Category: Glad Tidings

Becky Christian

Nativity, said Stephanie Allen recently, does hospitality very well, and that includes our Memorial Garden, which is open to everyone. But three years ago parishioner Lesley Troan had a vision for how to make the garden more welcoming and cared for.  Now plans for Memorial Garden renovations are coming to fruition.

Thanks to a contribution from the Troan Foundation in memory of Lesley’s husband Larry, as well as contributions from some other parishioners, almost $40,000 has been raised to transform the space.  A committee comprised of Lesley, Nancy Reed and Lori Special (who has since moved to Denver) hired a landscape architect to develop a plan which was approved by the Vestry.

Now a landscaping and construction firm is improving the garden’s infrastructure by removing several poorly formed and troublesome trees, clearing out overgrowth and improving the drainage from the north property line to Estill House, which used to flood in heavy rains. 

Volunteers removed the former brick walkways to make way for wider, accessible concrete walkways. The bricks, which had been donated by Ford Thompson, were saved to create two gathering circles in the center of the garden. The plan calls for benches there so people will be able to gather, sit, meditate, pray, or simply enjoy the garden’s peace. Eleven red cedar trees and three Oklahoma redbuds have already  been planted.  Once the walkways, mulch planting beds, drains and grates have been completed, smaller plantings will be sourced from a local nursery that specializes in native plants, heirloom flowers, grasses and shrubs that are chemical-free. Opportunities for people to volunteer or to contribute toward the smaller plants will be announced in future issues of Glad Tidings.

Landscape design: Elliot Redding, VanHorne Design

Landscaping and construction: Scott Myatt, Myatt Landscaping

Smaller plants to be sourced from: Field to Cottage Nursery

Carl and Nancy Terry

We encourage couples to have a regular sharing time. It is a time that is set aside for each one to briefly share events, thoughts, feelings that they feel good about or something you have been thinking about. We give our partner our full attention to listen and support them. It is also a time for compliments or a thank you. 

 Decide on a time that is good for both of you, a time when there are fewer distractions of work or children to bed. Time to set aside would be 10 to 20 minutes. Set the scene, have a cup of coffee, take a walk, or find a special place for the two of you. 

Just talking and sharing is great, but another method is the “Ten and Ten.” This means writing down your thoughts and feelings for ten minutes and then sharing for ten minutes. Find the way that works best for you as a couple. 

This is not a time for problem solving, resolving conflicts, or scheduling. Topics may arise that require a longer discussion and resolution. Then you would decide on a time to talk about these things. 

A great way to close this sharing time is with a compliment or appreciation of each other. A hug or a kiss can also be a part of this sharing time.

Commit to a time for a week and then adjust if necessary. You may need to experiment to find the best time and whether talking or writing works for you as a couple. Remember that you want to keep this time special and pleasant. This time of sharing will add to your loving relationship.

Somehow, they forgot to give me, on my 90th birthday, the LITTLE GUIDE BOOK TO THE NINETIES. I laugh a lot at my antics – perhaps a video of my putting my socks on in the morning could earn a great deal if I sold it to Saturday Night Live!

I am covenanted to always be with my phone and my walker, and I lose one or the other every day. I’m constantly calling taxis to take me to doctors, dentists, physical therapists! Just once, I’d love to ask the generous taxi system of Raleigh: Take me to the beach!

I thank God for Mary, who takes me to swim twice a week, for Helen, who buys groceries when I send a list, and drives me to church; for Lois who comes Monday and Thursday – just to sit! FOR Patsy and Chris, who are on call and who have shared their red lounge chair to save me from pain, for George, who prays with me here on Tuesday, for my friend Paula, who is my constant angel, for Nancy,  who zooms with me on Fridays, and Ellen, who calls me on Saturdays.

I made a new word: I am not disappointed by inattention, phone calls, or visits because I had no appointment. Instead, I am “disattended”. I need attention as I need air to breathe!  I wonder if disattention can be fatal at 90, or at 20 if you are a new mom, or at 50, if you are a new widower?

This blog reminds me to call some old friends.  Right now! Or write a note! Or send an email!

Attention must be paid.

 JANE VELLA 

I am excited to invite all of you to come out on November 3 at 6 pm to meet and hear Michael Anello, Executive Director of Haiti Reforestation Partnership. His passion and love for Haiti is palpable, and the work that is being done there is full of perseverance and hope – something that is often sorely missing in this world!

