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The Creator Connection JULY 2026

Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. – 1 John 3:18

From the Pastor’s Desk

Coming Home to a Better Country

The Fourth of July invites many feelings at once: gratitude, memory, celebration, responsibility, and sometimes grief. For Christians, patriotism is not the worship of country. It is love of neighbor expressed through gratitude for home, care for the common good, and honest commitment to the liberty and dignity of all.

The appointed Collect for Independence Day asks God to grant “that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace.” That is a beautiful prayer because it knows liberty cannot maintain itself. Freedom is not only won once in the past. It must be practiced, guarded, corrected, expanded, and shared in righteousness and peace.

Deuteronomy 10:17-21 reminds us what righteousness looks like. The Lord “executes justice for the orphan and the widow” and “loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing.” Then comes the command: “You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” God’s people remember their own story so they can make room for someone else. We come home by becoming people through whom others can find home.

Psalm 145 widens the vision even more: “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness.” God’s compassion is not narrow, tribal, or possessive. “The Lord is loving to everyone.” A Christian patriot can love this country deeply without pretending God belongs only to us. We can bless what is good, heal what is broken, tell the truth about what has wounded us, and give thanks for the grace that has carried us farther than we could have carried ourselves.

That is part of our hope behind The Clinton Center for Truth, Memory, and Healing. We are beginning to imagine a place and a practice where our community can remember honestly, listen generously, and seek healing that is deeper than politeness and stronger than blame. The Center is not being formed to assign inherited guilt. It is being formed to help us practice inherited responsibility for what we have received. We cannot change the whole past. But we can tell the truth about it. We can honor those whose stories were silenced. We can recognize the courage, pain, faith, and resilience that have shaped this place. And we can ask what kind of neighbors we are being called to become now.

Hebrews 11:8-16 gives us Abraham, who set out by faith “not knowing where he was going.” He lived as a stranger, trusting a promise he could see only from a distance. Scripture says he was seeking “a better country, that is, a heavenly one.” That does not make earthly homes unimportant. It makes them holy responsibilities. Because our final home is in God, we are free to love our earthly home as a “Foretaste of the Feast to Come” without making an idol of it. We can work for a more just, generous, truthful, and peaceful community because God’s kingdom is larger than every nation and yet near enough to shape every neighborhood.

Then in Matthew 5:43-48, we hear Jesus speak a hard word: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” This is not sentimental. It is not weakness. It is the disciplined freedom of people who refuse to let fear, resentment, or contempt decide what kind of citizens they will become.

So perhaps our Christian practice for this Independence Day is: to give thanks without becoming prideful, to remember without becoming bitter, to celebrate without forgetting those in greater need than we are, and to love our country by loving the people God has placed within it.

Coming home, in Christ, means learning to live as people who already belong to God. And, belonging to God, we can practice patriotism shaped by Grace, Justice, Mercy, Truth, Memory, Healing, and Peace.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Bob

 

FINANCIAL STATUS  May: Income/$12,829.82– Expenses/11,382.83

 

FAITH IN ACTION

Help support the Clinton Christian Community Center (4C’s) and Mississippi College Student Food Bank with non-perishable food items each Sunday. Baskets are marked in the Narthex.

 

WELCOME THE STRANGER

This summer, the FIFA World Cup has brought visitors from around the globe to cities large and small across the United States. While they came for the matches, many have discovered something unexpected along the way. They’ve marveled at our city skylines, breathtaking national parks, laughed at the sheer size of Buc-ee’s and Bass Pro Shops, sampled barbecue and ranch dressing for the first time, and experienced the unique charm of America’s small towns, swamps, beaches, and open highways. These are the places that often become the most memorable parts of the journey.

But perhaps the greatest discovery has not been a place at all.

Again and again, visitors have shared stories of Americans offering directions, recommending favorite restaurants, handing out bottles of cold water, police celebrating alongside fans, towns learning a few words in another language to say, “Welcome,” and opening their communities—and their hearts—to people from around the world. In countless small ways, they have discovered an America where hospitality is not a slogan, but something lived one person at a time.

As Christians, that should not surprise us. Welcoming others has always been one of the simplest and most beautiful ways we reflect God’s love. Hospitality rarely requires grand gestures. More often, it begins with a smile, a helping hand, a shared conversation, or four simple words: “We’re glad you’re here.”

