Frances McDonald Lavelle
On July 15, 2021, Frances McDonald Lavelle (Tance) left this life. While in Greenwood, Frances was a faithful communicant at The Episcopal Church of the Nativity, where she served on the vestry, as a Sunday School leader, and as a staff member on numerous Episcopal Cursillos.
On July 15, 2021, Frances McDonald Lavelle (Tance) left this life. She was born in Jackson to Edward James Lavelle and Frances Ball Lavelle. She graduated from Millsaps College as an English major and excelled in the theater department managing props, costumes and stage backgrounds.
Frances was known as an intelligent, thoughtful, generous and humorous individual who gave her life in service for others. She spent her working career with the U.S. Social Security Administration in Columbus and Tupelo; Dalton, Georgia; Baltimore; and Greenwood. She led her team to provide compassionate service to the public. After retiring, she continued to act as a Social Security consultant and was always available to assist friends with questions regarding Social Security.
While in Greenwood, Frances was a faithful communicant at The Episcopal Church of the Nativity, where she served on the vestry, as a Sunday School leader, and as a staff member on numerous Episcopal Cursillos. Additionally, her faith drew her to completing Millsaps’ Journey Partners Program in Spiritual Direction. She was a member of a group from Journey Partners, which met quarterly for six years to foster a strong spiritual life.
In 2016, Frances moved to Fairhope, Alabama, where she became a member of the arts community. She spent time with her book club and pottery class and took up painting. She was a poet, story teller in the true Southern form, and essayist. Always a lifelong student, she was an avid reader. Her generosity was shown not only to her family and friends but to all living things. She left two Westies, who were much loved, named Wendy and Finny.
She is preceded in death by her parents. She leaves her brother, Eddie Lavelle of Greenwood, and numerous cousins.
A memorial service will be held in Jackson on Oct. 6 at 11 a.m. at St Andrews Episcopal Cathedral with visitation at 10 a.m. Masks and social distancing are requested.
For memorials, please donate to the Episcopal Relief Fund or to an animal shelter of your choice.
Nativity Christmas Pageant from 2013
A Note from Carrie - More Worship Opportunities
Dear Friends,
It was a joy to celebrate Eucharist with a full-ish church this past Sunday. We will continue with two more Sundays at 10:00 am with 50 people - September 20 and 27. Starting October 4, we will begin having two services on Sunday: 8:00 am - Holy Eucharist, Rite I, and 10:30 am - Holy Eucharist, Rite II.
Even though we are not able to offer childcare during church, I hope this does not keep any families away. All ages are encouraged to be in church. That is one of the gifts of the church - multiple generations coming together to worship God in one place. I will be looking into ways to make the church more family-friendly and possibly creating a regular family service. Stay tuned for those plans, or let me know if you have any ideas.
Beginning September 23, we will resume the services on Wednesdays at 10:00 am Holy Eucharist, Rite I. I hope this will be especially meaningful for the small group who were regulars of this service. However, it is open to anyone. Please sign up if you plan to attend.
Thank you for continuing to follow the safety guidelines. It is crucial not to let our guard down so we can expand attendance safely and possibly have more than 50 people at a time. Of course, it is still appropriate for you to worship at home if you feel safer there.
In whatever way you choose to worship, I hope you will be spiritually fed and filled with the love of God.
Peace,
Carrie+
A Note from Carrie - Expanding Worship
Dear Friends,
I have good news to share! Bishop Seage is permitting churches to expand worship attendance following the same safety guidelines issued this summer. (See the Bishop's letter attached/linked here) Your Vestry and I will update the policies created for Nativity and remind you of those when we send out plans for our first service. Watch for an email next week with details. I know everyone is so eager to return like we're used to, but we still need to proceed with caution to keep each other healthy and safe and to keep the doors of the church open.
We had such a lovely evening at our first Backyard Eucharist. It was great to hear voices joined in prayer along with the choir of cicadas and frogs. The slight breeze was a reminder that the Holy Spirit moves among us. Thank you to Clay for hosting us and to everyone who participated. We will continue our series through September - not as a substitute for Sunday morning but as another meaningful way to worship God. These gatherings also give me a chance to continue meeting more of you in a relaxed setting.
See you soon!
Peace,
Carrie+
Funeral for Hugh Warren
We are so saddened by the loss of our parishioner, Hugh Warren. Due to the restrictions of in-person worship, not everyone was able to attend the funeral service on July 5, who wanted to, so we are posting a video recording of the service. If you would like to make a memorial to our church in Hugh’s honor, you can contribute online by clicking the button below.
