Caroling at Beacon Harbor

Sunday, December 17, all Nativity members are invited to join the youth group in its last trip to Beacon Harbor of the semester. Following 10:30 worship, we'll share lunch at Nativity, and then we will ride out for our monthly gathering. Our activity for December will be caroling with the residents. Let our young people introduce you to the new friends they've made this semester and help them spread some Christmas cheer!

Mission Mississippi

Mission Mississippi will meet for its December prayer breakfast on Thursday, December 7 at 6:45am at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 804 East Park Avenue. Join us for food, fellowship, and prayer as we change Mississippi one relationship at a time.

Filling Potholes and Moving Mountains

In preparation for Sabbatical, I recently acquired a book of daily prayers inspired by our Celtic Christian ancestors.  The book contains the spiritual disciplines of the Northumbrian Community, a group of contemporary Christians in Northern England and beyond, who, though scattered, commit to shared habits of prayer and hospitality.  Periodically, they reconvene near Lindisfarne, a tiny island that has housed Christian communities since the 7th century when the Irish monk Aidan traveled from Iona and opened a monastery.

Traveling together toward family during the Thanksgiving holidays, Giulianna read aloud to me the reflections of our Northumbrian brothers and sisters on Advent, that period of preparation the Church enters into as we await the birth of Jesus at Christmas.  Our preparations for Christmas can be so easily consumed by event-planning, we typically forget the necessities of spiritual preparation.  As you prepare to welcome the Christ-child, I commend to you the words of the Northumbria community: 

It is said that the door to the stable where the Christ-child has been born is very low – and only those who kneel find access.  Being ready for Christmas should mean that our thoughts are focused not just on letters, cards, and presents, but on repentance, humbling, and interior “housecleaning.”  John the Baptist warned his hearers to prepare a way for the Lord – to make a clear and level pathway.  This involves removing any boulders that stand in the way, and filling in any potholes.  The boulders are those things we have done that we should not have done; the potholes are the things we have failed to do which we obviously should have done.  The more as individuals, family, or congregation, we are focused in this way, the less we will be overwhelmed by the commercialization of Christmas.

I intend to take these words to heart this Advent, removing the boulders of mistakes I have made, and filling in the potholes of good works left undone.  Let’s do this work together, so that together, we will be ready to greet the arrival of our Savior.

Peace,
Peter+

Christmas Pageant Rehearsals and Performance

Nativity’s annual Christmas pageant is Sunday, December 9 at 5pm. As we approach the big day, all the components of this tradition are rapidly coming together with final rehearsals. Read on to see which part applies to you and your little ones:

EYC (6th-12th Grade): After our normal 5pm dinner, we will have a dress rehearsal at 5:30pm during our regular youth group time Sunday, December 2. Peter will be present this evening as we put the finishing touches on the program. Sunday, December 9, we will have another run-through at 3pm with an early dinner in between that practice and the performance itself.

Youth Choir (4K-5th Grade): Our young singers are sounding really great, and there are a lot of them this year! They will rehearse with David, Cyndi, and Beverly on December 2nd and 9th following the 10:30 service and lunch. On the evening of the pageant, youth choir should arrive by 4:30pm to get fitted for robes.

Littlest Angels (2-4 years): If your pre-schooler walker is ready to join the heavenly host, you can help them get comfortable with the role by participating in the dress rehearsal at 5:30pm on Sunday, December 2. Parents will help get the kids into costume and then help Julia Harris and Nancy Johnson usher them down the aisle when their cue comes.

Episcopal Church Women: As always, the ladies of Nativity will put on a reception following the performance. If you are bringing cookies or some other snack, please have them to the church by 4:30pm on the 9th.

Jeffrey Lee Cole

Jeffrey Lee Cole, formerly of Greenwood, died peacefully at Hospice Ministries in Ridgeland on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018. He was 89 years old. He was visited frequently by friends and family until he finally slipped away after a brief fight with cancer. He professed his firm belief in his savior Jesus Christ and is now with his Lord in paradise.

Jeff Cole was born in Tupelo on Jan. 20, 1929. He was raised in Tupelo until he attended Ole Miss, an institution he loved all his life. After Ole Miss, he farmed for 25 years at Moore’s Lake Plantation in Schlater.

He was a lay reader and vestry member of Greenwood’s Episcopal Church of the Nativity, where he was involved in the church’s prison ministry. He and his wife, Dottie Cole, were among the first members of the South End Zone at Ole Miss, where they enjoyed countless football games until his health prevented him from attending. He was a founding member of the Roadrunners, a dance club at the Greenwood Country Club. He was an avid golfer and tennis player and a member of the Greenwood Supper Club.

