Holy Cross Episcopal Church

09/06/2026

🤠🌾 SADDLE UP, Y’ALL! 🌾🤠

Our Supper Club at the Harper’s Farm is happening THIS SATURDAY! 🐴🍽️💛

Round up the family, grab your favorite side dish or sweet dessert to share, and come on out for an evening of good food, good company, and good ol’ country fun! 🥧🌽🍪

🎣 Kiddos, don’t forget your fishing poles!
There’s fishin’ to be done! 🐟🤠

So dust off those boots, pack up your dish, and mosey on over to the Harper’s Farm for a night of food, fellowship & farm fun! 🌾✨

We’ll see y’all THIS SATURDAY! 🤎
🐴 Come hungry. Come happy. Come ready for a good time! 🐴

09/04/2026

09/02/2026

Dear Holy Cross, Episcopal Day School, and friends,

It’s so great to be joining you as your priest. My family and I moved into the rectory next to the Church—at least, all our things are in the rectory, and slowly but surely putting it all in order. We’re coming from Franklin, Louisiana, which is way down there “on da bayou” and quite a bit smaller than Paris. So for the last week or two we’ve been enjoying big city life! From the first time I passed through Paris, I have really liked this town. It has great character and a good feel about it. But best of all has been the incredibly warm welcome that my family and I have received from this congregation.

For one, people have been so friendly as we have slowly met folks from the congregation. Then there was a steady stream of meals the first week we were here. What a blessing when all our kitchenware was packed up in moving boxes! (Fortunately, we still had a good stock of disposable plates and such from when we were in the process of packing up our house in Louisiana.) Your senior warden even gave us a place to stay for the first few nights, when we didn’t even have our beds set up yet! As I write, this is just my second day on the job as your new rector, yet I’m struck by the love we’ve already experienced.

When Jesus was first sending his disciples out to proclaim the Good News of his coming Kingdom, he told them, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me” (Matthew 10:40). They were given a ministry—to preach, to pray for the sick, to help people who had been struggling discover the freedom that comes with knowing Christ. One of the big questions, though, was whether or not the people to whom they were sent would welcome them and take care of them. The Gospel comes with a test of hospitality. This is part of how the Lord goes about forming a People for himself.

Granted, Jesus said this to his Apostles. There is not a perfect, one-to-one correspondence with priests, but it still tells you something about what it means when the Lord sends you a minister. And it tells me something about the warm welcome we’ve received. Of course, we’re so thankful for the kindness we’ve encountered. But it’s also a real sign of the Lord’s grace already long at work in this congregation. The fact that you would welcome me and my family this way is a good indication of the way that our Lord Jesus Christ has welcomed you. We are thrilled at the chance to grow in the grace with you.

Come worship with us this Sunday either at our 8:00 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. service.

Godspeed,

Fr. Stephen Crawford

08/31/2026

🌸 We’re Looking for Someone Special! 🧸💕

Do you have a heart for little ones, a love for Jesus, and a gift for making children feel safe, loved, and cared for? 🥰

Our church is looking for a Nursery Worker to join our ministry team! 👶✨

We’re seeking someone who:
💗 Loves children
🧸 Is caring, patient, and dependable
😊 Enjoys creating a fun and welcoming environment
🙏 Has a heart for serving and supporting families in our church

If you’re someone who thinks tiny giggles, sweet smiles, and little hugs are the best part of your Sunday mornings, email or call us TODAY!

08/26/2026

Dear Holy Cross,

Jesus begins this week's passage by telling his disciples something they do not want to hear: he is going to Jerusalem, where he will suffer, be killed, and be raised on the third day. Peter immediately pushes back. He cannot imagine that this is the path the Messiah should take.

But Jesus responds with words that reach far beyond Peter and the first disciples:

“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

These words are challenging. Following Jesus is not always the easiest path, nor is it simply about believing the right things. Jesus calls us to a life of trust, sacrifice, service, courage, and love.

For the congregation of Holy Cross, this passage invites us to consider what it means to follow Jesus together as a community of faith.

A church is more than a beautiful building, a Sunday service, or October lunches. The Church is a community that chooses, day after day, to follow Christ. Sometimes that means serving when it is inconvenient, welcoming someone who feels like an outsider, forgiving when it is difficult, listening when we would rather speak, or standing beside someone who is carrying a heavy burden.

Our “cross” may not look dramatic. Often, it looks like faithful love in ordinary moments.

As we welcome Father Crawford and his family into this new chapter with us, we have an opportunity to live out this passage in a particularly meaningful way. A new priest does not simply arrive to lead a congregation; a priest and their family become part of a community. Likewise, a congregation does not simply receive a priest—it receives the opportunity to walk alongside, encourage, pray for, and support a new spiritual family.