As our nation welcomes the world this summer, perhaps the greatest souvenir visitors will take home will not be a ticket stub or a photograph, but the memory of people who made them feel welcome and the reminder that hospitality still has the power to bridge cultures, languages, and nations. For in welcoming the stranger, we reflect the heart of Christ. – Beth Braley

 

 

PATRIOTIC BERRYFLAG CAKE

A simple Fourth of July dessert that’s festive, fresh, and fun!

You’ll Need:

  • 1 baked 9×13-inch white or yellow sheet cake (homemade or your favorite boxed mix)
  • 1 container vanilla frosting
  • Fresh blueberries
  • Fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

Directions

Step 1: Bake your favorite 9×13-inch cake and let it cool completely.

Step 2: Spread the vanilla frosting evenly over the entire cake.

Step 3: In the upper left corner, arrange blueberries to create the “stars” section of the American flag.

Step 4: Slice the strawberries lengthwise and arrange them in neat rows across the cake to create the red stripes. Leave rows of white frosting between the strawberries for the white stripes.

Step 5: Chill until ready to serve, then enjoy with family and friends!

Happy 250 Independence Day!

 

The Creator Connection JUNE 2026
“Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:11

 

From the Pastor’s Desk

“Helping Shape the Clinton Center for Truth, Memory, and Healing”

Over the past several months, many of us have been listening, praying, imagining, and asking what it might mean for the Episcopal Church of the Creator to help imagine and give birth to the Clinton Center for Truth, Memory, and Healing which would be located here on our campus.

 

This is still a developing vision. That is important to say. The Center is not yet a finished institution with every program decided, every partnership secured, or every question answered. It is, instead, a faithful beginning: an attempt to ask what our church, in this place, at this moment, may be called to offer our wider community.

At its heart, the Center grows out of a simple conviction: healing requires truth, and truth requires a place where memory can be held with courage, humility, and hope.

 

We live in a community with a deep and complicated history. Some of that history is beautiful. Some of it is painful. Some of it has been remembered carefully. Some of it has been ignored, simplified, or left unspoken. The work before us is not to assign blame, rehearse bitterness, or reopen wounds for their own sake. The work is to create space where honest memory can serve a more faithful future.

That kind of work cannot be done by one person, one committee, or one event. It will require the gifts of many people.

 

Some of us may feel called to help with hospitality: welcoming neighbors, preparing space, setting tables, making sure people feel safe and seen. Some may have gifts for history, research, archives, storytelling, or local memory. Some may be drawn to prayer, liturgy, music, and the spiritual framing of this work. Some may have experience in education, facilitation, communications, technology, fundraising, or community partnerships. Some may simply be willing to listen well, show up faithfully, and help carry the work as it unfolds.

All of these gifts matter.

 

The Center will need people who can dream broadly and people who can attend to details. It will need people who can speak and people who can listen. It will need those who know Clinton’s history well and those who are still learning. It will need lifelong residents, newcomers, elders, youth, teachers, artists, business leaders, church members, and neighbors beyond our congregation.

 

For members of Creator, this is also a natural extension of our own spiritual practice. We have been learning to speak of Christian life as the practice of “being home”: receiving the welcome of God, and then becoming a more truthful, gracious, and spacious home for others. The Center is one way that practice may take public form. It asks whether our common life can become a place where people are welcomed not by pretending the past does not matter, but by trusting that truth, mercy, and hope can belong in the same room.

 

In the coming season, we will need conversation partners, planners, hosts, researchers, writers, pray-ers, bridge-builders, and steady companions. You do not need to have special expertise to participate. You only need a willingness to help us listen for what faithfulness looks like here.

 

Please begin praying about how you might take part. Consider what gifts, relationships, questions, or hopes you may bring. The Center is still becoming. By God’s grace, we are becoming with it. If you would like more detail of our work to date, Contact Pastor Bob.

 

Yours in Christ, Pastor Bob

 

BE A BARNABAS: THE GIFT OF ENCOURAGEMENT

When we think of the great heroes of the Bible, names like Peter, Paul, and John often come to mind. Yet one of the most influential people in the early Church, someone many Christians know very little about is Barnabas.

 

Barnabas was not one of the original Twelve Apostles. In fact, his birth name was Joseph. The apostles gave him the name Barnabas, meaning “Son of Encouragement.” (What a wonderful thing to be known for!)

Barnabas first appears in the Book of Acts when he sells a piece of land and gives the proceeds to support the growing Christian community. He was known as a generous and faithful disciple who cared deeply for others.