Jeff returned to Ole Miss later in life to study art and became a prolific painter. Dozens of his paintings are hanging in numerous houses throughout Jackson and Greenwood. Besides farming, he had a rich and varied career involving numerous jobs, including working for Viking Range and delivering the Northside Sun in his retirement.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Tucker Cole; his children, Lee Cole of Atlanta, Lynn Cole Berman of Greenwood, Libba Cole Shrader of Columbia, South Carolina, and Clay Cole Lapasota of Portsmouth, Virginia; his grandchildren, Taylor Berman of New York, Collin Cole of Atlanta, Betsy Shrader Watts of Charleston, South Carolina, Matt Shrader of Columbia, South Carolina, and Satchel Lapasota of Portsmouth; and a great-grandchild, Lyon Raymond Watts of Charleston, South Carolina. He is also survived by his stepchildren Terrell and Donna Knight of Jackson and their children, Curt, Connell and Lucy Tucker Roberts (David) of Hattiesburg, and their grandchild, Katherine Adelle Roberts of Hattiesburg. Also, stepchildren Virginia (Ginny) Knight and John Wyatt Emmerich of Jackson and their children, John, Lawrence and Ruth.

There will be a service on Friday, Nov. 23, at 4 p.m. at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Jackson. The Rev. CJ Meaders will officiate. Family and friends will gather afterward. 

Jeff’’s body has been donated to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for research. His ashes will be interred at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity columbarium in Greenwood.

Adah Abbott Moses

Adah Abbott Moses, 84, passed away peacefully at her home surrounded by her family after a lengthy illness on Nov. 12, 2018.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity with interment in Odd Fellows Cemetery. Father Peter Gray and the Rev. Glenn Seefeld will officiate. Visitation will be from 9:30 till 11 at the church.

Adah was born on Nov. 2, 1934, to Charles Gay and Elizabeth Brown Abbott in Greenwood, where she resided the majority of her life. She was a graduate of Greenwood High School and attended Mississippi State College for Women. Adah was a kindergarten teacher for many years and spent the last 37 years as office manager of her son Dr. Walter Moses’ medical office.

“Miz Adah,” as she was affectionately known to many friends and patients of her son, was an outgoing, caring person who always had a smile on her face and more than likely put a smile on the faces of those she encountered. She was strong in faith, having a deep love of Jesus Christ her Lord and Savior. Her family meant the world to her and she always looked forward to hosting holiday dinners, being surrounded by them. She was a communicant at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity and also attended Valley Hill United Methodist Church.

Mrs. Moses was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 63 years, Walter C. Moses Sr.; and her son Dr. Walter C. Moses Jr. Survivors include two sons, Charles Abbott Moses (Carla) and Dr. Jeff Moses (Carol); daughter-in-law Beth Moses; sisters Betsy Brown Abbott and Mary Frances Caldwell; eight grandchildren and 12 great- grandchildren.

Pallbearers will be Walter C. Moses III, Wilson Moses, Abbott Moses, Charles Moses Jr., Donny Schilling, Roy Schilling, Dr. Kenneth Hines, Dr. Henry Flautt and Dr. Abe Malouf.

The family requests that memorials be made to the Greenwood Cemetery Association, the American Cancer Society, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or a charity of donor’s choice.

An online guestbook may be signed at www.greenwooddeltafh.com. Greenwood Delta Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Episcopal Church Women Fall Meeting

Ladies of Nativity Church, please join us for our ECW Fall Meeting on Wednesday, October 17 at noon! We will provide a light lunch and discuss ECW responsibilities for the year. The Rev. Peter Gray has asked that we concentrate our service to the community on the Growing Families Ministry and also to offer our support to the Pastoral Care Committee and the Funeral Guild. While we are together, we will discuss ideas on how we can best serve our church in these ministries.

If you have other projects or events that you would like the Episcopal Church Women to consider, please let us know so that we can add it to our agenda for the meeting. We look forward to serving our God, our church and our community with you ladies this year.

Please respond by Friday, October 12, 2018
Church office: 662-453-7786 or email: syoung@pak12.com
Dues: $20.00

Halloween Carnival, Chili Cookoff and Honoring Steve Iwanski

Mark your calendars for October 24 at 5:30 pm, and start testing recipes for this great annual event! It’s been a few years since anyone was able to knock Josh Fair off the winner’s pedestal. Maybe this year it will be you! While the adults taste chili and cast their votes, kids from 5th grade on down are treated to a Halloween carnival put on by our 6th-12th grade youth group.

This year’s event will also be an opportunity for us to honor and give thanks for Steve Iwanski, who has served as Nativity’s youth minister for more than four years now. Steve and Sarah aren’t going anywhere, of course, but this season of ministry for Steve is now coming to a close. 

In recent months, Steve has been helping Phillip Parker make the transition as our clergy associate for youth ministry. Join us not only to enjoy fellowship, to compete, but most especially, to show our appreciation to Steve for all that he has meant to us and to our kids these last four years.

Nativity Day School Fish Fry

The Nativity Day School’s biggest fundraiser of the year is just around the corner! Let us make dinner for you and your family on Thursday, November 8, the same night as the downtown Holiday Open House. Tickets will soon be available from Nativity Day School parents as well as the church office. All proceeds go to support this ministry of Nativity Church.

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+