Six years ago, when I was asked to join the board of Haiti Reforestation Partnership by Jill Bullard (founder of the Interfaith Food Shuttle, deacon at St Phillips in Durham, and member of Nativity), I agreed because Jill asked me to . . . and it seemed like a good thing. But it’s amazing how God can lead you to exactly where you need to be. Since then, I have been struck that this organization and the work that is being done there fulfills so much of what I believe is needed in this world. 

1. While some of Haiti’s woes are self-inflicted, many can trace their origins directly to colonization and racism. Restoring this land, restoring these communities – it is a significant step toward making right what racial oppression has wrought. 
2. Jesus’ command to his disciples to “Feed my sheep” is being lived out here – hungry people are planting food trees (as well as others) that will sustain them for generations both in food and in economic opportunities.
3. Planting trees has a fundamental environmental impact. These trees pull CO2 from the air, they stabilize the land, they reduce flooding and improve watershed and ocean health.

Racial reconciliation, loving our neighbor, protecting the environment – win, win, win.

Finally, while I hope you will come out on November 3 at 6 pm, for sure, I also hope that this blog will encourage you to go out and find the place where you can make this world better, the place where God is calling you. God’s vision for us IS possible – we just need to find our corner of the world and make it happen with God’s help. 

God bless,

Becky

An Evening with Haiti Reforestation Partnership

Wednesday, Nov 3, 6-8pm

A simple meal of Soup Joumou and Bread will be provided

So, faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. (James 2:17)

The devastating extreme weather, racial inequity, and pandemic of this past year are interconnected and provide an indication of how we are living on and treating the Earth and its inhabitants, human and nonhuman.  The Season of Creation, September 1 through October 4, observed by Christian denominations around the world, is a time to pause and think about how our lifestyles are adversely affecting God’s Creation and how we might through our faith strive   to live in a more sustainable way. 

The Episcopal Church (TEC) joins in these works. “The Season of Creation, ….is a time for renewing, repairing and restoring our relationship to God, one another, and all of creation. The Episcopal Church joins this international effort for prayer and action for climate justice and an end to environmental racism and ecological destruction. This year’s theme is A home for all? Renewing the Oikos (home) of God. In celebrating the Season, we are invited to consider anew our ecological, economic, and political ways of living.”¹

TEC has provided a list of resources “on loving formation, liberating advocacy for environmental justice, and life-giving conservation and sustainability efforts.”²

Our Diocesan Mission Strategy Goals for Creation Care are also a source of ideas on specific “works” for individuals and congregations, which include, but are not limited to, the following: 

1. Join or form a Creation Care group at your church
2. Connect Creation Care with church life and God’s plan for salvation
3. Develop spiritual connections between ecosystems and church 
4. Share your Creation Care success stories with others 
5. Assess the Racial/Social Justice implications of every Creation Care project in which we are engaged 
6. Promote and install solar on churches 
7. Support use of electric vehicles and charging stations 
8. Sequester carbon in soil at home, at church, and in the field 
9. Participate in churchyard workdays
10. Restore and maintain wildlife habitat at church and at home
11. Reverse biodiversity decline
12. Increase food security: Grow a Sustenance Garden
13. Identify and address local, state, and federal environmental advocacy opportunities

Addressing our ecological problems may appear as a daunting challenge, especially since the designated Season for Creation is for only one month. Look upon this time as one in which you can begin to make changes in the way you are living and then carry out more good works throughout the year.  Some of the most needed works like mitigating climate change require drastically lowering emissions. That is beyond what individuals can do, but we can still do our part. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s these little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” 

Resources: 

1. Mullen, Melanie, and Chatfield, Phoebe. (September 8, 2021). Creation Care. Retrieved from https://www.episcopalchurch.org/season-of-creation-and-st-francis-day-resources/. 

Ecumenical Steering Committee. (2021). About the Season of Creation.  Retrieved from https://seasonofcreation.org/resources/.