Perhaps Barnabas’s greatest contribution came when Saul—later known as St. Paul—converted to Christianity. Many believers were understandably afraid of Saul because he had once persecuted Christians. While others were hesitant to trust him, Barnabas welcomed him, believed in him, and introduced him to the apostles.

Imagine what might have happened if Barnabas had not stepped forward. One act of encouragement helped open the door for Paul’s ministry, which would go on to spread the Gospel throughout much of the known world.

 

Barnabas reminds us that not everyone is called to stand at the front of the crowd. Some are called to encourage, support, welcome, and strengthen others. Every church is blessed with Barnabases—the person who sends a card, makes a phone call, welcomes a visitor, prepares a meal, offers a prayer, or simply says, “I’m glad you’re here.”

 

These acts may seem small, but they can have a lasting impact. A kind word offered at the right moment can change someone’s day, strengthen their faith, or even alter the course of their life.

 

As we celebrate the Feast of St. Barnabas on June 11, let us ask ourselves: Who needs encouragement today? How can we be a Barnabas to someone in our community? May God help each one of us to share kindness generously, offer support freely, and build one another up in faith and love.

 

FAITH IN ACTION

Help support the Clinton Christian Community Center (4C’s) and Mississippi College Student Food Bank with non-perishable food items each Sunday. Baskets are marked in the Narthex.

 

          

FINANCIAL STATUS  April: Income/$19,424.33– Expenses/11,212.49

JUNE FUN QUIZ

  1. You adopt a lovable golden retriever. What name do you choose?
    ☐ Barnabas, ☐ Sir Barks-a-Lot, ☐ Archbishop Woofington III
  2. A cat arrives at your house and immediately acts like it owns the place. Its name is:
    ☐ Queen Pimpi, ☐ King Whiskers, ☐ The Right Reverend Floof
  3. You win a goldfish at a church picnic. What do you call it?
    ☐ Captain Bubbles, ☐ Swim Shady, ☐ Fishopher
  4. An iguana joins your household. Naturally, you name it:
    ☐ Sir Scales, ☐ Pickle, ☐ Steve

RESULTS

Mostly Barnabas-related names:
You have the spirit of encouragement! Like St. Barnabas, you see the best in everyone—including pets.

Mostly silly names:
You bring joy wherever you go. The world needs more laughter, and apparently more iguanas named Steve.

A little of everything:
Congratulations! You are wonderfully unique, just like every beloved creature God has made.

       

The Creator Connection MAY 2026
“And divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.”
— Acts 2:3–4

From the Pastor’s Desk

“From Resurrection to Wind and Fire” 

There is a quiet turning that happens in the Church this time of year.The lilies of Easter begin to fade. The alleluias, still echoing, soften into something steadier, more lived-in. We find ourselves no longer at the empty tomb, but on the road—walking, listening, recognizing, abiding. This is the movement of the Easter Season. And it is not a leaving behind of resurrection. It is a deepening into it.

“He Is Risen” to “Abide in Me”

In these weeks between Easter and Pentecost, the risen Christ does something remarkable: he does not rush us. He lingers. He walks alongside bewildered disciples on dusty roads. He cooks breakfast on the shore. He breathes peace into locked rooms.
He invites us—not just to believe—but to abide.

This is where many of us are right now. Not at the moment of first astonishment, but in the quieter work of recognition: We are learning to notice where Christ has already gone ahead of us. We are discovering that resurrection is not only an event, but a way of being alive. We are realizing, sometimes slowly, that we are not alone. This is what it means to begin coming home to God.

“Coming home” is not about arrival as much as it is about recognition. It is the moment when something in us says: This: this presence, this peace, this love, is where I belong. And often, it comes in ordinary places: at a table, in a conversation in a quiet moment we didn’t plan, in the midst of grief that holds us instead of breaking us.

The risen Christ meets us there—not as an idea, but as presence. Like the disciples on the Emmaus road, we may only realize afterward: “Were not our hearts burning within us…?” Home, it turns out, is not somewhere we go. It is Someone who meets us.

But Easter does not end with our comfort. It opens into calling. As we move toward Pentecost, something begins to shift: The disciples who were gathered become those who are sent. The ones who received peace become those who carry it. Those who found home in Christ become home for others.