Resuming In-Person Worship
We held our first in-person worship service on Sunday, June 14th with our guest preacher, the Rev. Dr. Sarah Moses from Oxford, MS.
We held our first in-person worship service on Sunday, June 14th with our guest preacher, the Rev. Dr. Sarah Moses from Oxford, MS.
If you would like to attend a worship service, please read the guidelines from our vestry.
We are Searching for an Office Administrator
The role of the Office Administrator is to ensure the smooth functioning of the life and ministries of Nativity Church by working with the Rector to create an efficient and positive office environment.
The responsibilities of the Office Administrator shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
Hospitality
Provide a welcoming environment, answering phones and greeting visitors, connecting them to staff and resources as needed
Receive facility use requests and maintain the master calendar
Maintain confidentiality with respect to the pastoral concerns of church members
Communications
Open and respond to or redirect all correspondence as appropriate
Create and print bulletins for all Sunday services, funerals, and – as needed – weddings
Create, print and assemble parish-wide mailings, including newsletters
Print other parish wide publications
Maintain the parish prayer list, notifying Rector of pastoral care needs
Administrative
Maintain the parish register and related membership records and lay ministry schedule
Work with the Nursery Coordinator to ensure the nursery is available for parish events
Purchase supplies and services for the maintenance of the facility as needed and communicate with vendors and service providers as necessary
Prepare notebooks for monthly meetings of Vestry and Day School board and quarterly meetings of Endowment Trustees
Provide administrative support for activities sponsored by the parish including special requests from the Rector
Prepare materials for weekly staff meeting, attend staff meetings
Support the work of the Nativity Flower Guild by maintaining flower calendar and invoicing for arrangements
The office manager will maintain office hours at the church from 8:30am-2:30pm, Monday through Thursday with a lunch hour, if desired, from 12-1pm. Additional hours later in the afternoon or on Friday may be required in order to complete all tasks or in response to scheduled or unscheduled events. A work week shall normally be 20-25 hours. The office manager serves at the pleasure of the Rector, or in absence of the Rector, the Senior Warden of Nativity Church.
Qualifications:
Ability to work well with others, exhibiting warmth and empathy to visitors
Basic computer skills, including experience with Microsoft Publisher
High attention to detail
The ability to create and maintain systems for receiving, sorting, and delivering information through the church operations
Compensation:
Position is paid biweekly at an hourly rate commensurate with experience
Employer contribution to a 403(b) retirement account equal to 9% of monthly earnings after six months of service
50 hours paid leave per year
Ten paid leave days per year, to include: New Year’s Day, Easter Monday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Wednesday through Friday of Thanksgiving Week, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day
Reimbursement for travel, at the U.S. Government rate per mile, while on church business.
Registration costs for church-related retreats and conferences.
Review: There shall be a performance review conducted in December of each year by the Rector. The nature of this employment relationship is at will. This letter of agreement or any other employment related document or agreement shall not be construed to alter the at will nature of the employee’s status.
Worship for Sunday, March 22
We have two offerings as a church family that have been pre-recorded, but will “go live,” that is, become available at the same time for everybody.
Keep Sunday Special!
While we stay home and do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19, you are still invited to worship as a church family this Sunday morning - just not in person! We have two offerings as a church family that have been pre-recorded, but will “go live,” that is, become available at the same time for everybody.
Sunday School
At 9am, Peter will offer a Sunday School lesson for all ages on YouTube. Gather with your family or on your own, and listen to him tell a Godly Play lesson. Toward the end of the lesson, he’ll ask questions that engage all the members of your household in the story you’ve just heard.
Sunday Worship
At 10am, a service of Morning Prayer will go live as well. Below, you’ll find a link to a bulletin. Almost all of the service is there, including the music. You might consider printing it out so you can pray and sing with us! We’ll be worshiping alongside St. Stephen’s, Indianola, and so while Peter is leading the service, and it’s taking place in our space, Giulianna is the preacher.
Fr. Peter Announces His Move to Sewanee
I am profoundly grateful for the Episcopal Church of the Nativity and for each of you. I am a better priest and a better person because of the seven years we have spent together in God's kingdom.
Dear friends,
I am writing to share the news that this morning I was elected to serve as University Chaplain at Sewanee: the University of the South. I have accepted the invitation of the Trustees and the Vice Chancellor, which means that my time at Nativity is coming to an end. I share this news with excitement and sadness but above all with gratitude for the seven years of ministry we have shared in Greenwood.