Born and raised in the Carolinas, Sherry Storrs has lived in the Raleigh area for over 40 years. She is a graduate of Meredith College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work, and North Carolina State University with a Master’s Degree in Social Work. Sherry is currently pursuing her
Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree. Her passion is chaplaincy, which she currently fulfills as a hospital chaplain in Raleigh. She finds joy in her four-legged companion, Rocky (a boxer) and in traveling, kayaking, writing and photography. She has written, illustrated, and self-published two
children’s books, which she shares with elementary school students throughout the area.
Her spiritual journey has taken her from the Pentecostal/Baptist upbringing to the doors of many different denominations and churches. She has a deep appreciation for faith and respects others’ faith traditions and cultures. Twenty years ago, Sherry found her home in the Episcopal church and has been a practicing Episcopalian since then. The draw to the Episcopal Church for Sherry is the love of the liturgy and the welcomeness that abounds in the community. Her church home is
Grace Episcopal Church in Clayton, where she has served as a member of the church’s vestry and pastoral care team, providing support and care for the congregation, conducting hospital/rehab visits, and taking communion to members who were not able to attend church.
Sherry has been a member of an international disaster chaplain organization for 4 years. In her service to the organization, she is in charge of providing support to other chaplains via emails,
phone conversations, and Zoom meetings, while developing training aids to equip the chaplains in their respective ministries. Additionally, she serves with the American Red Cross on the Disaster Spiritual Care and Disaster Action Teams, and has been called upon during the aftermath of a disaster to aid individuals and families in recovery. A few years back, Sherry was blessed with a short-term grant position with the Catholic Diocese of North Carolina as a Disaster Case Manager. In this role, she assisted families who suffered from the storms and floods of Hurricanes
Florence and Michael, by helping them secure monies for re-homing or renovations to their damaged homes.
Lastly, in serving as a hospital chaplain, she has discovered her soul’s work. It has been the most rewarding and challenging experience that she has ever been a part of. Sherry has a heart to minister to those who are dealing with end-of-life issues, and considers it a blessing to serve them
and their families. Her passion is to be in service to others in their time of need; hence her joy in serving as a chaplain. She dreams of one day starting a hospice non-profit for the homeless.

Dear Friends,

I am sitting in my office with a heavy, but excited, heart as I type this letter. It is hard for me to say goodbye, but a calling to the Diaconate is leading me forward to an internship at St. Michael’s Raleigh. I recently met with my Spiritual Director, Rev. Winston Charles, and had a “thin moment” around being open but also being still. In my conversation I thought about mentors in my life but then thought about a “body/institution” being a mentor to me, and that “body” is the Church of Nativity. There has not been one time in this process that Nativity has not been on the sidelines cheering me on; everyone truly wants the best for me, and that is not only authentic but also a blessing. The church has been the one place I can get away from all the corporate trappings and agendas and truly be myself. This is what God wants for us all. I have too many to thank for support and love, and please know I support and love you all. My door is always open; if you send me a text/email it will always be read, and I will be forever grateful for my Nativity faith family.  

One of my favorite songs that I use to sing in camp as a kid said, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). This is the embodiment of what Church of Nativity is to me–living in Christ together, forgiving, being compassionate, and making the world a better place.

Sarah and the girls are really excited for me and what the future holds: most importantly taking it one day at a time and enjoying myself. They have witnessed my development as I continue to discern a calling and I also ask for your continued prayers as I continue to “lean into” this. Also, we feel it best that they continue to attend Church of the Nativity, as the youth programming is of such importance for the girls as they spiritually develop. I think if there is one thing we have learned in the past two years, it is to be flexible. I would be remiss if I did not give a shout out to my “Christian Essentials” peeps. That stage of formation really gave me assurance and confidence that a calling was speaking to me and really kept our souls healthy in a time of uncertainty.

Peaceful blessings, 

Cuyler

There are “peaks and valleys” in every relationship as we go through our years of being together.  “Peaks” are when all is going smoothly, “Valleys” are when we are struggling or when there is outside stress. Some of these are a normal part of the relationship cycle, like the birth or adoption of a child, a memorable vacation or trip together, a medical issue that one is facing, or loss of a job.  By realizing that both peaks and valleys are a normal part of your relationship, you can anticipate some of them and communicate with each other about your feelings and your needs during those times.

For your couple discussion,  

• share some of the peak times that you have experienced in your relationship.  Talk about the feelings that you have had during those times.
• share about some of the valleys that have happened to you as a couple.  What was that like for each of you? Again, be sure that you share the feelings. 

Also, it is good to remember that there are small valleys in the peaks and small peaks in the valleys. For instance, when you have been on a wonderful trip, something may occur that causes a valley, like a disagreement or a disappointment.  But hopefully, you choose not to stay there but go back to your peak.  The same would be true of a valley that you have or are experiencing.  Right now, many of us are experiencing a valley with the “pandemic” that we are in.   But even in the middle of this experience there can be a peak time or moment, like watching your children or grandchildren play, having quiet time together, fixing and eating a meal together, exploring some place together that both feel safe and comfortable together.  Remember to ask for help if you seem to be stuck in the valleys. And remember to acknowledge the peaks.

Carl and Nancy Terry