This is the heart of the coming season. Pentecost is not simply about wind and fire—it is about indwelling. The Spirit of God makes a home in us, so that through us, others might discover they are not alone. We become; places of welcome in a world of exclusion, spaces of listening in a culture of noise, and signs of hope where despair has settled in. Not because we have it together, but because we are met, known, and held.

At The Episcopal Church of the Creator, this is the invitation we are living into together: To be a people who as we come home in God—again and again, in prayer, in sacrament, and in one another become home for others—through presence, compassion, and courage. This is not a program. It is a posture. It is the slow, faithful work of becoming the kind of community where someone can walk in carrying the weight of their life and, perhaps for the first time in a while, feel: I can breathe here. I am seen here. I might belong here.

As May unfolds, we will continue our Easter journey: learning what it means to abide, discovering how love becomes action, and preparing ourselves to be sent.

And when Pentecost comes, we will not be starting something new. We will be stepping more fully into what has been forming all along: A life where God makes a home in us…so that we may be home for the world.

A Blessing for the Journey

May we recognize, in these Easter days, the quiet ways Christ is drawing near. May we discover that we are already being welcomed—already being held—already at home in God. And as we are gathered, may we also be given: the courage to open our lives, the grace to make space, and the love to become a place of belonging for another. For this is the way of resurrection—not only life restored, but life shared. And the Spirit is already on the way. 

Yours in Christ, Pastor Bob

PENTECOST: A Short Historical Explanation

Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after Easter and marks the moment when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles. This event is described in the Book of Acts (Chapter 2). The apostles were gathered together when suddenly a sound like a rushing wind filled the room, tongues of fire appeared above each of them, and they began speaking in different languages. This moment is often called the “birthday of the Church” because it marks the beginning of the apostles boldly going out to share the message of Christ with the world.

“Speaking in tongues”

The phenomenon first appears in a powerful way at Pentecost in Acts 2. When the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles, they began speaking in different languages—languages they had not learned. People from many regions were present in Jerusalem, and each person heard the message in their own native language.
This was not confusion—it was clarity. Rather than separating people, this moment united them. The message of Christ became accessible to all, regardless of background or language.

 

FAITH IN ACTION

Help support the Clinton Christian Community Center (4C’s) and Mississippi College Student Food Bank with non-perishable food items each Sunday. Baskets are marked in the Narthex.

 

MAY Birthdays  May 7 Rowan & Stone Braley, 10 Lauren Dettwiller, 11 Alex Runyan

           Anniversaries  May 13 Ross & Pam Turner

 

FINANCIAL STATUS  March: Income/$15,844.92 – Expenses/$13,742.89

 

CREATOR’S WORKDAY

BIG THANK TO OUR JUNOIR WARDEN, MIKE KHADABUX for organizing our largest turn out for a Creator Work Day yet! Thank you to everyone who came and worked. Such a success!

 

May Quiz: A Few Curious Things About May (Circle your answers — no Googling!)
1. May is named after which figure?
A. A Roman goddess of growth
B. A queen who loved flowers
C. Someone’s very nice aunt
D. A medieval word for “almost summer”

 

  1. Which of these is a real May celebration tradition somewhere in the world?
    A. Dancing around a decorated pole
    B. Rolling cheese down a hill and chasing it
    C. Crowning a May Queen
    D. All of the above

  2.  Which insect becomes very active in May?
    A. Butterflies
    B. Bees
    C. Mosquitoes
    D. All of the above

 

THIS MONTH’S PRACTICE

As Pentecost reminds us that we are meant to understand one another, practice this month listening to understand, not just to respond. Pause before you speak. Be kind with your words.

Answer Key

  1. A, 2. D
    3. D

 

CREATOR CONNECTION    APRIL 2026
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

From the Pastor’s Desk

 “Staying Past the Question”
An Easter Reflection for the Church of the Creator

 Dear Creator Family,

 Most of us have learned, in one way or another, to ask practical questions about everything that matters. What will this do? Is it worth it? What do I get? What’s the outcome? We ask those questions at work. We ask them in relationships. And, if we’re honest, we bring them with us when we turn toward God.

 That’s not a failure of faith. That’s what we learn to do when life has been uncertain, when time is limited, when trust has been stretched thin. We learn to measure. To evaluate. To protect ourselves.

And so, we come to Easter carrying those same questions. What does this do? What does resurrection change? Is it real? Is it worth believing? But Easter doesn’t answer those questions the way we expect. Because Easter is not a transaction.

 It is not: “If you believe this, then your life will work out.” Or “If you trust God, then everything will be fixed.” Instead, Easter tells a different kind of truth.