As you may know, Sewanee is an liberal arts university atop the Cumberland Plateau, owned by Episcopal dioceses throughout the southeast. In addition to serving undergraduates, Sewanee is home to a School of Theology that trains Episcopal clergy. The role of the Chaplain, then, is unique. The Chaplain helps meet the spiritual needs of an increasingly diverse student body while also maintaining and articulating Sewanee's Episcopal identity. The Chaplain serves as a senior member of the Vice Chancellor's cabinet and serves a Sunday morning congregation of students, faculty, and staff. I am excited to offer my gifts to this unique position.
Sewanee is a place that has been dear to me since childhood. When my grandfather was elected bishop, he and my grandmother built a house on the mountain as a place for retreat and retirement. That home is where Giulianna and I had our honeymoon, where we've shared many vacations, and where I stayed when the Nativity crew first came to be trained in Godly Play! When my family moves there, it will be the first time in our marriage that we will live within a day's drive of Giulianna's family.
Last Wednesday, I received word of my nomination, and Perry Whites, Bishop Seage and his staff, and I began planning for a transition. I was a bit surprised that the election occurred so quickly. Sewanee is open to me starting any time between now and mid-summer. However, because the University will announce the Trustees' decision today, the Bishop, Perry, and I thought it best that my time at Nativity end sooner. My last Sunday at Nativity will be Easter Sunday, April 12. On Wednesday, April 15, Bishop Seage will be with us in the evening for a special worship service in which our pastoral relationship will come to an end. Joseph and Francesca will finish the school year at Pillow, and Giulianna's time at St. Stephen's will end May 17.
The next six and a half weeks will give us ample time to say goodbye and celebrate our ministry together while allowing Nativity to take steps toward a search process. The vestry will meet next Monday, and we will be joined by Canon Paul Stephens, a member of the Bishop's staff who assists with search processes. Canon Stephens also will be present with the whole congregation as our preacher and celebrant on Sunday, March 8, a day I was already scheduled to be away for a family wedding. Nativity enters this season of transition with excellent leadership at every level and poised for further growth on the arrival of a new rector with different gifts and a fresh set of eyes.
It was seven years ago today that I arrived in Greenwood. Max Shaw met me at the rectory, and the movers and I shared Stephen's BBQ for lunch. In these seven years, much has been done. The Day School is thriving under Landi's leadership. Our children's faith is nurtured by a committed group of Godly Play teachers. We have welcomed world-renowned speakers, and we've read the Bible cover to cover. We built a memorial garden. We have worked together to nurture a multi-racial, ecumenical fellowship in Mission Mississippi. In churches, hospital rooms, and softball fields we have laughed together, played together, wept together, and grown together.
Most significantly, we have worshiped around Nativity's altar nearly two thousand times together. There, we have grieved loved ones, celebrated marriages, rejoiced over baptisms, and welcomed new members. Each week we have returned to the same altar, sharing the bread and wine that has transformed us into the Body of Christ. There, in a fellowship that transcends our many differences, we have been a living, breathing witness to the truth that we who are many are one Body because we all share one bread, one cup.
I am profoundly grateful for the Episcopal Church of the Nativity and for each of you. I am a better priest and a better person because of the seven years we have spent together in God's kingdom. I invite your prayers during this transition; know that you surely have mine.
Peace,
Peter
Ann Dyer McLemore Carothers
Ann Dyer McLemore Carothers, 80, of Greenwood died Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Graveside services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Odd Fellows Cemetery. The Rev. Peter Gray will officiate. Wilson & Knight Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Ann Dyer McLemore Carothers, 80, of Greenwood died Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Graveside services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Odd Fellows Cemetery. The Rev. Peter Gray will officiate. Wilson & Knight Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Ann was born March 17, 1939, to A.G. McLemore and Nan Dyer McLemore in Greenwood. After graduation from high school, she attended the University of Mississippi. She was a member of the Episcopal Church of the Nativity. She worked for many years as a retail salesperson at Fincher’s and Stein’s Jewelry. She was preceded in death by her brother, Geren McLemore, and her parents.
She is survived by her daughter, Laura Dyer Carothers of Memphis.
Memorials may be made to the Leflore County Humane Society, 601 Ione St., Greenwood, MS 38930.
An online guestbook may be signed at www.wilsonandknight.com.