May we offer Father Crawford and his family the same welcome that Christ offers us: a welcome marked by grace, patience, friendship, prayer, and love. And may Father Crawford find in Holy Cross not simply a place to serve, but a people with whom he and his family can grow, laugh, worship, learn, and walk faithfully with Christ.

This message also speaks beautifully to the Episcopal Day School community.

Every day, teachers, students, staff, and families have opportunities to practice what Jesus teaches. The classroom becomes a place where children learn not only academic subjects, but also how to be compassionate, courageous, curious, forgiving, and responsible members of a community.

For our students, “taking up your cross” does not mean carrying an adult burden. It can mean choosing kindness when teasing would be easier. It can mean including someone who feels left out. It can mean trying again after failure. It can mean telling the truth, helping a friend, listening to a teacher, or standing up for someone who needs a voice.

And for the AMAZING teachers who care for these children, it means remembering that formation happens through example. Our children learn what it means to follow Jesus by watching how we treat one another.

The Holy Cross congregation and EDS are therefore connected by something deeper than close geography or tradition. Both are places where faith is lived and practiced. Both have the privilege of helping people discover that the way of Jesus is a way of love.

What cross is Christ asking YOU to carry right now?

Perhaps it is patience.

Perhaps it is forgiveness.

Perhaps it is serving at our October lunches (have you signed up yet?)

Perhaps it is reaching out to someone who needs a friend.

Perhaps it is trusting God with a future we cannot yet see.

And perhaps, for Holy Cross, it is the invitation to enter a new season together—with Father Crawford and his family, with our EDS kiddos and teachers, and with one another—trusting that God is already at work among us.

Jesus does not promise that following him will always be comfortable. But he does promise that the life we discover in following him is worth more than anything we could gain by living only for ourselves.

Come join us this Sunday either at our 8:00 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. service.

Have a blessed week of reflection,

Church of the Holy Cross

08/21/2026

✨ We’re Hiring! ✨

Looking for a job where heart, purpose, and a little everyday magic come together? 💙📚

Episcopal Day School is hiring! 🎉 Join a warm, welcoming community where you can make a meaningful impact, build connections, and be part of something special.

🌟 Come grow with us.
💫 Come make a difference.
💙 Come be part of the EDS family!

Know someone who would be a perfect fit? Tag them below! 👇 And if that someone is YOU… we’d love to meet you! 😊

08/20/2026

Dear Holy Cross,

This week, our Gospel lesson comes from Matthew 16:13–20, where Jesus asks His disciples a question that reaches to the very heart of our faith: “Who do you say that I am?”

The disciples had heard many answers from the crowds—John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. But Jesus was asking them for something deeper than what others were saying. He wanted to know what they believed.

Peter answered with boldness and faith: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Peter's confession reminds us that the Church is built upon the truth of who Jesus is. He is not simply a teacher, a prophet, or an example for us to follow. He is the Christ—the Son of the living God. Everything we are and everything we do as the people of Holy Cross flows from this confession.

And what a fitting message for us as we enter this new season together!

We are excited and deeply grateful that the Lord has sent Father Crawford and his family to Holy Cross. We welcome them with joyful hearts and pray that their ministry among us will be a blessing to our congregation and to the community God has entrusted to us.

Just as Jesus called Peter to confess the faith and then entrusted him with a ministry of service, the Lord continues to call faithful servants to His Church. Father Crawford and his family join us not merely as new members of our congregation, but as fellow servants seeking to proclaim Christ, strengthen His people, and share the good news of the Gospel.

May their arrival remind us that Christ is still building His Church. He continues to gather His people, raise up leaders, and place us together in ministry according to His good purposes.

As we welcome Father Crawford, Amanda, Clare, Warren, Mary, and Patrick, may we also hear Christ's question anew: “Who do you say that I am?”

May our answer, like Peter's, be one of faith: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Let us then welcome this new chapter with prayer, joy, and expectation. May we support one another, encourage Father Crawford and his family, and together seek to make Christ known in all that we say and do.

With joy and thanksgiving in Christ,

Church of the Holy Cross

08/18/2026

Looking for a place to have fun, make new friends, laugh a LOT, and grow deeper in your faith? 🙌✝️

🎉 Our Youth Group Kick-Off is TOMORROW NIGHT! 🎉

Come hang out, get to know some awesome people, and discover what it looks like to grow in your relationship with Jesus—all while having a seriously FUN time! 😎

📣 6th–8th Grade
📅 TOMORROW NIGHT 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
🎯 Bring a friend… or two!

You don’t want to miss the start of something awesome! 🚀

Come ready for fun. Come ready to grow. Come ready to BELONG. ❤️