It tells us that in Jesus Christ, God does not stand at a distance managing outcomes.

God stays. Stays through betrayal. Stays through suffering. Stays all the way into death.

And then—even there—refuses to leave.

The resurrection is not a reward. It is not a return on investment. It is the quiet, stubborn declaration that: there is no place you can go where God will not remain with you. Not even death. Not even loss. Not even places where everything feels finished.

And that changes the question.

Instead of: What do I get? Easter begins to ask: What might happen if I stay?

Staying with God in prayer, even when it feels unclear. Staying with one another, even when it is inconvenient. Staying in hope, even when it feels fragile.

We practice this every time we come to the table. We do not come because we have calculated the benefit. We come because something in us is willing—just for a moment—to receive. Bread. Wine. Presence. Not controlled. Not earned. But given.

And in that receiving, something begins to take shape among us.

Not certainty. Not control. But something steadier. Something like belonging.
Something like being known. Something like home. So, if you find yourself still asking the questions—Is this worth it? What does this do? You are not outside the story.

You are exactly where many of the first witnesses were. Wondering. Unsure.

Trying to make sense of what they had seen. And the invitation is not to have it all figured out. It is simply this:

Stay. Stay long enough to notice who is still with you. Stay long enough to discover that you are not alone. Stay long enough for something new to begin.

Because resurrection is not something we manage. It is something we begin to recognize—slowly, quietly—as we remain.

And in that remaining, we may find that what we were searching for all along was not an outcome—but a presence that never left. A presence that has already always been here, in Jesus’ name.

 

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Bob

 

 

 

The Paschal Candle: Light of Christ

 

The Paschal Candle is one of the most important symbols in the Episcopal Church, representing the light of Christ risen from the dead. It is lit on Easter Day, marking the movement from darkness into light and the joy of the Resurrection. From this single flame, the light is shared throughout the congregation, symbolizing how Christ’s presence brings hope, renewal, and new life into the world. The candle remains lit throughout the Easter season and is also used at baptisms and funerals, reminding us that Christ’s light is present at both the beginning and end of the Christian journey.

 

Our Paschal Candle reflects these same truths through its design. It is a white candle, symbolizing purity and resurrection, marked with a wooden cross and the Alpha and Omega, signifying that Christ is the beginning and the end. Two red bands encircle the candle—one adorned with gold crosses and the other with fish, an early Christian symbol. Whether decorative or symbolic, these elements together point us back to Christ’s sacrifice, His followers, and the life we share in Him. Each year, the lighting of this candle reminds us that the light of Christ is not only a story from long ago, but a living presence among us today.

 

Why the Easter Bunny?

The Easter Bunny is not a religious symbol, but rather a cultural tradition with roots in pre-Christian, pagan spring festivals where rabbits were seen as signs of fertility and new life—fitting for a season centered on renewal. Over time, these symbols blended into European folklore, particularly in Germany, where a hare known as the Osterhase was said to lay eggs for children to find. This tradition was brought to America by German immigrants in the 1700s and gradually evolved into the familiar Easter Bunny we know today, delivering eggs and treats as part of the celebration… all thanks to “zee Germans,” as Lt. Aldo Raine would say.

 

Faith in Action

Help support the Clinton Christian Community Center (4C’s) and Mississippi College Student Food Bank with non-perishable food items each Sunday. Baskets are marked in the Narthex.

 

April Birthdays  April 2 Joan Blanton, 3 Mary Culipher Stephens, 7 Max Lanford, 10 Gale Nelson,

15 Kate Onyia, 25 Godwin Onyia, 28 Mary Hulsebosch & Danielle Brown, 29 Courtney Randall

 

Financial Status  February: Income/$7,484.00 – Expenses/$9,471.50

 

CREATOR’S WORKDAY SPRING CLEAN UP

Saturday, April 25th 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., Sign up will be available later in the month, Lunch served

Shared service lightens the load — come lend a hand!

 

Did You Know? (April Edition)

  • April’s birth flower is the daisy, symbolizing innocence and new beginnings—very on theme for spring.
  • The name “April” may come from the Latin aperire, meaning “to open,” like flowers blooming.
  • April is the only month that starts on the same day of the week as July every year.
  • Some people once believed that washing your face in April rain would bring good luck and clear skin for the rest of the year—results scientifically unverified, but delightfully hopeful.

