"We have to step outside of ourselves and look at ourselves. When we do that in community with other people we're more likely to accept where we are the good and the bad," said George. 

Bishop Seage says it will take dialogue and building relationships to foster racial healing.

Welcome to Phillip, Amanda, Connor, and McKenzie Parker

Sunday, June 3, Church of the Advent, Sumner has invited Nativity members of all ages to join them for a late rogation celebration at the Belk Lake House and welcome their new pastor and Nativity’s new associate for youth ministry as well as his family! Following 10:30 church, drive 11 miles up Money Road and look for the sign that says BELK.

Becoming the Beloved Community

The Racial Reconciliation Task Force of the Episcopal Church in Mississippi is bringing in nationally recognized speakers and leaders for an overnight workshop at Gray Center on May 30 and 31, 2018. For more information or to register go to www.dioms.org/digital_faith/events/3177891

Hotter than Hades Virtual Half-Marathon

You can join the Nativity half-marathon team in supporting the Episcopal Church’s special needs camp by committing to walking or running 13.1 miles between June 1-June 15. Visit hotterthanhades.racesonline.com to sign up. Your $50 fee gets you a t-shirt and the rest goes to support scholarships to Special Session. Be sure to choose Nativity, Greenwood as your fundraising team!

Cursillo

Ready for a three day retreat to focus on your spiritual need and your relationship with God? Think about Cursillo, June 21-24 at the Episcopal Camp and Conference Center outside Canton.

The basic atmosphere of a Cursillo weekend differs from the individual solitude of a retreat. During the 3-days, the teachings of Christ are discussed in a climate of joy. The talks and discussions are interspersed with prayer, Eucharists, songs, recreation, laughter and moments of reflection and silence. There is nothing dull about a Cursillo weekend! It is full of work enjoyed in the name of Jesus Christ. It is a joyous workshop in the fundamentals of our beautiful Christian faith where everyone learns by experiencing a living Christian community.

For more information, talk to Father Peter or Paula Provine.

Esther: Born for This!

You don’t want to miss this summer’s Vacation Bible School, which will be from 5:30-7:30 PM on June 19-21. We’ll tell the story of a powerful queen who saves her people from a sinister villain. We’ll feast to celebrate her victory. We’ll sing, and cheer, and play, and create. Designed for kids entering 3K-5th grade, it’s fun for all ages!

Ordination of Phillip Parker

Saturday, June 9 at 10:30am, Phillip Parker will be ordained a deacon at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Jackson, his last step before being ordained a priest. It would be wonderful for a Nativity contingent to go and pray in support of him and the other five individuals being ordained for the Episcopal Church in Mississippi.