 

THE CREATOR CONNECTION March 2026

May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK

From Wilderness to the Gates of Jerusalem

Dear Creator Family,

For weeks now we have been walking slowly. Lent does that to us. It stretches time. It quiets the room. It invites us to stay when leaving would be easier. We have prayed with dust on our foreheads. We have listened to stories of thirst, of night-time questions, of wilderness testing. We have practiced honesty … not as punishment, but as home-making. We have named what keeps us from belonging. We have let Scripture expose us … not to shame us … but to return us to relationship. And now toward the end of Lent something begins to shift. The road bends toward Jerusalem.

Palm Sunday will begin in motion. Jesus will enter the city. Branches will wave. Cloaks will fall to the ground. Voices will rise: “Hosanna!” It will feel like celebration. And it is. But this is not a parade of conquest. It is a procession of vulnerability. The One who enters the city does not come armored. He comes exposed. He does not arrive to dominate. He arrives to remain. Palm Sunday asks us a question: Will we stay with him when the tone changes? Because it will.

The same liturgy that begins in praise will move into the Passion: Love That Refuses to Leave. The cheers will thin. The shadows will lengthen. The story will grow heavy. And we will still be there. That is the work of Holy Week. In Lent, we have practiced staying present to our own hearts. In Holy Week, we practice staying present to Christ’s heart. The Passion is not spiritual theater. It is love under pressure. Betrayal. Abandonment. Denial. State violence. Public humiliation. And beneath it all, a refusal to retaliate.

Holy Week reveals something essential about God: God does not save us by escaping suffering. God saves by entering it and not leaving. This is where our Lenten formation deepens. “Staying when leaving would be easier” begins as a personal discipline. In Holy Week, it becomes a revelation about God. God stays. God stays in Gethsemane. God stays before Pilate. God stays on the cross. God stays in the silence of Saturday. And because God stays, we can learn to stay too.

We Walk the Whole Week. It may be tempting to skip from Palm Sunday to Easter morning. To leap from branches to lilies. But resurrection without Holy Week becomes sentimentality. Hope without honesty becomes thin. We walk the whole week because we are being formed into people who can bear reality and still love.

Maundy Thursday teaches us that love kneels. Good Friday teaches us that love suffers.
Holy Saturday teaches us that love waits. And only then does Easter make sense.
So, I invite you: Come for the procession. Stay for the Passion. Return for the washing of feet. Sit in the darkness of Good Friday. Honor the quiet of Holy Saturday.

Let the week work on you. Let it show you the God who refuses to abandon the vulnerable including us. If Lent has been about coming home to truth, Holy Week is about discovering that God has already made a home in our suffering. We are not walking toward tragedy. We are walking toward the revelation of a Love that will not leave. A love that is daring us to hope it could be true. With all y’all on the road,

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Bob

FAITH IN ACTION
Help support the Clinton Christian Community Center (4C’s) and Mississippi College Student Food Bank with non-perishable food items each Sunday. Baskets are marked in the Narthex.

MARCH BIRTHDAYS March 6 Maddie Gray Braley, March 25 Linda Waldbauer

FINANCIAL STATUS January: Income/$8,623.33 – Expenses/$12,008.08

HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Wednesday- 12 Noon Stations of the Cross
Thursday – 6:30 p.m. Maundy Thursday Service
Friday – 6:30 p.m. Good Friday Service
Sunday – 10:30 a.m. Easter Mass

PALM SUNDAY: THEN & NOW

1. Why were people waving palm branches?
a) To stay cool, b) Palms symbolized victory and kingship, c) It was a festival custom
d) All of the above
________________________________________
2. True or False: Palm branches were used in the ancient world to celebrate triumph and royal processions. True or False?
________________________________________
CURIOUS PALM FACT
In the ancient Mediterranean world, palm branches symbolized triumph, peace, and eternal life. Early Christians embraced this image not just as celebration — but as a sign of Christ’s unexpected victory through humility.
________________________________________
A GENTLE REFLECTION: PALM SUNDAY IS ABOUT WELCOME.
Crowds laid down cloaks and branches in the road. They made space. They made room.
If you had been there that day, what might you have laid down?
A cloak?
A branch?
A worry?
A habit?
A fear?
A burden carried too long?
Sometimes the most meaningful welcome begins quietly in the heart.

COMING SOON:
CREATOR’S WORKDAY SPRING CLEAN UP
Saturday, April 25th 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Lunch served
Shared service lightens the load — come lend a hand!
Sign-up sheet available next month.

THE CREATOR CONNECTION February 2026
“Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful.” – Joel 2:1

FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
From Glory to Ashes: Entering Lent Together
Every year the Church makes a move that feels abrupt if we are not paying attention.
On the last Sunday of the Epiphany Season, we will stand on the mountain of Transfiguration, wrapped in light, hearing again that beloved voice: “This is my Son… listen to him.”
A few days later, we will find ourselves with ashes on our foreheads, hearing words about dust and returning.
This is not a spiritual whiplash. It is a handoff.
Transfiguration does not send us away from the light—it teaches us how to carry it. Ash Wednesday does not erase glory—it asks what we will do with it once we come back down the mountain and into the rich soil of the valley of ordinary life.
As we enter Lent this year, we are continuing our shared journey of Being Home—not as a destination we reach, but as a way we learn to inhabit our lives more truthfully. Lent is not about self-improvement or spiritual toughness. It is about honesty. It is about noticing where we are living disconnected, distracted, or defensive—and gently returning to what is real.
The ashes we receive are not a mark of failure. They are a sign of belonging. They remind us that God meets us not after we have figured everything out, but right where we are: fragile, finite, loved.
Over the weeks of Lent, we will practice listening more deeply—to Scripture, to prayer, to one another, and to the places in our own lives that long for healing. We will resist the urge to rush toward Easter and instead trust that God is already always at work, slowly, in unnoticed places.
This season is not about arriving somewhere else. It is about coming home—together.
We invite you to walk the Lenten journey with us, beginning on Ash Wednesday, as we continue to learn how to live truthfully, watch gently, and listen attentively in the presence of God.

Upcoming Services & Events
Wednesday, February 18 – Ash Wednesday Service 6:30 p.m.
Ash Wednesday opens Lent by inviting us into a posture of truthfulness. We come not to perform sorrow or to prove devotion, but to acknowledge who we are before God—finite, vulnerable, and deeply loved. The ashes we receive echo an ancient wisdom of the Church: humility is not humiliation, and repentance is not despair, but the beginning of freedom.
For generations, Christians have marked this day with a simple, embodied prayer—allowing the sign of ashes to name both our limits and our belonging. In the Episcopal tradition, we receive this sign not as a sentence, but as a promise: that God meets us honestly, exactly where we are, and continues the work of mercy and renewal in us.
Lent begins here—not in fear or self-reproach, but in hope rooted in grace. We start this season trusting that the God who knows our dust is also the God who breathes life, again and again, into what seems worn or unfinished.

Sunday, February 22 – First Sunday of Lent
The First Sunday of Lent begins not with instruction, but with accompaniment. The Church steps into the wilderness with Jesus—not to watch from a distance, but to share the slow, vulnerable work of learning where trust is formed. This is a place of hunger and quiet, of prayer and resistance, where clarity is not rushed and dependence on God becomes real.
Lent opens here as a journey rather than a demand. We follow Christ not because we are strong enough, but because he has already gone ahead of us—meeting temptation with truth, fear with faithfulness, and isolation with trust in God’s sustaining presence.
This first Sunday reminds us that Lent is not about mastering spiritual disciplines, but about staying with Jesus long enough to discover what truly nourishes us, and who we are becoming as we walk this road together.

FAITH IN ACTION
Help support the Clinton Christian Community Center (4C’s) and Mississippi College Student Food Bank with non-perishable food items each Sunday. Baskets are marked in the Narthex.

FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS 10 Marty Singletary, 15 John Lanford, 21 Barry Moore, 22 Stephen Giddens
ANNIVERSARIES 4 Austin & Emmanuela Onyia

FINANCIAL STATUS December: Income/$14,737.98 – Expenses/$15,323.27
LENTEN TRIVIA
1. Why does Lent last 40 days?
A. Because it takes 40 days to break a habit
B. Because biblical authors liked round numbers
C. Because the number 40 appears repeatedly as a time of testing, preparation, and transformation in Scripture
D. Because early Christians agreed it felt right

2. What is the original purpose of fasting or “giving something up” during Lent?
A. To prove religious discipline to others
B. To suffer just enough to appreciate Easter chocolate
C. To create space for prayer, self-examination, and dependence on God
D. To test willpower in socially impressive ways

3. Historically, how did early Christians observe Lenten fasting?
A. By skipping one meal a day
B. By giving up their favorite food
C. By fasting strictly until evening
D. By eating fish and calling it a loophole

4. What is the most commonly “given up” item in modern Lent?
A. Social media
B. Chocolate
C. Alcohol
D. The plan to give something up

Correct Answer: C The number 40 appears throughout the Bible as a period of spiritual preparation: the flood rains, Israel’s wilderness journey, Moses on Sinai, Elijah’s journey, and Jesus’ fasting in the desert. Lent follows this pattern as a season of reflection and renewal before Easter.
Correct Answer: C Traditionally, fasting was meant to refocus attention away from comfort and toward prayer, generosity, and spiritual growth—not as punishment, but as practice.
Correct Answer: C In the early Church, fasting often meant eating very little—or nothing—until sundown, especially during the first days of Lent. Compared to these practices, modern Lenten fasts are best described as aspirational.
Correct Answer: D

Footnote (Entirely Reliable)
*According to the International Institute of Lenten Resolve and Intentions (IILRI), approximately 63% of people reconsider their Lenten fast by Day 4, 22% by Day 7, and the remaining 15% are “quietly impressive.”¹

The Creator Connection January 2026

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.”
Isaiah 43:2

About Baptism: What do we Believe?

In Baptism we are washed with water to point out something very important: God loves us. Baptism is not a test. It is not something we have to earn. It is a gift.

What Happens in Baptism? In baptism, God says: “You are mine.” “You belong.” “I am glad you are here.” God says this before we do anything special and even when we make mistakes.

Jesus Was Baptized Too Jesus was baptized in a river. He stood in the water with other people.
He did not stand above them. When Jesus came up out of the water, God said: “This is my beloved Son.” Beloved means deeply loved. God says the same thing to us.

What Does Baptism Mean for Us? Baptism means: God is with us. God does not give up on us. God loves us on good days and hard days. We do not stop being loved when we mess up or when we feel sad or scared.

Baptism and the Church: The church is a place where: Everyone belongs; People help each other; We try to be kind; We try again when we fail; We are learning how to be home for one another.

Being Home means: Saying “You belong here;” Being kind; Sharing love; Helping others feel safe. We try to love people the way God loves us.

Still Wet, Still Loved: Even when the water dries up, God’s love for us does not dry up. We are still God’s children. We are still loved. We are still held.

A Prayer: Dear God, thank you for loving us. Thank you for water and for Jesus. When we wash our face help us remember that we belong to you and help us be kind to others. Amen

“The Lord shall give strength to his people; the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.” (Psalm 29:11)

Upcoming Services & Events

Sunday, January 18 – Annual Parish Meeting & Potluck Lunch

Faith in Action

Help support the Clinton Christian Community Center (4C’s) and Mississippi College Student Food Bank with non-perishable food items each Sunday. Baskets are marked in the Narthex.

January Birthdays 1 Emmanuel Onyia, 13 Bill Singletary, 17 Doug George

21 Ross Turner, 24 Edie Hill

January Anniversaries 1 Will & Jennifer Duncan

Financial STATUS November: Income/$13,542.83 – Expenses/$9,341.35

CHURCH POTLUCK FACTS*
A Sacred Tradition of Casseroles & Covered Dishes

Most Common Dish:
Some form of chicken spaghetti casserole – cream-of-something soup, shredded cheese, and a topping no one can identify but everyone trusts.

First Dish to Disappear:
Deviled eggs. Always deviled eggs. Even if there are five trays. (and Bob White’s meatloaf)

Calorie Champion (Undefeated):
cheesy hashbrown casserole – butter, cheese, sour cream, more cheese, hashbrowns, faith.

The Dish Everyone Compliments but Nobody Finishes:
That one “healthy” salad. You know the one.

The One Untouched Bowl:

Common suspects: Ambiguous gelatin, “That one salad with marshmallows”

Historical Note:

The term potluck coined in 16th-century England, means “whatever happened to be in the pot.”

In Southern churches, it came to mean hospitality, abundance, and aluminum foil. Potlucks became popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries as a way to feed large congregations affordably, share abundance without singling anyone out, build fellowship (and recipe rivalries).

Universal Truth:
Someone will say, “Who made this?”

*Fake Statistical Footnote
Facts based on a highly scientific study conducted in multiple Southern fellowship halls between 1952 and last Sunday, using paper plates, folding chairs, and eyewitness testimony from church ladies who “have been doing this for years.”